`` No matter where you are from , your dreams are valid . '' Dignified , inspiring words spoken by young woman who looked like a fairy princess on Hollywood 's most spectacular night . Lupita Nyong ' o won the Academy Award for best supporting actress -- and black , brown and `` other '' women and girls all around the world exhaled with relief and cheered with delight . The Cinderella story endures because deep down , people want to believe in improbable beauty and equal access to happily ever after . You know how it goes : A kind young girl alone and far from home is placed in a hostile environment , ignored and abused . Against all odds , she finds the power of her imagination , transforms into a graceful beauty and becomes the belle of the ball . Nyong ' o 's ascent into media stardom mirrors this legendary narrative . This is from Facebook : `` I admit it . I ca n't go more than three days without looking at a picture of her . # LupitaNyongo . '' That 's one of the scores of daily posts on every social media platform about the breakout actress , mostly from women and girls of color . The image of Nyong ' o is feeding an old hunger familiar to the hearts of women of African decent and quenching a newfound thirst for everyone else . She is refreshing . She added , as they say in the fashion world , a `` pop of color '' to the neutral landscape of types in the 2014 awards season . The beginning of Nyong ' o 's fairy-tale rise to Hollywood 's new It Girl began with her brilliant portrayal of Patsey , a filthy , psychologically abused and violently beaten slave in the best picture winner , `` 12 Years a Slave . '' And yet in a matter of months , the prevailing image of her is an exquisite beauty queen conquering every red carpet and glossy fashion page she 's graced . And there have been many . The Golden Globe Awards were Nyong ' o 's first major glamorous arrival . She did n't take home the best supporting actress award for which she was nominated , but from Vogue to tumblr , she reigned on all the best-dressed lists . It was a Cinderella moment . It was n't the stunning fire-engine-red winged column dress by Ralph Lauren Couture that made her splash so significant . It was her unlikely beauty , her exquisite `` otherness '' that made the style media explode with excitement . And she has been slaying every other appearance ever since . Hollywood can be a hostile and stubborn place for diversity : Only 31 black people have won an Oscar in the 85-year history of the Academy Awards . It can be especially treacherous and narrow when it comes to images of women . And the women on the silver screen set the gold bar for the standard of beauty for much of the world 's media . Analyze any parade of actresses on any major awards show red carpet , and the message is clear : The criteria for a position in the elite clique of beauties are to be white and thin , with hair that blows in the wind . Though Nyong ' o certainly has a near-fatless body , her deep , rich skin tone and the length and texture of her hair are a sharp detour away from the standard . Unfortunately , it 's not rare that just one woman of color was nominated for major acting awards this year . Out of her many nominations , in addition to her Oscar win , she 's also won the Screen Actors Guild Award for best supporting actress , the NAACP Image Award for outstanding supporting actress and the Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for best supporting actress . Other black women who have won the Academy Award in the best supporting actress category are Hattie McDaniel , Whoopi Goldberg , Jennifer Hudson , Mo'nique and Octavia Spencer . What stands out about Nyong ' o is that she is top-model gorgeous , classically trained and impossibly elegant and has an indisputable African name . She 's the first black African to ever win . Nyong ' o can wear practically any gown that has ever been on a couture runway . She fits the high-fashion role while simultaneously expanding it . She is old-Hollywood elegant and new-school African . At the Oscars , it was her dark , luminous skin and short , tightly coiled hair that made the billowy cornflower princess gown by Prada look so dreamy . Like art and life , beauty without contrasts is n't interesting . Nyong ' o is a ravishing contrast against the pale landscape of beauty possibilities most women and girls are given from Hollywood and high-fashion media . She represents a possibility of another kind of dream girl . Young women of color from Nairobi to New Orleans can see a bright star that reflects them .
Lupita Nyong ' o won best supporting actress Oscar in a fairy-tale rise in Hollywood . Michaela Angela Davis : She is a `` pop of color '' in neutral landscape of awards season . Davis : She gave a brilliant performance as the slave Patsey ; now she 's the It Girl . The Oscars are an annual event that honors excellence and achievement in film, television, music, sports, literature, art, architecture, fashion, sculpture, photography, theater, ballet, opera