Quvenzhané Wallis (/kwəˈvɛnʒəneɪ/ kwə-VEN-zhə-nay; born August 28, 2003) is an American actress and author. In 2012, she starred as Hushpuppy in the drama film Beasts of the Southern Wild (2012), for which she was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress, becoming the youngest actress to be nominated in the category, as well as the first person born in the 21st century nominated for an Oscar, She starred as Annie Bennett in the 2014 adaptation of Annie, for which she received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Comedy or Musical.
In 2017, Wallis published two books, Shai & Emmie Star in Break an Egg! and A Night Out with Mama. She has published two more books: Shai & Emmie Star in Dancy Pants! and Shai & Emmie Star in To the Rescue!
Wallis was born in Houma, Louisiana, to Qulyndreia Wallis (née Jackson), a teacher, and Venjie Wallis Sr., a truck driver. She has one sister, Qunyquekya, and two brothers, Vejon and Venjie Jr. Her name "Quvenzhané" combines the first syllables of her parents' first names in "Quven", and an alteration of the Swahili word jini meaning 'sprite' or 'fairy'.

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