Awkwafina
Birthdate: Jun 2, 1988
Birthplace: New York City, New York, USA
Awkwafina (birthname: Nora Lum) is already, in her early thirties, a trailblazer for Asian and Asian American performers and actors, first establishing herself as a rap artist (a genre in which Asian female performers in the U.S. are rare) and then as a serious, acclaimed actor ranging from comedies to dramas to animation. Awkwafina’s unprecedented profile has made her a deeply influential performer for young people especially young Asian Americans aspiring for a show business career.
Awkwafina is a classically-trained musician and jazz trumpet player, Awkwafina launched her professional career as a rap artist and comic performer. Awkwafina broke into movies in small roles in Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising (2016) and Warner Bros.’s animated feature, Storks (2016).
Awkwafina had her breakthrough year in 2018, with attention-getting turns in Ocean’s Eight (2018) and the mega-hit Crazy Rich Asians (2018) opposite Constance Wu, Michelle Yeoh, and Gemma Chan.
Akwafina accomplished an unexpected turn into affecting dramatic territory within the central role in Lulu Wang’s acclaimed Chinese family saga, The Farewell (2019). Awkwafina has exploited her strong and distinctive vocal skills for a prolific number of animated projects, including The Angry Birds 2 (2019), The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run (2020), Disney’s Raya and the Last Dragon (2021):, DreamWorks Animation’s The Bad Guys (2022) Illumination’s and Universal’s Migration (2023), DreamWorks Animation’s and Universal’s Kung Fu Panda (2024), and Laika’s stop-motion Wildwood (2025), as well as multiple voice roles in the live-action/animation fantasy comedy from director/writer/producer/co-star John Krasinski, If (2024).
Awkwafina’s live-action work has been similarly busy, including the Jumanji sequel, The Next Level (2019) with Dwayne Johnson “The Rock”, Jack Black, and Kevin Hart; Disney’s box-office hit Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021); Rob Marshall’s live-action remake for Disney of The Little Mermaid (2023); the Nicolas Cage-starring Renfield (2023), and director/producer Paul Feig’s action comedy, Grand Death Lotto (date to be announced), with Awkwafina starring opposite John Cena, Simu Liu, Seann William Scott, and Dolly de Leon.
Personal Details
Awkwafina was born Nora Lum. Her mother was the South Korean painter Tia Lum (who died when she was four) and her father was Wally Lum. Raised in the New York suburb of Forest Hills, Awkwafina attended LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts, where she studied classical music and jazz. She studied Mandarin at the Beijing Language and Culture University and graduated with a BA in journalism and women’s studies from SUNY Albany. While attending SUNY, she interned at Albany’s Times Union daily newspaper and at the Gotham Gazette.
Filmography
actor
Previous (14)
- 2024 |
- 2024 | Kung Fu Panda 4asZhen
Kung Fu Panda 4
After Po is tapped to become the Spiritual Leader of the Valley of Peace, he needs to find and train a new Dragon Warrior, while a wicked sorceress plans to re-summon all the master villains whom Po has vanquished to the spirit re...
- 2023 |
- 2023 | The Little MermaidasScuttle
The Little Mermaid
A young mermaid makes a deal with a sea witch to trade her beautiful voice for human legs so she can discover the world above water and impress a prince.
- 2023 |
- 2022 | The Bad GuysasTarantula
The Bad Guys
To avoid prison, a gang of notorious animal criminals pretends to seek being rehabilitated, only for their leader to realize that he genuinely wants to change his ways.
- 2021 | Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten RingsasKaty
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
Shang-Chi, the master of weaponry-based Kung Fu, is forced to confront his past after being drawn into the Ten Rings organization.
- 2021 | Raya and the Last DragonasSisu
Raya and the Last Dragon
In a realm known as Kumandra, a re-imagined Earth inhabited by an ancient civilization, a warrior named Raya is determined to find the last dragon.
- 2021 | The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the RunasOtto
The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run
After SpongeBob's beloved pet snail Gary is snail-napped, he and Patrick embark on an epic adventure to the Lost City of Atlantic City to bring Gary home.
- 2019 | Jumanji: The Next LevelasMing
Jumanji: The Next Level
In Jumanji: The Next Level, the gang is back but the game has changed. As they return to rescue one of their own, the players will have to brave parts unknown from arid deserts to snowy mountains, to escape the world's most danger...
- 2019 | The Angry Birds Movie 2asCourtney
The Angry Birds Movie 2
The flightless birds and scheming green pigs take their feud to the next level.
- 2019 | The FarewellasBilli
The Farewell
A Chinese family discovers their grandmother has only a short while left to live and decide to keep her in the dark, scheduling a wedding to gather before she dies.
- 2018 | Crazy Rich AsiansasPeik Lin Goh
Crazy Rich Asians
This contemporary romantic comedy based on a global bestseller follows native New Yorker Rachel Chu to Singapore to meet her boyfriend's family.
- 2016 |
Some Facts About Awkwafina
First: Awkwafina is the first female actor of Asian descent to win a Golden Globe Award.
Day Jobs: Awkwafina worked as a PR assistant for the publishing house, Rodale.
Alter Ego: She adopted the stage name “Awkwafina” at age 16 as a way of embracing her self-admitted awkward, but bolder and more outgoing self.
Ethnicity: Awkwafina is of Korean and Chinese ancestry.
Young Start: Awkwafina began to rap at age 13 in 2001, and made a viral video, “My Vag,” in 2012, in response to Mickey Avalon’s “My Dick.”
Music Maven: Awkwafina studied violin at LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts.
Influences: Awkwafina has remarked that her key creative influences are Joan Didion, Anais Nin, Chet Baker, Tom Waits, and Charles Bukowski.
New Yorker Guide: Awkwafina has written a New York City guidebook titled Awkwafina’s NYC.
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