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By Lenyon WhitakerBusiness, Metro
Awkwafina is hosting Saturday Night Live and it will be an important moment for the show. The Ocean’s 8 and Crazy Rich Asians star will become the first Asian woman to host SNL in nearly 20 years. The last Asian woman to host Saturday Night Live was Lucy Liu during season 26, episode 8. That episode featured Jay Z as the musical guest.
On Thursday, Saturday Night Live announced the news by posting a photo of its’s corkboard showing upcoming SNL show dates with the names of the corresponding hosts and musical guests.
Former SNL regular and upcoming host Seth Meyers showed his support for Awkwafina being named as a host.
Awkwafina shared the news to her Instagram account, saying she is “supremely stoked” about hosting the show that’s going into its 44th season.
She will host Saturday Night Live on Saturday, October 6. The musical guest scheduled to perform is Travis Scott, who dropped his album Astroworld in August.
In case you only know her from her recent movie Crazy Rich Asians, here’s what you need to know about the actress to get you caught up before her October 6 appearance on SNL.
Awkwafina films and TV roles
Awkwafina is best known for her roles in Crazy Rich Asians (Peik Lin Goh) and Ocean’s 8 (Constance), the actress was also in Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising (Christine) and several TV series including Tawk, Future Man, Drive Share, Mary + Jane. Awkwafina also performed as a voice actor in animated films and TV series including Storks (Quail), Animals (Annie) and The Regular Show (Apple/Waitress).
She has bars
Awkwafina is also a rapper and has been rapping since she was 13. She dropped two singles in 2013, followed by her first studio album in 2014 called Yellow Ranger. Her latest album, In Fina We Trust was released in June of this year.
Her real name is Nora Lum
She was born in Queens, NY as Nora Lum but has taken on Awkwafina as her stage name when she was 16. She told Into The Gloss that the name Awkwafina refers to a person she repressed and the name served as an alter ego to her “quiet and more passive” personality she had in college.
What time does Saturday Night Live come on?
We’re looking forward to seeing what she has in store for Saturday Night Live season 44, episode two when she appears as the host of the show. Be sure to tune in Saturday, October 6 at 11:30 p.m. EST.
