Anna May Wong

Anna May Wong was a Chinese American actress and fashion icon. Born in Los Angeles to second generation Chinese parents, she fell in love with movies and began acting at a young age. Her film work spanned the silent movie era and also included some of the first movies with sound. Her credits also include one of the first movies made in color, The Toll of the Sea (1922). Wong was cast in stereotypical supporting roles in the U.S., often as the “dragon lady” or the “demure butterfly” and left for Europe where she starred in various plays and films including Piccadilly (1929). In 1935, Wong was passed up for the leading role of O-Lan, a Chinese character in the film adaptation of Pearl S. Buck’s The Good Earth. Instead, MGM Studios cast Luise Rainer to play O-Lan in yellowface and offered Wong the role of the seductress. She refused on principle.

In 1951, Wong scored the leading role in the TV show, The Gallery of Madame Liu-Tsong, the first Asian American to lead a series. In 1960, she was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Tragically, her life was cut short at the age of 56 when she died from a heart attack in 196. Lucy Liu is currently developing a series with ABC Studios to shed light on “Unsung Heroes” with the first episode dedicated to Anna May Wong and her trailblazing legacy.