News | Entertainment
13 Sep 2025 16:36
NZCity News
NZCity CalculatorReturn to NZCity

  • Start Page
  • Personalise
  • Sport
  • Weather
  • Finance
  • Shopping
  • Jobs
  • Horoscopes
  • Lotto Results
  • Photo Gallery
  • Site Gallery
  • TVNow
  • Dating
  • SearchNZ
  • NZSearch
  • Crime.co.nz
  • RugbyLeague
  • Make Home
  • About NZCity
  • Contact NZCity
  • Your Privacy
  • Advertising
  • Login
  • Join for Free

  •   Home > News > Entertainment

    Awkwafina has no plans to drop her stage name

    The 'Crazy Rich Asians' star - whose real name is Nora Lum - revealed her moniker was created as a child, and she feels immense pride when she sees the alias "on a chair back or on a call sheet"


    Asked if she could ditch Awkwafina for her own name, she told the New York Times: "I don't see it right now. That's not to say that it's not a possibility.

    "I created Awkwafina when I was a kid. What she represents to me is more than a persona -- in the very beginning, I did see her as the confident one, the side that comes out that gives Nora the panic attacks.

    "But as I've grown older I've come to really be grateful for that name and what I've seen it written on. To see her name on a chair back or on a call sheet, that means a lot to me. I don't think that I could shed her right now."

    The 31-year-old star is set to release her own sitcom 'Awkwafina Is Nora From Queens' on Netflix, and she opened up about her "memories" of growing up in the New York City borough.

    She added: "My memories of Queens are scattered. There's this family history that I kind of know only from stories, about when my dad was growing up in Whitestone and my great-grandpa owned a Chinese restaurant on Northern Boulevard.

    "My dad still lives in the same building I grew up in. My old neighbours find my dad and they're like, 'I can't believe she's that same little girl.'

    "He definitely hams it up with everyone. He's having a fun time with it."

    Meanwhile, the 'Farewell' actress previously admitted she sometimes calls herself Michelle Pfeiffer to confuse people in Starbucks when they're writing her name on a cup.

    She said: "When I was 15 or 16, I thought the name 'Awkwafina' was great, hilarious. I never thought anyone would ever call me that. Cut to now, where everyone calls me that. So that's good.

    "[In Starbucks] I like putting 'Michelle Pfeiffer'. All 'F's in the 'Pfeiffer,' throws them off a little bit."

    © 2025 Bang Showbiz, NZCity

     Other Entertainment News
     12 Sep: The Long Walk proves yet again why Stephen King’s stories are perfect for the big screen
     12 Sep: Stuart Craig, the acclaimed production designer behind the Harry Potter films, has died aged 83
     12 Sep: Harry Styles and Zoë Kravitz have been seen introducing each other to their separate groups of friends - after the singer met her father
     12 Sep: Prince Harry has arrived at Clarence House for his first meeting with King Charles in more than 19 months
     12 Sep: Jon Cryer doesn't want to be part of Charlie Sheen's "cycle"
     12 Sep: Kit Harington and Keira Knightley have been cast in the new Harry Potter audiobook series
     12 Sep: Mandy Moore felt "super helpless" after her sons were diagnosed with RSV
     Top Stories

    RUGBY RUGBY
    Wallaroos primed for Rugby World Cup quarterfinal against Canada More...


    BUSINESS BUSINESS
    The Powerball's reached ten million dollars in a must be won prize tonight, as Lotto prepares for a technology upgrade More...



     Today's News

    Motorsports:
    Ryan Wood and co-driver Jayden Ojeda have topped the timesheets in final practice at the Bend in South Australia, ahead of qualifying for the first round of the Enduro Cup 16:16

    Rugby:
    Wallaroos primed for Rugby World Cup quarterfinal against Canada 16:06

    Rugby:
    Black Ferns centre Stacey Waaka has declared the team's pride in their defence, ahead of their World Cup quarter-final clash with South Africa overnight 15:46

    Environment:
    A magnitude 7.5 earthquake has hit eastern Russia - very close to where July's 8.8 mega-quake hit 15:36

    Law and Order:
    A man's facing multiple charges after Police found a sawn-off shotgun and cocaine in his car in Queenstown 14:56

    Politics:
    Nepal's gen Z protesters are continuing the fight for their future even after picking a new prime minister 14:16

    Rugby:
    The Bay of Plenty Volcanix have won their local derby in the women's Farah Palmer Cup, thrashing the visiting Hawke's Bay Tui 62-17 14:06

    Business:
    The Powerball's reached ten million dollars in a must be won prize tonight, as Lotto prepares for a technology upgrade 13:46

    Rugby League:
    New Zealand Warriors coach Andrew Webster declares they won't be altering their identity in tonight's NRL playoff clash with the Penrith Panthers 13:36

    Law and Order:
    Tyler Robinson, 22, in custody after manhunt for conservative activist Charlie Kirk's killer 13:36


     News Search






    Power Search


    © 2025 New Zealand City Ltd