These Fun Facts About Awkwafina Will Make You Love Her That Much More

While Awkwafina has to be one of the coolest names – ever, her birth name is actually Nora Lum. In a previous interview with Into the Gloss, the Ocean's 8 star revealed that she developed the alter ego, Awkwafina, to help her overcome her shyness.

Before skyrocketing to fame, Awkwafina interned at the Times Union and Gotham Gazette. She was also a publicity assistant at the publishing house, Rodale. Her first film role was Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising. Since then, she has gone on to star in mega-blockbuster films, including but not limited to; Crazy Rich Asians, Ocean's 8, and the animated family favorite, Storks. Fun fact about her role in Ocean's 8: she got the part without even auditioning. The film's director, Gary Ross, saw her in the 2016 indie film Dude and offered her the role over FaceTime.

In January 2020, Awkwafina made history at the Golden Globes. The star, who is of Chinese and Korean descent, became the first Asian actress to ever win a Golden Globe in the comedy/musical category for her role in The Farewell.

Aside from being an award-winning actress, Awkwafina is also a writer (her travel book Awkwafina's NYC– is a must-read), rapper, and comedian. To make that even more impressive, before she started her career as a rapper at just 13 years of age, she played the trumpet and trained in both classical and jazz music.

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