Quvenzhané Wallis

Quvenzhané Wallis (/kwəˈvændʒəneɪ/ kwə-VAN-jə-nay;[1] born August 28, 2003)[2][3] is an American actress and author. In 2012, she starred as Hushpuppy in the drama film Beasts of the Southern Wild (2012), for which she was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress, becoming the youngest actress ever to be nominated, as well as the first (and, to date, only) person born in the 21st century nominated for an acting Oscar.[4][5] She also starred as Annie Bennett in the 2014 adaptation of Annie, for which she received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Comedy or Musical.[6]

Quvenzhané Wallis
Born (2003-08-28) August 28, 2003
Houma, Louisiana, U.S.
Occupation
  • Actress
  • author
Years active2011–present

In 2017, Wallis published two books, Shai & Emmie Star in Break an Egg! and A Night Out with Mama. She has since published two more books: Shai & Emmie Star in Dancy Pants! and Shai & Emmie Star in To the Rescue!.[7]

Early life

Wallis was born in Houma, Louisiana, to Qulyndreia Wallis (née Jackson), a teacher, and Venjie Wallis, Sr., a truck driver.[8] She has one sister, Qunyquekya, and two brothers, Vejon and Venjie, Jr.[2][9][10] Her name "Quvenzhané" combines the first syllables of her parents' first names in "Quven", and an alteration of the Swahili word jini meaning 'sprite' or 'fairy'.[11]

Career

Wallis, at age five, lied about her age to audition for her first acting job, the starring role in Beasts of the Southern Wild, because the minimum age to be considered was six. She eventually beat out 4,000 others for the role of Hushpuppy, an indomitable child prodigy and survivalist who lives with her dying father in the backwoods bayou squalor of Louisiana.[12] Director Benh Zeitlin told The Daily Beast that when he auditioned Wallis, he immediately realized he had discovered what he was looking for, and changed the Beasts script to accommodate her strong-willed personality. Her reading ability, loud scream, and the skill of burping on command impressed the director and won her the part.[10] Zeitlin has also stated that "it was just the feeling behind her eyes".[13]

The film premiered at Sundance Film Festival in January 2012 to rave reviews, winning the Grand Jury Prize. In May 2012, Wallis flew to France for the premiere of the film at the Cannes Film Festival. The film received much acclaim and praise for Wallis' outstanding performance, and it won the prestigious Caméra d'Or award for Best first Feature Film. On January 10, 2013, at age nine, Wallis became the Academy Awards' youngest nominee for Best Actress and third youngest in all categories.[14] However, she was just six during the filming.[15] Wallis is the first African-American child actor to earn an Oscar nomination. She is also the first person born in the 21st century to be nominated for an Academy Award.

Wallis had a role in the film 12 Years a Slave (2013), and collaborated with Sundance for the second time on a short film called Boneshaker. In 2014, she played Annie Bennett Stacks in Annie. Quvenzhané made history as the first African American to play Annie.[16] For this, she was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Comedy or Musical and received praise from most reviewers, despite the film being considered a poor adaption of the classic Broadway show.[17] In May 2014, Wallis was named the face of Armani Junior, Giorgio Armani's line for children and teens. This makes her the first major child celebrity to be the face of a luxury brand.[18]

She was also featured in Beyoncé's 2016 short film "Lemonade", appearing in the music video "Formation". In October 2017, she released two children's books: Shai & Emmie Star in Break an Egg! (which is about friendships) and A Night Out With Mama (which is about her night at the Oscars with her mother).[19] She followed those with two more books: Shai & Emmie Star in To the Rescue! and Shai & Emmie Star in Dancy Pants! in 2018.[7][20]

She has been a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in the Actors Branch since 2018.[21]

Filmography
Year Title Role Notes
2012 Beasts of the Southern Wild Hushpuppy
2013 Boneshaker Blessing Short film
2013 12 Years a Slave Margaret Northup
2014 Annie Annie Bennett Stacks
2014 Kahlil Gibran's The Prophet Almitra (voice)
2015 Fathers and Daughters Lucy
2016 Lemonade Herself
2016 Trolls Harper (voice)
2019 Black-ish Kyra 5 episodes

