Nora Lum, better known by her stage name Awkwafina, made history at the 77th Golden Globe Awards, winning Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy for lead role in The Farewell.
The comedic rapper turned actress is the first woman of Asian descent to win a Golden Globe in the category.
The Farewell, written and directed by Lulu Wang, marks Awkwafina's dramatic lead debut. She stars as Billi, a Chinese American woman who travels back to China to say goodbye to her terminally grandmother -- whose family has chosen not to tell her that she's sick -- under the guise of a hastily planned wedding.
The Golden Globe marks Awkwafina's first nomination and first win at the annual awards ceremony, presented by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association.
During her acceptance speech, Awkwafina noted that the Golden Globe trophy might be worth selling.
"If I fall upon hard times, I can sell this, so that's good," she joked, before thanking Wang. "You gave me this chance, the chance of a lifetime," she said. "Just filming this story, being with you, is incredible."
She dedicated the award to her family, including her late mother, Tia, whom she lost at the age of four.
"I'd like to dedicate this to my dad, Wally. I told you I'd get a job, Dad. I had to," Awkafina joked. "To my grandma, my best friend, the woman who raised me. And to my mother, who I always hoped was watching from somewhere above, and I hope that she's watching now. Thank you all."
Weirdly, The Farewell was nominated the best foreign language film category. The film that won in that category, to nobody's surprise: Parasite. Bong Joon Ho's exquisite darkly comic class thriller made history as the first South Korean film to be nominated for a Golden Globe. (Next stop: Oscars.)
Accepting the award, Bong encouraged folks to give more foreign films a chance.
"Once you overcome the 1-inch-tall barrier of subtitles, you will be introduced to so many more amazing films," Bong said through his translator. "Just being nominated along with fellow amazing international filmmakers was a huge honor. I think we use only one language: the cinema."
