<p>Riding high from the success of <em>Black Panther,</em> the Oscar winner tackles a terrifying role in the new horror thriller <em>Us</em></p>

- Kara Warner

Lupita Nyong ’o has been racking up accolades for her acting ever since her Oscar-winning breakout performance in 2013’s 12 Years a Slave, but there’s really just one person whose praise she craves: her mother, Dorothy. And it was a challenge just persuading her mom—who scary movies - to venture into the theater to see her new horror film Us. “She shut her eyes the whole time and blocked her ears,” Nyong’o, 36, says with a laugh. “I can assure you that’s not her favorite film of mine. And that warms my heart, because I know she’s my No. 1 fan, whether she can handle it or not. I’m so happy she was there.”

Nyong’o has long credited her family’s support for her success. She was born in Mexico City, then returned with her parents to their native Kenya (where her father, Peter, is a politician) when she was a toddler. They encouraged her to harness her creative energy from a young age. “I love to allow the child in me to run free,” she says—a boon for her adventurous roles, from quirky alien pirate Maz Kanata in the latest Star Wars trilogy to Wakandan spy Nakia in Black Panther. (She even once sneaked into Comic-Con incognito dressed as a pink Power Ranger.)

Getting into prestigious Yale School of Drama in 2009 was a defining moment for her. “That was the sign,” she says. “I knew I was meant to be doing what I’m doing, because it was a great leap of faith to come all the way from Kenya to the U.S.A. and try to m