Lupita Nyong'o Says Beyoncé Name-Checking Her in a Lyric 'Was an Incredible Career High' (Exclusive)
"I couldn't believe that she made me a part of her history," says the actress
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Lupita Nyong'o; BeyoncéLupita Nyong'o is still soaring about being name-checked in a Beyoncé song.
The Oscar-winning A Quiet Place: Day One actress, who got a shout-out in the superstar's 2019 song "Brown Skin Girl," tells PEOPLE it remains a career highlight. At one point in the tune, Beyoncé sings, "Pretty like Lupita when the cameras close in."
"Believe me, it was an incredible career high," says Nyong'o, 41. "I was so excited about it, and I just felt so humble. I couldn't believe that she made me a part of her history. And being at her concert, she is quite the performer and she's also lovely."
"I've been very fortunate to meet these titans and for them to be just lovely," she adds.
One of the other music titans Nyong'o has gotten to know is Taylor Swift. The star attended Swift's Eras tour in August for its stop in Los Angeles, though she was forced to remain silent since she was on vocal rest at the time after suffering a vocal polyp while working on the animated film The Wild Robot.
"It was so much fun," she recalls, adding, "but it was particularly difficult to not be able to sing along or hum along. It was the craziest meditation exercise ever because all I could do was just have the concert wash over me. I wasn't able to even just hum in my throat."
"It was a struggle, but I had a lot of fun and I loved all the friendship bracelet sharing and stuff like that," says Nyong'o. "The song that means the most to me is 'Shake It Off.' When she played that I just jumped up and down. It was great."
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Joseph Quinn and Lupita Nyong'o in "A Quiet Place: Day One"Though Nyong'o isn't often one to lose her cool when meeting other stars, she has been on the other side of star-struck encounters.
"I've gotten way better at dealing with it. Before it used to scare me, confuse me," she says. "It's just like, my brain would scramble because I wasn't used to it at all. But now I accept it and I hope to diffuse it and get back to being human beings as quickly as possible."
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Nyong'o, though, does still get nervous with "every single project I take on," including the latest blockbuster Quiet Place installment.
"I think it's just natural, because every time I take on a new role, I'm starting again. I'm a beginner," she explains. "I don't know what I'm doing, quite literally. The process of preparing is hoping that I'm doing the right work."
"Acting ... there's no formula to it. You can't be sure you've done the right homework," adds Nyong'o. "So it's always unnerving and you just have to get comfortable with that discomfort."
A Quiet Place: Day One is in theaters now.
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