Life & Work with Asha Nwaki

Today we’d like to introduce you to Asha Nwaki.

Asha, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I was born on March 7th, 2003 to my mother Veronica Nwaki. My childhood consisted of mostly my mother and me due to the different issues between my mother and father. I can always remember myself even then loving music and tv shows and always singing. I went to a private Christian school all my life. Every year my school did a spring production based on a Broadway play and when I was in kindergarten, they were doing Once on This Island. My theater teacher was going through our class to find a little girl who could play Young Ti Moune. The child playing this role needed to scream loud and cry so that’s what she was looking for. It was me against one of my best friends at the time I remember thinking “I have to scream the loudest!!” so I did and I ended up getting the part! At the time I was happy just because being in the play meant I could get out of class but it was the start of my love for theater and acting in general. In 6th grade, I had already been in a few plays and that year we were doing The Lion King. I was auditioning for Rafiki and the requirement for this audition was to sing the beginning part of The Circle of Life. There was one girl before me who was good so I was nervous but when I sang both my theater teacher and the guy there were so shocked. I remember the guy almost falling off of the table he was sitting on! My teacher gave me the part and from there, I was convinced that working in the industry was what I wanted to do with my life. Fast forward to now, I’ve co-starred in critically acclaimed shows like American Horror Stories and have been in multiple commercials. I’m still young so there’s a lot ahead of me and many more things that I’m looking forward to doing in the future so I am excited to see what’s to come!

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
One of the main obstacles I’ve had were family issues and the struggle to continually believe in myself. My childhood family life is something I can only remember bits and pieces of, however from what I do remember, there were a lot of arguments in my home. My mom was the type of person who didn’t want to fight or argue about things in places where I could hear, however a lot of the times I did end up hearing it. My dad is in the medical field and so even though we lived in the same house, I would only see him every few days or so and a part of me was scared of him in general as well. My mom and I left my childhood home when I was in the fourth grade. Most children of divorce would most likely be sad that their family split up, but I was happy. It was me and my mom against the world and we felt free. However, I did yearn to have a relationship with my father and there were times when I wanted him there.

At the age of 18 my father who I spoke to once a week, ended up being someone I spoke to every day. He wanted me to move to Africa to be a pharmacist and was determined on convincing me to do it while I wanted to follow my dreams. It’s been a few years since I’ve talked to my father. I wanted to pursue what I believe God has put in my heart to do, and he would continually put pressure on me to try to show me that my decision was wrong. This started the problems of disbelief in myself because success wasn’t moving as fast as I wanted it too. Through all of this, I’ve realized and learned patience and just enjoying the journey that I’m taking. I’m a Christian and so my faith in God has helped me through all of this. I won’t say there aren’t times when I start to feel unconfident or feel as if my dreams won’t come true, but long-lasting things don’t come as quickly as short-lived ones.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I am an actress and I’m best known for my role as High school Jaslyn in American Horror Stories. I’d probably say so far, I am most proud of being a part of such a well-known franchise like American Horror Stories. It was my first time being on a high-budget set and having my own trailer so it was a surreal experience for me. What I would say sets me apart from others would be the way that I look. Although at this time I am seeing a few more plus-sized black women in the industry, there still aren’t that many of us out there. I want to be the kind of person in the industry who can inspire others who look like me and show them that they can achieve their dreams even if they aren’t the “beauty standard”.

Before we go, is there anything else you can share with us?
I’d just like to thank them for reading and listening to my story!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://linktr.ee/ashanwaki?fbclid=PAAaaQa2mZWhX61cjy5XFyE1rzYAn3-2j3YdXvzWK8a4i_xnkcUZpYIv_gcew
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ashanwaki/
• Twitter: https://mobile.twitter.com/AshaNwaki
• Youtube: https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCnCqIVTFoikzCnoYMYlxRDQ

Image Credits
Robinlorrainephotography for the professional photos of me