“What is it like when you have to go to a party given in your honour? Is it fun?” Vogue legend André Leon Talley asked of actor Quvenzhané Wallis in 2013. “I just love partying,” she replied, nodding. She was nine at the time and charming as hell; she is now 11, and her joie de vivre remains undimmed.

It’s on full display in her upcoming movie, Annie, in which she takes on the role of the plucky, irrepressible orphan who finds a new family in the form of a New York billionaire. Her casting caused an internet ripple because she is African American, as though Hollywood hasn’t wilfully changed characters’ race before, or as if only redheads were allowed to be wards of the state.

No matter, Quvenzhané’s up to it – she’s already survived the Oscars treadmill after becoming the youngest ever nominee for Best Actress, in Beasts Of The Southern Wild. She survived the butchering of her name (usually from people who seemed to have no problem pronouncing “Zellweger” or “Zack Galifianakis”), and was only too happy to correct one lazy red-carpet reporter who recently quipped, “I’m just going to call you Annie”. “My name is not Annie,” she replied, calmly. “It’s Quvenzhané.” And all of us with “difficult” names rejoiced.

The best thing about her, besides her enviable self-possession and love of acting, is her still very-little-girlness. She loves to accessorise her ballgowns with puppy handbags (she has two pet dogs: a German shepherd and a Yorkie-poo), pink is her favourite colour, and she enjoys the soulful music of Frank Ocean. She’ll go far, and she’ll get there running. As she says in the Annie trailer, “It gets me places quicker.”

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