BHM Spotlight: Quvenzhané Wallis

Photo: Thegrio.com

February is the special month in which we honor and celebrate African-Americans, past and present, for all their accomplishments in a variety of fields: music, television, film, fashion, business and so much more. Here at Glambergirlblog we want to do things a little bit different. Everyday throughout this month we will spotlight some of the glamberous African-Americans in the entertainment industry.

The 85th Academy Awards is taking place TONIGHT, Sunday, February 24. All weekend I’ve been highlighting past Oscar winners as part of Glambergirlblog’s Black History Month Spotlight, BHM. Quvenzhané Wallis is nominated for Best Actress for the Oscars this evening. We’ll see if she has what it takes to win the gold tonight but until then get to know the young actress.

Quvenzhané is only nine years old and has already made quite a name for herself. The actress was born in Houma, Louisiana. At the very young age of five, Quvenzhané auditioned for the lead role as Hushpuppy in the feature film “Beasts of the Southern Wild.” Quvenzhané’s parents had to lie about her age in order for her to audition for the part. She nailed it and was cast in the film; her outgoing personality even got director Benh Zeitlin to alter the script to better fit her.

The film debuted at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival and won the Grand Jury Prize. After that Quvenzhané began getting much accolades for her performance. She has already won several awards (the African-American Film Critics Association Award for best breakthrough performance, the Alliance of Women Film Journalists Award for best breakthrough performance, the Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for best young performer and the Hollywood Film Festival New Hollywood Award). She’s nominated for an Oscar and was honored at this year’s Essence Black Women in Hollywood event. Quvenzhané currently has a new film, “Twelve Years A Slave,” set to release this year.

Fun Fact About Quvenzhané Wallis: To date, Quvenzhané Wallis is youngest black ‘Best Actress’ nominee for an Academy Award.