Lupita Nyong'o was moved hearing Penelope Cruz read Sulwe to her daughter

Lupita Nyong'o was deeply moved when she heard her co-star Penelope Cruz reading her book Sulwe to her daughter.

The 12 Years a Slave star was thrilled when the Spanish actress revealed Sulwe was on her seven-year-old daughter Luna's reading list, and both women had a very special moment during a break on the set of their film The 355.

"It was the very first time I heard my book read out loud," Lupita recalled on Good Morning America "She read it to her daughter and at some point she started crying and I started crying as well, because it was so moving to see someone else, from a very different cultural background, touched by the story.

"Her daughter, this whole thing of colourism was so new to her, so to watch Penelope explain to her daughter what this was about, I could just tell that the book had longer legs than even I had imagined."

Sulwe, which was originally published in 2019, follows the story of a young girl who wishes for her dark skin to be lighter. Last month, it was announced that Netflix bosses were making an animated musical film adaptation of the children's picture book.

The 355, which also stars Jessica Chastain, Diane Kruger, and Fan Bingbing, is due to be released in 2022.