How Lupita Nyong’o Has Already Won Awards Season

"12 Years a Slave" star Lupita Nyong'o is favored to take home the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress on Sunday – with only "American Hustle" star Jennifer Lawrence still standing as a possible contender. But whether she gets the big prize or not, the breakout beauty already has this awards season shebang in the bag.

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From her oh-so-exciting red carpet style choices to the flawless way she's handled the massive attention her first movie role has brought, Nyong'o has been nothing short of a winner from the get-go.

Let's review some of her best moves (so far), shall we?

First and foremost — and this pretty much goes without saying by now — Nyong'o definitely brought her A-game to Steve McQueen's powerful film, with her portrayal of poor Patsey, the most favored and yet most brutalized slave on a plantation ruled by a sadistic master (Michael Fassbender).

Even more impressive, however, is how very composed Nyong'o has been throughout all of the hubbub that comes with chasing an Academy Award.

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Her speeches have been just the right blend; sounding prepared yet still off-the-cuff, deferential; forgoing cloying false modesty — and not to mention, adorable as can be.

When collecting her Screen Actors Guild award, she shared a delightful little anecdote about the moment she first got her part in the film, saying "Daddy, do you know who Brad Pitt is? I'm going to be in a movie with him! He said, 'I don't know him personally, but I'm glad you got a job.'"

Then there was the time Nyong'o paid clever tribute to her co-nominee Julia Roberts from the podium at the Critics' Choice Awards, quipping, "Julia, thank you so much for making my brother the coolest guy in school by taking a picture with him."

Clearly the girl knows how to earn some sincere smiles from her audience; but the fun doesn't stop there. The 30-year-old actress also knows how to turn heads.

Since bursting into the zeitgeist, Nyong'o has very quickly established herself as a fashion icon for this season, unafraid of wearing vibrant colors and bold designs and opting for unique hair styles with each appearance.

Come Sunday evening, it's a guarantee that she will be one of the top arrivals people watch for on the red carpet. It's hard to imagine she won't nail it from head to toe.

[Related: Lupita Nyong'o Slideshow]

Even when the attention coming her way has been of the less desirable sort, Nyongo has been all class.

Consider the rumor that she and Best Supporting Actor frontrunner Jared Leto were in some sort of budding relationship. Instead of getting all worked up over her personal life becoming the stuff of tabloid fiction, she went and had a little fun with it on "Ellen" last week, joking along, "Ah, but I thought Miley Cyrus broke us up. That was the last thing I heard."

That's some impressive maneuvering for someone who literally just started her career in the movie biz.

At this point, with all things considered, she's being most closely compared to Jennifer Lawrence, who also gracefully catapulted into the spotlight a few short years ago when one of her first major movie roles (in Debra Granik's "Winter's Bone") similarly thrust her squarely into the Academy limelight.

Like Lawrence, Nyong'o has been an intelligent, mature gem about it all, and seems to keenly realize what the buzz could mean for her career going forward, if she plays her cards right.

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"I'm curious, I'm excited, I'm ready," she told ABC News about what comes next for her after the season ends.

So are we, Lupita Nyong'o. So are we.

Tune in to Yahoo's live Oscars pre-show this Sunday at 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT, and then watch the big show on ABC.