Lupita Nyong'o Beats Renown Actresses to Prestigious Award 

Oscar award-winning actress Lupita Nyong'o scooped a prestigious award in the US, beating two renown colleagues to it on Wednesday, December 4, 2019.

Vanity Fair was first to report that, Lupita was named best actress for her starring role in the movie, Us at the New York Film Critics Circle Awards 2019. 

She beat renowned actress Renée Zellweger who starred in Judy and Saoirse Ronan from Little Women.

Zellweger is an American actress and is the recipient of numerous accolades such as an Oscar and three Golden Globe awards. She was one of the highest-paid actresses in the world by 2007.

Ronan is an Irish American actress and a Golden Globe Award winner.

Lupita's win was a surprise as her competitors were considered front runners for the award. In Us, she made an outstanding performance.

Us is a 2019 American horror film written and directed by Jordan Peele, starring Lupita Nyong'o, Winston Duke, Shahadi Wright Joseph, Evan Alex, Elisabeth Moss, and Tim Heidecker. The film follows Adelaide Wilson (Nyong’o) and her family, who are attacked by a group of menacing doppelgängers.

Antonio Bandera, famous for his voice-over in Puss in Boots, picked up Best Actor Award for Pain and Glory

Banderas shone ahead of Oscar award-winner Adam Driver (Marriage Story) and Joaquin Phoenix (Joker) as well as critical faves Adam Sandler of Uncut Gems and Robert Pattinson of The Lighthouse.

On Monday, October 21, Lupita and her mother, Dorothy Nyong'o were recognised by Harlem School of the Arts and received the Visionary Lineage Award.

The event recognised extraordinary black women who lead by example as advocates for the importance of arts education through their inspiring accomplishments.