Awkwafina

Actor, Producer, Writer

Birthdate: June 2, 1988 (37 Years Old)

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.r 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 Life
Movies
Facts

Personal life

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.

Known For

Marvel Zombies

Katy Chen (2025)

The Bad Guys 2

Ms. Tarantula (2025)

Kung Fu Panda 4

(2024)

The Bad Guys

Tarantula (2022)

Raya and the Last Dragon

Sisu (2021)

Awards

Nominee, Emmy Awards, Best Short Form Comedy, Drama or Variety Series (2023); Winner, Best Actress—Comedy or Musical, Golden Globes Award (2020); Winner, Best Actress, Gotham Independent Film Award (2019); Nominee, Best Character Voice-Over Performance-Motion Picture, NAACP Image Awards (2022); Two-time Nominee, Best Comedic Performance/Breakthrough Performance, MTV Movie + TV Awards (2019); Winner, Best Ensemble, National Board of Review Awards (2018); Winner, Virtuoso Award, Santa Barbara Film Festival Awards (2020); Nominee, Outstanding Cast Performance in a Motion Picture, Screen Actors Guild Awards (2019).

Actor

Actor

Screen Actors Guild Awards

Critics Choice Award

Critics Choice Award

Critics Choice Awards

Golden Globe

Golden Globe

Golden Globes, USA

Awkwafina Movies

Actor

Collapse

Previous (20)

2025 |
Marvel Zombies
Marvel Zombies
2025
Adventure, Action, Drama, Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Animation, Horror
After the Avengers are overtaken by a zombie plague, a group of survivors discover the key to bringing an end to the super-powered undead, racing across a dystopian landscape and risking their lives to save their world.
asKaty Chen
2024 |
Kung Fu Panda 4
Kung Fu Panda 4
2024
Action, Adventure, Animation, Comedy, Family, Fantasy
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 realm.
More Info
2024 |
Swan Song
Swan Song
2024
Documentary
A behind-the-scenes look at one of the world's leading ballet companies' production of Swan Lake. Executive Produced by Neve Campbell.
2023 |
Renfield
Renfield
2023
Action, Comedy, Fantasy, Horror
Renfield, Dracula's tortured henchman, is forced to capture prey for his master and do his every bidding. But now, after centuries of servitude, Renfield is ready to see if there is a life outside his boss's shadow.
More Info
asRebecca
2023 |
The Little Mermaid
The Little Mermaid
2023
Adventure, Family, Fantasy, Musical, Romance
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.
More Info
asScuttle
2023 |
Migration
Migration
2023
Adventure, Animation, Comedy, Family
A family of ducks try to convince their overprotective father to go on the vacation of a lifetime.
More Info
2022 |
The Bad Guys
The Bad Guys
2022
Adventure, Animation, Comedy, Crime, Family
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.
asTarantula
2021 |
Raya and the Last Dragon
Raya and the Last Dragon
2021
Action, Adventure, Animation, Comedy, Drama, Family, Fantasy
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.
More Info
asSisu
2021 |
Breaking News in Yuba County
Breaking News in Yuba County
2021
Comedy, Crime, Drama, Thriller
A woman takes advantage of her growing celebrity status when the police and the public think her dead husband is just missing.
2021 |
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
2021
Action, Adventure, Fantasy, Sci-Fi
Shang-Chi, the master of weaponry-based Kung Fu, is forced to confront his past after being drawn into the Ten Rings organization.
More Info
asKaty
2019 |
The Angry Birds Movie 2
The Angry Birds Movie 2
2019
Action, Adventure, Animation, Comedy, Family
The flightless birds and scheming green pigs take their feud to the next level.
More Info
asCourtney
2019 |
Jumanji: The Next Level
Jumanji: The Next Level
2019
Action, Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy
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 dangerous game.
More Info
asMing
2019 |
The Farewell
The Farewell
2019
Comedy, Drama
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.
More Info
asBilli
2018 |
Crazy Rich Asians
Crazy Rich Asians
2018
Comedy, Drama, Romance
This contemporary romantic comedy based on a global bestseller follows native New Yorker Rachel Chu to Singapore to meet her boyfriend's family.
More Info
asPeik Lin Goh
2016 |
Storks
Storks
2016
Adventure, Animation, Comedy, Family, Fantasy
Storks have moved on from delivering babies to packages. But when an order for a baby appears, the best delivery stork must scramble to fix the error by delivering the baby.
More Info
asQuail
2016 |
Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising
Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising
2016
Comedy
When their new next-door neighbors turn out to be a sorority even more debaucherous than the fraternity that lived there before, Mac and Kelly team with their former enemy, Teddy, to bring the girls down.
More Info
asChristine
-- |
as Ms. Tarantula
-- |
as Otto
-- |
as Katy
-- |
as Katy

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.

People Also Searched For