Madina_Nalwanga

Madina Nalwanga

Madina Nalwanga

Ugandan actress (born 2002)

Madina Nalwanga (born March 15, 2002) is a Ugandan actress known for her lead role as Phiona Mutesi in Queen of Katwe (2016).[1] The film depicts the life of Mutesi, a Ugandan girl living in a slum in Katwe who learns to play chess and becomes a Woman Candidate Master.[2] This role earned her the Most Promising Actor award at 2017 Africa Movie Academy Awards in Lagos, Nigeria.[3] She also won an NAACP Image Award, a Women Film Critics Circle Award, and was nominated for a Critic's Choice Award.[4]

Quick Facts Born, Other names ...

Biography

Madina was born in the poor Katwe neighborhood in Kampala, Uganda, and spent her childhood selling corn on the streets.[5] Nalwanga was discovered by a casting director at a community dance class in the Kabalagala neighborhood of Kampala, Uganda, a slum known for prostitution.[6][7]

During the filming of Queen of Katwe, David Oyelowo took Nalwanga to see Jurassic World with other kids from the set, and discovered she'd never seen a movie when she asked, "Is that what we are doing?"[8] When she watched Queen of Katwe, it was only the second time she'd been inside a movie theater.[9] She has said her young life closely mirrored that of her character Phiona in Queen of Katwe.[5] At 17 years old, Forbes named her the youngest person on their 2018 "30 Under 30" list.[10] According to a University of Oxford study from their department of Economics, students in Uganda who watched Queen of Katwe before taking their national exams received better grades than those who didn't.[11][12]

References

  1. [1]
    "Ugandan Actress's Journey Mirrors That of Her 'Queen of Katwe' Character". NPR.
  2. [2]
    "Madina Nalwanga". Forbes. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
  3. [3]
    "Queen of Katwe Actress Madina Nalwanga wins an award at the African Movie Academy Awards 2017". theugandatoday.com. 17 July 2017. Retrieved 13 February 2018.
  4. [4]
    "30 Under 30: Madina Nalwanga, 17". Forbes. p. 8. Retrieved 5 March 2018.
  5. [5]
    "In Mira Nairs Chess Tale 'Queen Of Katwe,' 16-Year-Old Madina Nalwanga Makes All The Right Moves". Essence.com. Retrieved 5 March 2018.
  6. [6]
    "Ugandan Actress's Journey Mirrors That Of Her 'Queen Of Katwe' Character". NPR.org. Retrieved 5 March 2018.
  7. [7]
    "Unmasking Queen of Katwe's Nalwanga". Daily Monitor. Retrieved 5 March 2018.
  8. [8]
    "David Oyelowo on Showing 'Queen of Katwe' Actress Her First Film". ABC News. 28 September 2016. Retrieved 5 March 2018.
  9. [9]
    "How Nyong'o, Oyelowo bonded with their 'Queen of Katwe'". USA TODAY. Retrieved 5 March 2018.
  10. [10]
    Howard, Caroline. "30 Under 30 2018: The Teenagers". Forbes. Retrieved 5 March 2018.
  11. [11]
    Orubo, Daniel (25 September 2017). "Ugandan Kids Who Watched 'Queen Of Katwe' Performed Better In School, Says Study". Konbini Nigeria. Retrieved 5 March 2018.
  12. [12]
    Kuo, Lily. "Ugandan students who watched "Queen of Katwe" performed better on their national exams". Quartz. Retrieved 5 March 2018.
Share this article:

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article Madina_Nalwanga, and is written by contributors. Text is available under a CC BY-SA 4.0 International License; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.