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Lupita Nyong'o Is PEOPLE's Most Beautiful

She may have won an Oscar for her role as the slave Patsey in Steve McQueen's 12 Years a Slave and recently landed a contract with Lancôme Paris, but Lupita Nyong'o "never dreamed" she would be touted as "Most Beautiful" for all the world to see. 

"It was exciting and just a major, major compliment," the 31-year-old says of gracing this year's cover. And especially, "I was happy for all the girls who would see me on [it] and feel a little more seen." 

Born in Mexico and raised in Kenya, Nyong'o first equated beauty with what she saw on television: "Light skin and long, flowing, straight hair," she says. "Subconsciously you start to appreciate those things more than what you possess." Her mother, Dorothy, who is the managing director and head of PR for the Africa Cancer Foundation, "always said I was beautiful," Nyong'o adds. "And I finally believed her at some point."

As a teen, Nyong'o dyed her hair every color – except blonde – and even went as far as shaving her head bald. "It was very strange and very cold!" she says, laughing. "It was scary but I like to dare myself." 

Now she says the best compliments are "when I have been called beautiful with not one drop of makeup on," she adds. "And also before I comb my hair or put on a pretty dress. Happiness is the most important thing."

And others who’ve held deemed beautiful over the years:

2013 Gwyneth Paltrow

2012 Beyoncé

2011 Jennifer Lopez

2010 Julia Roberts

2009 Christina Applegate

2008 Kate Hudson

2007 Drew Barrymore

2006 Angelina Jolie

2005 Julia Roberts

2004 Jennifer Aniston

2003 Halle Berry

2002 Nicole Kidman

2001 Catherine Zeta-Jones

2000 Julia Roberts

1999 Michelle Pfeiffer

1998 Leonardo DiCaprio

1997 Tom Cruise