Awards and nominations
Year Award Work Result
2013 Academy Award for Best Actress[4][5] Beasts of the Southern Wild Nominated
African-American Film Critics Association Award for Best Breakthrough Performance Won
Alliance of Women Film Journalists Award for Best Breakthrough Performance Won
Austin Film Critics Association for Breakthrough Artist Award Won
Black Reel Award for Best Actress Won
Black Reel Award for Best Breakthrough Performance Won
Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress Nominated
Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Young Performer Won
Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress Nominated
Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Most Promising Performer Won
Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress Nominated
Denver Film Critics Society for Best Actress Nominated
Florida Film Critics Circle Award for Best Breakout Performance Won
Gotham Independent Film Award for Breakthrough Actor Nominated
Hollywood Film Festival New Hollywood Award Won
Houston Film Critics Society for Best Actress Nominated
Independent Spirit Award for Best Female Lead Nominated
MTV Movie Award for Best Breakthrough Performance Nominated
NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture Nominated
National Board of Review Award for Breakthrough Actress Won
New York Film Critics Online Award for Breakthrough Performance Won
Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Actress Nominated
Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Actress Nominated
Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Youth Performance in a Lead or Supporting Role – Female Won
Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Breakthrough Performance Won
Santa Barbara International Film Festival — Virtuoso Award Won
Satellite Award for Best Breakthrough Actress Won
Saturn Award for Best Performance by a Younger Actor Nominated
St. Louis Gateway Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress Nominated
Utah Gateway Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress Nominated
Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Award for Best Breakthrough Performance Won
Women Film Critics for Best Youth Performance Won
Young Artist Award for Best Performance in a Feature Film - Leading Young Actress[22] Won
2015 Young Artist Award for Best Performance in a Feature Film - Leading Young Actress Annie Won
Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Comedy or Musical Nominated
NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture Nominated
Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Young Performer Nominated
Black Reel Award for Best Actress Nominated
Women Film Critics Circle Award for Best Young Actress Nominated

See also

References
  1. "11 Celeb Names You're Totally Pronouncing Wrong". Seventeen. July 31, 2017. Retrieved November 19, 2017.
  2. "Beasts of the Southern Wild press kit" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on March 8, 2014. Retrieved December 10, 2012.
  3. "Monitor". Entertainment Weekly (1274). August 30, 2013. p. 20.
  4. Blakely, Rhys (January 10, 2013). "Youngest v oldest actress vie for Oscar as Lincoln leads the pack". The Times. Retrieved January 10, 2013.
  5. Walker, Tim (January 10, 2013). "Quvenzhané Wallis v Emmanuelle Riva: Best actress Oscar contested by oldest and youngest ever nominees". The Independent. Retrieved January 10, 2013.
  6. Nicholson, Amy (June 29, 2012). "Quvenzhané Conquers Hollywood: 20 Questions for the 8-year-old star of Beasts of the Southern Wild;)". Boxoffice.com. Archived from the original on April 19, 2013. Retrieved December 14, 2012.
  7. "A Shai & Emmie Story". Retrieved December 27, 2019.
  8. The Deadline Team. "OSCARS Interview: Quvenzhané Wallis". Deadline. Retrieved November 24, 2015.
  9. McKnight, Laura (May 13, 2010). "Houma girl to star in independent film". The Daily Comet. Retrieved December 14, 2012.
  10. Ebert, Roger (June 22, 2012). "Quvenzhané. A small force of nature". Roger Ebert's Journal. Retrieved December 14, 2012.
  11. Ward, Kate. "How to Pronounce 25 Difficult Celebrity Names". Hollywood.com. Archived from the original on June 4, 2017. Retrieved June 3, 2017. The first name of the Oscar-nominated Beasts of Southern Wild star is, fittingly, a beast. But it has a lovely backstory: "Quven" combines her parents' first names (Qulyndreia and Venjie) and "zhane" is Swahili for "fairy".
  12. Truitt, Brian (June 26, 2012). "Quvenzhane Wallis makes 'Southern Wild' sing". USA Today. Retrieved June 26, 2012.
  13. Haramis, Nicholas (December 3, 2014). "There's Something About Quvenzhané Wallis". The New York Times Company. Retrieved December 3, 2014.
  14. Day, Patrick Kevin (January 10, 2013). "Oscar nominations: Quvenzhane Wallis is young but not youngest ever". Los Angeles Times.
  15. Alexander, Bryan (January 10, 2013). "History-making Quvenzhane Wallis: 'This is special'". USA Today.
  16. Rottenberg, Josh (February 24, 2013). "Beasts of the Southern Wild' breakout Quvenzhané Wallis to star in new big-screen 'Annie'". EW.com.
  17. Annie (2014 film)#Critical reception
  18. Merle Ginsberg (May 22, 2014). "Quvenzhane Wallis Named Face of Armani Junior (Exclusive)". Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved January 23, 2015.
  19. Chevel Johnson (October 2, 2017). "Actress Quvenzhane Wallis taking new on a new role of author". Associated Press. Retrieved March 12, 2018.
  20. Rebecca Sun (November 12, 2017). "Rep Sheet Roundup: WME Signs Trio of Hit Rock Bands From CAA". Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved May 12, 2018.
  21. Khatchatourian, Maane (June 25, 2018). "Academy Invites Record 928 New Members". Variety.
  22. "34th Annual Young Artist Awards". YoungArtistAwards.org. Retrieved March 31, 2013.
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