Northwest High School alumna Rei Ami is now an Academy Award winner. The artist, born Sarah Yeeun Lee, helped make history Sunday night as the animated film KPop Demon Hunters took home two Oscars at the 98th Academy Awards. The film won Best Animated Feature and Best Original Song for the track “Golden,” performed by Rei Ami alongside EJAE and Audrey Nuna.
“Golden” earned another milestone along the way, becoming the first K-pop song to ever win an Oscar. The trio, who perform as the fictional group Huntr/x in the film, delivered a live performance of the song during the ceremony at the Dolby Theatre. The film’s Best Animated Feature win also marked a notable moment in the category, as KPop Demon Hunters became the first non-Disney or Pixar film to win in several years.
Rei Ami’s connection to Montgomery County runs deep. Born in Seoul, South Korea, she moved to the United States with her family at the age of six and grew up in Germantown. She graduated from Northwest High School in 2014 before attending the University of Maryland, where she graduated in 2018…