Lupita Nyong'o's Best Hairstyles

Lupita Nyong’o’s Elevated Topknot in 2020

Image Source: Getty / Axelle/Bauer-Griffin

The actress served looks at the 25th annual Critics' Choice Awards with her elevated (and accessorized) topknot that added both height and a boss-lady aura to her overall look.

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Lupita Nyong’o’s Blunt Bangs in 2019

Image Source: Getty / Steve Granitz

Blunt bangs have never looked as good as they do on Nyong'o at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' 11th Annual Governors Awards.

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Lupita Nyong’o’s Side Puff in 2019

Image Source: Getty / NBC

Nyong'o arrived at her interview on Sunday Today With Willie Geist donning a voluminous side puff that gave us major '70s vibes.

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Lupita Nyong’o’s Low Ballerina Bun in 2019

Image Source: Getty / Jerod Harris

A sophisticated take on what we know as a playful ballerina bun, Nyong'o's avant-garde hair look for the 2019 British Academy Britannia Awards was simple yet polished.

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Lupita Nyong’o’s Ode to Color in 2019

Image Source: Getty / Raymond Hall

Maybe it's a combination of the neon-yellow blazer with the multicolor headband, but we're digging Nyong'o's cool-girl look as she stepped out in Midtown.

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Lupita Nyong’o’s Afro With Picks in 2019

Image Source: Getty / Rabbani and Solimene Photography

The actress arrived at the 2019 Met Gala to make a statement: a towering 'do featuring five perfectly positioned golden picks paid homage to Black culture as well as the actress's natural hair texture.

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Lupita Nyong’o’s Waterfall Side Braid in 2019

Image Source: Getty / Alexander Tamargo

To promote Us, Nyong'o visited Un Nuevo Dia with waterfall side braids ready to steal the spotlight.

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Lupita Nyong’o’s Exposed Alligator Pins in 2019

Image Source: Getty / Gary Miller

If there's anyone who could pull off exposed alligator pins and make it look chic, it's Nyongo'o at the 2019 SXSW premiere of Us.

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Lupita Nyong’o’s Natural Bob in 2019

Image Source: Getty / Mike Marsland

It's official. We're swooning over Nyong'o's entire look at the Us screening, from the bright-red contacts and vampy lips to the posh bob.

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Lupita Nyong’o’s Front Top Knot in 2018

Image Source: Getty / Bennett Raglin

Whoever said topknots were reserved for the top of your head was clearly mistaken — Nyong'o's front puff stuns at the Wall Street Journal Magazine Innovator Awards.

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Lupita Nyong’o’s Golden Braids in 2018

Image Source: Getty / Taylor Hill

This list wouldn't be complete without this iconic look: perfectly executed braids with gold strands woven throughout.

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Lupita Nyong’o’s Braid-Wrapped Pony in 2018

Image Source: Getty / Taylor Hill

The feathered choker and metallic lips were the perfect complement to Nyong'o's feminine braid-wrapped short ponytail.

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Lupita Nyong’o’s Looped-Up 'Do in 2018

Image Source: Getty / Jamie McCarthy

At the Black Panther New York Fashion Week Showcase, Nyong'o donned a head-turning updo consisting of braided loops.

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Lupita Nyong’o’s Split-Tied High Pony in 2018

Image Source: Getty / Samir Hussein

Every side is Nyong'o's good side as she sports a split high-top ponytail that falls to either side of her head.

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Lupita Nyong’o’s Modernized Mohawk in 2018

Image Source: Getty / RB/Bauer-Griffin

The star stopped for some autographs at Jimmy Kimmel Live with a biker-chic mohawk and black shades to match.

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Lupita Nyong’o’s Sky-High Topknot in 2018

Image Source: Getty / Jon Kopaloff

A more subtle version of her ultra-sky-high 2016 Met Gala topknot, Nyong'o managed to still look stunning even when she took it down a notch for the Los Angeles premiere of Black Panther.

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Lupita Nyong’o’s Refined Low Bun in 2017

Image Source: Getty / Gilbert Carrasquillo

The actress kept things low and in charge as she arrived at the Calvin Klein Collection fashion show during New York Fashion Week

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Lupita Nyong’o’s Effortless Topknot in 2017

Image Source: Getty / Joe Maher

On the flip side, she donned a relaxed yet playful topknot here that had us wishing we could wake up like that.

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Lupita Nyong’o’s Netted Pompadour in 2015

Image Source: Getty / Karwai Tang

As she accessorized with a netted pompadour and futuristic earrings, Nyong'o proves yet again that she's a force to be reckoned with at the European Premiere of Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

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Lupita Nyong’o’s Triple-Braided Headband in 2015

Image Source: Getty / Dimitrios Kambouris

Who needs one headband when you can have three, made all out of your own hair? Nyong'o made us do a double take with her pulled-back hairstyle at the 2015 Glamour Women of the Year Awards.

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