Awkwafina still receives emails from job portals her father once signed her up to.
The actress, real name Nora Lum, has become a household name this year (18) thanks to her breakthrough roles in Ocean’s 8 and Crazy Rich Asians. Prior to this, she received notable attention for uploading a song called My Vag, a response to Mickey Avalon's My D**k, which has now accumulated over three million views on YouTube.
And though her family was aware of the video, her father still had other ideas for her future.
“I mean... no one in my family was surprised at the content of it, because they know me. My dad still wanted me to become, like, an air-traffic controller. He signed me up for so many government job portals, I still get those emails, to this day,” she laughed in an interview with Stylist magazine. “Everyone goes through a time where they have some confrontation with their parents, and Awkwafina is a hard thing to sell a parent on. But I know all he wanted was for me to be OK.”
The 29-year-old believes her dad's way of showing he’s proud and happy with her career choice, is by passing her the cheque when they go out to dinner.
Earlier this year, the rapper also released her second hip-hop EP titled In Fina We Trust, and is also starring in upcoming sci-fi movie Paradise Hills with Emma Roberts and Jeremy Irvine. As the opportunities continue to arise, Awkwafina believes she owes everything to her alter-ego.
“Awkwafina is like a version of me without all the neuroses that come with adult life,” she explained. “I need Awkwafina to go on stage, otherwise Nora would be hyperventilating in the corner. We’re inextricably linked.”
