According to several confirmed reports, Queen Of Katwe star Nikita Waligwa has passed away at 15 years old.
Waligwa, who played the role of “Gloria”, the younger friend of the teenage chess prodigy in the 2006 film, was first diagnosed with a brain tumor in 2016. She went into remission, but another tumor was found a year later.
The Gayaza School in her native Uganda announced the young actress’ death via Twitter this afternoon.
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Queen of Katwe was based on the true story of Phiona Mutesi, an uneducated girl from the hood who took up chess in 2005 and overcame overwhelming odds to become the first female winner of Uganda’s junior chess championships.
