Awkafina

Birth Name: Nora Lum

Nickname/Stage Name: Awkafina

Birth Date: June 2, 1988

Genres: Comedy

Occupation(s): Actress, Comedian, Internet Personality, Rapper, Author, TV Host

Years Active: 2005 till Present

 

Personal Life

Awkafina was born on Long Island. Her father is Chinese American while her mother is Korean American. She grew up in Forest Hills, Queens.

The actress rarely opens up on her personal life, so it remains unclear whether or not she is in a relationship. In 2018, she told The Guardian that she was with a long-term boyfriend, stating: "I'm extremely happy. I'm in love."

Education

She attended Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School and majored in Journalism and Women's Studies at the University at Albany, State University of New York.

Career

Awkafina was paid to feature in the third season of Girl Code in 2014, and she appeared in six episodes of the third and fourth seasons.

In 2016, she played the role of Christine in Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising and voiced Quail in the animated film Storks (2016). She hosted the October 6, 2018 episode of Saturday Night Live, becoming the second East Asian celeb to do so.

She was cast in the MCU film Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings in July 2019. The movie will be released on September 3, 2021.

Awards

Kore Asia Media Award (2017)

Golden Globe Award (2019)

Santa Barbara International Film Festival Virtuoso Award (2019)

Quotes

"Pretending to be a rich person is probably the hardest acting I've ever had to do. 'Crazy Rich Asians' teaches audiences that the world doesn't end in Beverly Hills. It's even more extravagant out there. When you're in Singapore, you feel this air of opulence everywhere. I really wish I was as rich as my character."

"I'm okay with having an Asian aspect if it's done in a genuine way. I'm not okay with someone writing the Asian experience for an Asian character. Like, that's annoying and I make it very clear. I don't ever go out for auditions where I feel like I'm making a minstrel out of our people."

Trivia

Her mother died when she was 4 and she was raised by her father and her grandmother, who moved to Queens to help bring her up.

Her stage name 'Awkafina' is a play on the word 'Awkward', which she feels best describes her.

Is the first Asian-American actress to win a Golden Globe award for her acting performance in a feature film.

She attended the same high school with fellow Hollywood star Timothee Chalamet and rapper Nicki Minaj.

Movies

Bad Rap (2016)

Ocean's 8 (2018)

Crazy Rich Asians (2018)

The Angry Birds Movie 2 (2019)

Jumanji: The Next Level (2019)

Raya and the Last Dragon (2021)