Shockingly but not surprisingly, Saturday Night Live hasn’t had an Asian woman host since Lucy Liu in 2000. That’s 18 years that an Asian woman has not hosted the famous late night show. Only two other people of Asian descent — Jackie Chan and Anziz Ansari — have hosted the show ever. But, that streak is finally coming to an end because Awkwafina is set to host the Oct. 6 show.
SNL officially announced the news on Sept. 27 via Twitter, sharing a photo of a cork board with the lineup for the first three episodes of its 44th season.
Awkwafina has had quite the busy year with appearing in the star-studded “Ocean’s 8” and the game-changing, wildly successful rom-com “Crazy Rich Asians.” “Crazy Rich Asians” was the first film with an Asian-majority cast since “The Joy Luck Club,” 25 years ago.
For those who don’t know, Awkwafina, whose real name is Nora Lum, is an American rapper, actress and television personality. Lum was born in New York City to a Chinese American father and a South Korean immigrant mother. At age 16, she adopted the stage name Awkwafina, which she described as an alter ego to her “quiet and more passive” personality during her college years.
Awkwafina began rapping at 13 years old and in 2012, she gained popularity for her song “My Vag,” which was a response to Mickey Avalon’s “My Dick.” The music video was so successful that it garnered over three million views on YouTube. Her solo album, “Yellow Ranger,” was released on Feb. 11, 2014 and includes a number of previous singles she released via YouTube like “Queef” and “NYC Bitche$.”
Awkwafina entered the world of acting in 2016 when she played a supporting role in “Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising” and starred in the indie comedy “Dude.” She also played a role in the animated comedy “Storks.”
By: Maytinee Kramer
