Watch Danai Gurira surprise BFF Lupita Nyong'o on her birthday

Andrea Mandell | USA TODAY

Happy birthday, Lupita Nyong'o!

On Thursday, the star got a major surprise at the Essence Black Women in Hollywood Awards luncheon. She'd flown in the night before to present her Black Panther co-star, Danai Gurira, with an award.

But Gurira had her own surprise in store for Nyong'o's 35th birthday. "I don't know where to start," Gurira said at the podium. "But I know where to begin."

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With that, Gurira burst out into the 'Happy Birthday' song in the clip below. The entire audience joined in as a tray of cupcakes made their way to the podium.

"I had to do that, I'm sorry," Gurira said. Nyong'o "just got off a plane late last night, made it here at midnight on her own birthday. That's sisterhood right there."

The two friends previously starred in Gurira's critically acclaimed Broadway play, The Eclipsed, about enduring war as captive wives in Liberia. The play, written by Gurira, was nominated for six Tony Awards.

Now, they're taking over the world, Black Panther-style.

After a lighthearted start, Gurira gave a powerful speech on the importance of sisterhood, representation, and being seen.

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In the black community, "we are told there is a 'they' that makes all decisions and determines our lives and our destinies and life's work and we must simply wait for their validation and for our number to be called," she said, adding that such myths have been dispelled by the mammoth success of Black Panther.

"We must reach out to those who have yet to get to the other side of self-acceptance and self-love and help them see their greatness," Gurira added. "Help them know that there is something inside of them that the world needs despite how it treats them."