Lupita Nyong'o continues to dominate 2014.

The "12 Years a Slave" star has just landed her first Vogue cover. In the July issue, she wears a purple printed dress with cutouts, and her makeup is fairly neutral. The accompanying interview was conducted by Hamish Bowles, and the images were taken by Mikael Jansson.

In five months, Lupita Nyong'o has attended more than 60 promotional events, starting with the Toronto Film Festival in September.

"It just feels like the entertainment industry exploded into my life," she said. "People who seemed so distant all of a sudden were right in front of me and recognizing me before I recognized them!"

It wasn't until the SAG Awards in January that she felt her life could change forever. She calls that the end of her anonymity.

Growing up, Nyong'o said she designed her own clothing. It "was cheaper than buying retail." She made her own prom dress, a velvet miniskirt with a matching top.

Through her friendship with Michelle Dockery, Nyong'o met stylist Micaela Erlanger, who helped shape Scarlett Johansson and the Olsen twins on the red carpet. For their first meeting, Nyong'o arrived with a Pinterest board of ideas.

Many told her to brace herself for what was to come, but Nyong'o didn't really understand until she was there.

"Nothing can prepare you for awards season," she said. "The red carpet feels like a war zone, except you cannot fly or fight; you just have to stand there and take it."

Nyong'o studied in Massachusetts, and she found herself in a less conservative school system than she was used to from her days in Kenya. She felt she needed rules at first, but she eventually taught herself to be motivated.

In Kenya, acting isn't prestigious. Her cousin Isis Nyong'o has been named one of Africa's most successful women by Forbes. But when Lupita returned home to Kenya, an image of herself eventually formed in her head, and she knew she had to give acting a try.

"This vivid image of myself at 60, looking back at my life and really regretting that I hadn't tried to be an actor. That was the dawn that I needed to start pursuing this," she said.

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