Madina Nalwanga | |
---|---|
Born | Kampala, Uganda | March 15, 2002
Other names | Queen |
Alma mater | Grand Valley State University |
Occupation | Actress |
Years active | 2016–present |
Awards | Most Promising Actor award at 2017 Africa Movie Academy Awards |
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]
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]