Nora Lum (

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...

: 林家珍;

pinyin Hanyu Pinyin (), often shortened to just pinyin, is the official romanization system for Standard Mandarin Chinese in China, and to some extent, in Singapore and Malaysia. It is often used to teach Mandarin, normally written in Chinese for ...

: ''Lín Jiāzhēn''), known professionally as

Awkwafina Nora Lum (born June 2, 1988), known professionally as Awkwafina, is an American actress, rapper, and comedian who rose to prominence in 2012 when her rap song "My Vag" became popular on YouTube. She then released her debut album, ''Yellow Ran ...

, is an American actress, comedian, writer, producer, and rapper. In 2014, Awkwafina debuted as an actress from the third season of ''

Girl Code ''Girl Code'' is an American comedy television series on MTV that debuted on April 23, 2013 that currently airs through Snapchat Discover. It is a spin-off series to ''Guy Code''. The series features actresses, musicians, stand-up comics—plu ...

.'' Before rising to prominence, she played supporting roles in the comedy films ''Neighbours 2: Sorority Rising'' (2016), ''

Ocean's 8 ''Ocean's Eight'' (stylized onscreen as ''Ocean's 8'') is a 2018 American heist action thriller comedy film directed by Gary Ross and written by Ross and Olivia Milch. The film is both a continuation of and a spin-off from Steven Soderbergh's ...

'' (2018), and '' Jumanji: The Next Level'' (2019). In 2018, Awkwafina starred in

Jon M. Chu Jonathan Murray Chu (born November 2, 1979) is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. He is best known as the director of 2018's ''Crazy Rich Asians'', the first film by a major Hollywood studio to feature a majority cast of Asi ...

romantic-comedy Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a subgenre of comedy and slice of life fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount most obstacles. In a typica ...

''Crazy Rich Asians''. Her performance in the film was widely praised by the critics and audiences. Awkwafina, went on to win the

Satellite Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture The Satellite Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture is one of the annual awards given by the International Press Academy. The category has gone through several changes since its inception. * From 1996 to 2010, two categories based on genre wer ...

, and she was nominated for the

Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture The Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast (or Ensemble) in a Motion Picture is an award given by the Screen Actors Guild to honor the finest acting achievements in film. Winners and nominees : 1990s 2000s 2010s 2 ...

MTV Movie Award for Best Comedic Performance This is a following list of the MTV Movie Award The MTV Movie & TV Awards (formerly the MTV Movie Awards) is a film and television awards show presented annually on MTV. The first MTV Movie Awards were presented in 1992. The ceremony was renam ...

, and

MTV Movie Award for Best Breakthrough Performance This is a following list of the MTV Movie Award The MTV Movie & TV Awards (formerly the MTV Movie Awards) is a film and television awards show presented annually on MTV. The first MTV Movie Awards were presented in 1992. The ceremony was rena ...

. In 2019, Awkwafina appeared in Lulu Wang's

comedy-drama Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple comic relief seen in a typical ...

''The Farewell''. A film about a

Chinese-American Chinese Americans are Americans of Han Chinese ancestry. Chinese Americans constitute a subgroup of East Asian Americans which also constitute a subgroup of Asian Americans. Many Chinese Americans along with their ancestors trace lineage from m ...

family who discover that their grandmother has only a short while left to live, they decide to not to tell her and schedule a family gathering before she dies. Her performance in the film was widely praised by the critics and she went on to win numerous accolades. Awkwafina won the

Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Comedy or Musical The Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Comedy or Musical is a Golden Globe Award that was first awarded by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association as a separate category in 1951. Previously, there was a single award for ...

, Virtuoso Award from the

Santa Barbara International Film Festival The Santa Barbara International Film Festival (SBIFF) is an eleven-day film festival held in Santa Barbara, California since 1986. The festival boasts screenings of over 200 feature films and shorts from different countries and regions. SBIFF al ...

, and the

Gotham Independent Film Award for Best Actress The Gotham Independent Film Award for Best Actress was one of the annual Gotham Independent Film Awards awarded between 2013 and 2020. In 2021, it was replaced by the gender neutral awards for Outstanding Lead Performance and Outstanding Supporti ...

. She became the first woman of Asian descent to capture a

Golden Globe The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of t ...

in a lead actress film category after winning Best Actress – Motion Picture Comedy or Musical. In 2020, Awkwafina was nominated for the

BAFTA Rising Star Award The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) Rising Star Award, currently styled as the EE Rising Star Award for commercial reasons and previously known as the Orange Rising Star Award, is an award that acknowledges new talents in the ...

Awards and nominations

References

Footnotes

Citations

External links