Ugandan teen actress Nikita Pearl Waligwa, best known as Gloria for her role in the Disney film Queen of Katwe, has died at the age of 15.
Nikita succumbed to cancer on Saturday night at TMR International Hospital Nalya, in Kampala following a long period of illness. Nikita is well known for her role in the biographical drama film that depicts the life of a Ugandan girl living in a slum in Katwe who learns to play chess and becomes a champion at global stage.
Queen of Katwe went on to gross $2.5 million in the first week of release at the box office in September 2017, winning a number of global awards.
Nikita was first diagnosed with a brain tumor in 2016, and underwent a surgery in India. In February 2017, she was declared cancer free. Later doctors diagnosed she has another brain tumor located at the part of the brain responsible for movement of the limbs, eyesight and speech.
A family member revealed that Nikita’s brain had swollen and she was living in unbearable pain.