Madina Nalwanga
| Madina Nalwanga | |
|---|---|
| Born | February 2, 2002 Kampala, Uganda |
| Other names | Queen |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 2016–present |
Madina Nalwanga (born February 2, 2002)[1] is a Ugandan actress known for her lead role as Phiona Mutesi in Queen of Katwe (2016).[2] 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.[3] This role earned her the Most Promising Actor award at 2017 Africa Movie Academy Awards in Lagos, Nigeria.[4] She also won an NAACP Image Award, a Women Film Critics Circle Award, and was nominated for a Critic's Choice Award.[5]
Biography
Madina was born in the poor Katwe neighborhood in Kampala, Uganda, and spent her childhood selling corn on the streets.[6] Nalwanga was discovered by a casting director at a community dance class in the Kabalagala neighborhood of Kampala, Uganda, a slum known for prostitution.[7][8]
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?"[9] When she watched Queen of Katwe, it was only the second time she'd been inside a movie theater.[10] She has said her young life closely mirrored that of her character Phiona in Queen of Katwe.[6] At 17 years old, Forbes named her the youngest person on their 2018 "30 Under 30" list.[11] 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.[12][13]
References
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