Lupita : a Cinderella for everyone

Dignified and 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 can'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 didn'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 wasn'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.

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