Collage by Marjainez.

Collage by Marjainez.

Last time we talked to Quvenzhané Wallis, she was just turning nine, and about to become the youngest-ever nominee for the best-actress Oscar, the first face of Armani Junior, a star of 12 Years a Slave, and the title character in the new film adaptation of Annie, scheduled to come out in December. Earlier this week, we talked to the sixth-grade powerhouse on the phone about her five current favorite things. (P.S. TODAY IS HER BIRTHDAY!!!)


swimming1. Swimming. I love swimming. It’s something that I really like to do and it’s good for exercise. For Beasts of the Southern Wild, I had to learn how to swim. I did not know how before the movie—I had to use floaties. Now I have a pool in my back yard! It’s kind of hard not to swim.

dogs2. My dogs. Their names are Shuga and Sammie. Sammie is a Yorkie-Poodle. Shuga is a German Shepherd. You would think a German Shepherd would be this danger, but Shuga is perfect to cuddle. Sammie thinks he’s a Rottweiler, but he is NOT. He’s really sweet. Sammie is eight and Shuga is two. They like each other, but they have their moments.

kirbystars3. The Kirby games for Nintendo 3DS. I like the Kirby games because they’re really challenging to me. My favorite ones are the older versions. Kirby is like this big pink ball thing. He can fly, he can jump, he can spit things out. You have to finish certain levels without getting a curse. It’s really fun.

sports4. Sports. I love volleyball, basketball, bike riding, cheerleading, and skating. I’m in cheerleading and volleyball right now. Volleyball is something my mom was doing when I was little, so I watched it a lot. Then I started playing and enjoyed it. I just made the volleyball team; I don’t know what position I’m playing yet. I have two brothers and a sister, and I play basketball and volleyball with them. I like cheering because my brother plays football and I used to cheer for his games.

furby5. Furby Boom. I love being young, because toys are pretty awesome. And I hope for my birthday gift I get a Furby Boom—hint, hint, Mother! [Quvenzhané’s mom was on the call, too.] I already have the first Furby—well, not the very first Furby, but the Furby that came out before the Furby Boom. But there’s an app that comes with Furby Boom, and if you have it you can have a little baby Furby Boom on your phone, too. You have to take care of the Furby. You give it baths, and you have to feed it. You have to teach it how to speak English, because at first it speaks Furbish—so you also have to know Furbish. I talk to my Furby by saying the Furbish word and the English word. The Furby changes moods, too. Sometimes it’s nice, then it gets sleepy, and sometimes it’s grumpy. [UPDATE: Quvenzhané’s mother told us later that Quvenzhané DID get the Furby Boom for her birthday!] ♦

(As told to Lena.)