30 Fascinating Facts About Awkwafina Every Fan Must Know

Awkwafina, with some high profile movies in her portfolio, has kind of turned out to be a true Hollywood force to be reckoned with. And not to forget, the actress has just got started. In her time in the Hollywood industry, she has proved her immense range of talent and capability, blowing audiences away with impeccable performances. And it’s not just acting that Awkwafina is famous for, as she is also a rapper, author and comedian. Here are some really interesting things to know about the actress that will blow your mind:

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1.  Awkwafina is the first Asian-American actress to win a Golden Globe award for acting in a feature film, which she won for her performance as Billi from “The Farewell.”
2.  She was the recipient of the honor of Kore Asian Media's Female Breakout of the Year Award in the year 2017.
3.  She headlined The Infatuation's annual food festival, EEEEEATSCON, on May 16, 2019, where she spoke about her upbringing in Queens.
4.  She hosted the October 6, 2018, episode of “Saturday Night Live,” becoming the second East Asian-American female celebrity to host the show.
5.  In the year 2016, she was cast in the supporting role of Christine, a member of Kappa Nu in “Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising.”
6.  Awkwafina was born as Nora Lum on June 2, 1988 to Wally and Tia, in Stony Brook, New York on Long Island. She grew up in Forest Hills, Queens.
7.  Her father is a Chinese American, while her mother is a Korean American painter, who immigrated to the United States from South Korea in the year 1972.
8.  Her paternal great-grandfather was a Chinese immigrant in the 1940s, who opened the Cantonese restaurant Lum's in Flushing, Queens, one of the neighborhood's first Chinese restaurants.
9.  When she was just four years old, her mother died from pulmonary hypertension. She was then raised by her father and paternal grandmother Powah.
10.  She is extremely close with her paternal grandmother, having been raised by her. She even learned Mandarin at the Beijing Language and Culture University from 2006 to 2008, in an effort to communicate better with her, without any barriers.

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11.  She attended Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School, where she was trained in classical music and jazz and also learned to play the trumpet.
12.  She first adopted the stage name of Awkwafina, when she was just 16 years old, claiming it to be "definitely a person I repressed" as well as an alter ego to her "quiet and more passive" personality during her college years.
13.  She graduated from the University at Albany, State University of New York, majoring in journalism and women’s studies, in the year 2011.
14.  Before making it big in the entertainment industry, she worked as an intern at local New York publications Gotham Gazette and the Times Upon newspaper in Albany.
15.  Around this time, she was also working as a publicity assistant for the publishing house Rodale Books.
16.  Her song “My Vag,” which she originally wrote while studying in college, as a response to Mickey Avalon’s “My Dick (Tribute to Nate),” became popular on YouTube. Following this she was fired, as her employer recognized her in the video.
17.  She worked at a vegan bodega after being let go from the publishing house when they discovered her music videos. She was also a DJ at bars in New York.
18.  As per the script of the 2018 movie “Crazy Rich Asians,” her character of Peik Lin Goh was supposed to wear different wigs throughout the movie, but just as she tried the blonde wig, the idea of other wigs were scrapped.
19.  Awkwafina first started rapping at the age of 13, producing music with GarageBand. She eventually learned Logic Pro and Ableton.
20.  On February 11, 2014, she released her solo hip-hop album “Yellow Ranger,” consisting of 11 tracks and other singles of hers.

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21.  The 2016 documentary “Bad Rap” put her in the spotlight, along with other Asian-American rappers such as Lyricks, Dumbfoundead and Rekstizzy.
22.  Her EP “In Fina We Trust,” consisting of 7 tracks, released on June 8, 2018, won the 2019 A2IM Libera Award for Best Hip-Hop/Rap Album.
23.  She was featured in Gap's "Logo Remix" campaign featuring up-and-coming artists who "are remixing creative culture on their own terms."
24.  She appeared in six episodes of the third and fourth seasons of “Girl Code,” in the year 2014. She went on to serve as the co-host of the spin-off titled “Girl Code Live.”
25.  In the 2018 movie “Crazy Rich Asians,” most of her character Peik Lin Goh’s lines were said to be improvised by her on the spot, which the director Jon M. Chu liked and allowed in the final cut.
26.  She is a supporter of Time's Up, a movement started by Hollywood celebrities against sexual harassment. Awkwafina has often advocated the need for more female directors in the entertainment industry.
27.  In 2016, she collaborated with comedian Margaret Cho on "Green Tea", a song that pokes fun at Asian stereotypes.
28.  From 2015 to 2017, she served as the host of the talk show web series “Tawk” for the digital production company Astronauts Wanted. The show was an Official Honoree at the 2016 Webby Awards.
29.  Most of the character Sisu’s dialogues in the movie “Raya and the Last Dragon,” were adlibbed and improvised by her on spot.
30.  She was cast in the role of Katy in the upcoming Marvel Studios' “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings,” alongside actors Simu Liu and Tony Leung Chiu-wai.
31.  Awkwafina Net Worth: $8 Million