Think You Know Awkwafina? Details About Her Real Name, Parents, and Rapper Past May Surprise You

Despite starring in 'Ocean's 8' and 'The Farewell,' you most probably don't know details about Awkwafina's real name, who her folks are, or her starting place story.

Whether you know her from her debatable rap past (we advise you watch her 2012 "My Vag" music video), as the spunky Peik Lin Goh in 2018's smash hit Crazy Rich Asians, or for her history-making 2020 Golden Globe win for Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy, it is for sure that Awkwafina's profession has been at the up for the final several years.

Not simplest did the actress also appear in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, aka the MCU's first Asian-led superhero movie, however the second one season of her hit sitcom, Awkwafina Is Nora from Queens, just lately premiered on Comedy Central. She's killing it.

And even though Awkwafina Is Nora from Queens is loosely based on Awkwafina's real upbringing, it slightly scratches the skin of her little-known past. Though the hilarious characters constitute real other people in her lifestyles, the details surrounding Awkwafina's parents, early formative years memories, and overall origin tale are cloudy. We doubt you even know Awkwafina's real name.

What is Awkwafina's real name?

It's commonplace knowledge that the comedic rapper-turned-actress's level identify is a play on bottled water brand Aquafina, but her birth name is every other tale. As her sitcom suggests, her name is Nora Lum. The La Guardia alum did not think her foolish degree name would take off when she and a friend thought it up at age 15, but right here we're.

But before she used to be formally hailed Awkwafina, Nora Lum grew up in Forest Hills, a residential group in Queens, N.Y. Though the now-33-year-old grew up with her father by means of her aspect, she was soon left with no mother.

Awkwafina had a complex and emotional upbringing with her folks and paternal grandmother.

Sadly, Awkwafina misplaced her Korean mother, Tia, at simply Four years outdated to pulmonary hypertension. “My earliest memories of my mom are from when she was once already in poor health,” Awkwafina wrote for People.

“I have in mind her so much thru her meals. She used to feed me a large number of Korean meals, and I consider her truly worrying about that, worrying about what I dropped at lunch in my lunch box.” Awkwafina's connection to her past due mom thru meals is still vibrant as of late. “She used to feed me tteok, rice cakes. Years later once I’d consume them, I’d cry as a result of I’d bear in mind her," she continued.

Awkwafina's Chinese father, Wally, raised her as a single dad alongside his own mother, Powah, who packed up and moved to Queens to help raise her granddaughter. Growing up, Powah acted as Awkwafina's maternal figure, exuding the same spunkiness and eccentricity as her grandbaby.

“I remember seeing my grandma as someone who was saving me," she gushed. "She’s snarky; she enjoys a good joke. Nothing was ever too dirty for her." So that's where she will get it from!

Awkwafina seems to recognize her Grandma Powah for a slew of causes, including her willingness to damage down old-fashioned, destructive stereotypes. "Whenever people talked about Asian women being these docile, subservient creatures, my grandma just blew all that out of the water.” Go Powah!

And though Awkwafina's relationship with her paternal grandmother made her feel whole, growing up without a mother greatly affected her. More specifically, she wrote that it made her feel like "this fixture of sorrow."

Being swallowed by some orb of sadness just wasn't Awkwafina's style, as she never allowed people to feel sorry for her. Rather, she'd do anything to make the people in her life laugh. “I think all the time, what would I have been doing if my mom hadn’t passed? I don’t think I’d be here, because I think that I had to face a certain level of trauma to be so joyously self-deprecating and so free," she wrote.

As for her relationship with her dad, well, they seem to be shut. Awkwafina even devoted her 2020 Golden Globe, which she gained for her robust performance in The Farewell, to her old man.

"I'd like to dedicate this to my dad, Wally. I told you I'd get a job, Dad," she hilariously said in her acceptance speech. Did we point out she was fired from her 9-to-5 exposure assistant gig after her "My Vag" music video went viral? Oops.

We're certain Papa Wally and Grandma Powah can't wait to peer what their a success Nora does next.

Awkwafina Is Nora From Queens airs Wednesdays at 10 p.m. EST on Comedy Central.

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