A tale of two covers! Lupita Nyong’o’s Queen of Katwe press takeover is in full swing, from the red carpet to magazines. The actress, 33, shared her brand new Time Out: London cover in a Tuesday, September 27, Instagram post.
Nyong’o graced the magazine in an indigo denim shirt buttoned to the collar and huge silver hoops. Makeup artist Nick Barose applied gold shimmery eyeshadow and dark blue liner on her brown eyes, and slicked a rosy lipgloss on her pout. But the most standout feature of the shot was Nyong’o’s hair. She rocked an angled, chin-length textured bob styled by Larry Sims.
The wig was a radical change from Nyong’o’s short natural Afro, which she wore blown out and parted just two days ago at the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C. The 12 Years a Slave actress has also hit several premieres wearing traditional African head wraps to match her glamorous gowns.
If this ‘do feels familiar, it’s because she rocked the same angled bob styled by Sims on the December 2015 cover of Rhapsody magazine while promoting Star Wars: The Force Awakens. For that galactic-inspired look, she donned a red and white floral Louis Vuitton zip-up top.
Nyong’o may enjoy the temporary change, but naturalistas nationwide appreciate the actress’ commitment to keeping her locks unprocessed. In her October 2016 cover story for Vogue (where she donned a head scarf), Nyong’o revealed the reason why she shaved her head at the age of 19.
“I wanted to know what my head looked like,” she said, citing the painful side effects of chemical relaxers as an additional reason. “My father doesn’t know this, but it was at his prompting. He was funding my hairdos, and at one point he said, ‘Ah, why don’t you just cut it all off?’” He didn’t notice until two weeks later. “One day at the table he did a double take,” she reminisced, sharing her response: “You said I should cut it!”