Pronunciation of

Quvenzhané Wallis

Quvenzhané Wallis is an American actor and author known for her performances in Beasts of the Southern Wild in 2012 and Annie in 2014, where she played the leading role of Annie Bennet. She is the youngest ever actor to be nominated for an Academy Award.
Wallis's name, Quvenzhané is a combination of the first syllables of her parents' names, "Qu", from Qulyndreia and "ven" from Venjie, and "zhané", a variation of the Swahili word jini, meaning "fairy".
The correct pronunciation of Quvenzhané is Kwuh-VAN-juh-nay. Her name can seem difficult to pronounce because some letters don't correspond to how you would pronounce them phonetically. Specifically, the "Qu" is pronounced with a "Kwuh" sound, the "ven" is pronounced as "van" and the "zha" is pronounced as "juh". It is also important to remember that you must pronounce the stress on the second syllable, -VAN. Quvenzhané's surname, Wallis, is easier to pronounce because it is pronounced as you would read it.