Awkwafina first woman of Asian descent to win Golden Globe for lead actress in a comedy

On Sunday, “The Farewell” actress became the first woman of Asian descent to win the award for lead actress in a movie comedy/musical.

“I actually just heard that fact, and it was pretty mind-blowing,” Awkwafina said backstage of the historic nature of her win. “It feels incredible, but I think there’s also this other feeling that you want there to be more. I hope this is just the beginning.”

Written and directed by Lulu Wang, “The Farewell” marked the dramatic lead debut for the actress, who was born Nora Lum. In the acclaimed film, Awkwafina plays Billi, an American woman whose family has chosen to keep the truth of a terminal diagnosis from her grandmother in China.

“I would never have expected something like this to happen, especially when we were filming,” Awkwafina told The Times after her nomination was announced last month. “We just wanted to tell the story. So to see that it’s getting recognition ... is really awesome.”

Awkwafina is the second woman of Asian descent to be nominated in the category in two years. Last year, her “Crazy Rich Asians” costar Constance Wu was nominated for lead actress in a movie comedy/musical. (Olivia Colman won that year for her performance in “The Favourite”).



https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2020-01-05/golden-globes-awkwafina-first-asian-lead-actress-comedy-musical