Letitia Wright fronts first beauty campaign: ‘I didn’t see black girls like me doing that’

The Black Panther star is the new face of bareMinerals

Olivia Petter
Friday 01 February 2019 10:29 GMT
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Black Panther star Letitia Wright features on Forbes’ 30 Under 30 Europe list (G
Black Panther star Letitia Wright features on Forbes’ 30 Under 30 Europe list (G

Letitia Wright “never thought” she’d be the face of a beauty brand, the actor has revealed in a new interview as it’s announced she’s fronting the latest bareMinerals campaign.

“I never thought that anyone would ask me to be in a beauty campaign,” the 25-year-old told Glamour magazine.

“I didn’t see myself and black girls like me doing that.”

The Black Panther star went on to express gratitude to Naomi Campbell and Tyra Banks, whose magazine appearances inspired her as a young woman.

But, she continues, their appearances were “far and few” and she remembers rarely seeing black actresses front high profile covers and campaigns.

“If I did see more of myself in magazines and beauty campaigns, in a natural way, growing up then I wouldn’t have felt that pressure of what society was telling me what beauty looks like,” she added.

“I am very grateful that I snapped out of that quickly and had my own belief in what beauty meant – that’s what validated me. I just did my own thing and fell in love with the way I look and how God made me.”

Wright said she hopes that her campaign for bareMinerals, the US cosmetics company renowned for its extensive shade range, will inspire and empower young women.

But it’s quite likely that the 25-year-old was already doing that before; earlier this month, Wright was named the highest box-office earning actor of 2018.

This was due to her roles in Black Panther, Avengers: Infinity War, The Commuter and Ready Player One.

Responding to the news on Twitter, she wrote: "Dope, dope. Just deposit that into my bank account."

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