Honoring Anna May Wong

On the second day of the the new year, I paid respect to a pioneer who paved the way. Anna May Wong, born Wong Liu Tsong (黃柳霜 ), was laid to rest beside her mother and sister in 1961.

Her father owned a laundry in LA just as my grandfather did in NYC.

She is considered the first Chinese American film star in Hollywood, as well as the first Chinese American actress to gain international recognition. Her varied career spanned silent film, sound film, television, stage, and radio. We share similar lineage as her grandparents were immigrants from Taishan 台山 Hoisan just like mine.

Even though she often played stereotypical supporting roles and her career was limited by anti-miscegenation laws, she never gave up on her acting career. MGM deemed her “too Chinese to play a Chinese “. But yellowface did not stop her.

She moved to Europe in 1928 and got lead roles in German (she’s fluent in German & French) and British films. In the 30s she toured Scotland and Ireland. Her cabaret act, which included songs in Cantonese, French, English, German, Danish, Swedish, and other languages, took her from the U.S. to Europe and Australia through the 1930s and 1940s.

In 1951, she made history with her television show The Gallery of Madame Liu-Tsong, the first-ever U.S. television show starring an Asian-American series lead.

Anna May fought against racism and discrimination. MGM's refusal to consider her for the role of O-Lan in The Good Earth is remembered today as one of the most notorious cases of casting discrimination in the 1930s.

She used her fame and celebrity status in her advocacy for Chinese-American causes. Between 1939 and 1942, she made few films, instead engaging in events and appearances in support of the Chinese struggle against Japan.

Through her films, public appearances and prominent magazine features, she helped to humanize Chinese Americans to mainstream American audiences during a period of intense racism and discrimination. Chinese Americans had been viewed as perpetually foreign in U.S. society, but her films and public image established her as a Chinese-American citizen at a time when laws discriminated against Chinese immigration and citizenship.

Anna May Wong received a star at 1708 Vine Street on the inauguration of the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1960. She was the first Asian-American actress to receive this honor.

On January 22, 2020, a Google Doodle celebrated Anna May, commemorating the 97th anniversary of the day The Toll of the Sea went into general release.

In 2021, the United States Mint announced that Wong would be among the first women depicted on the reverse of the quarter coin as a part of the American Women quarters series. When the quarters with her depicted on them went into circulation in 2022, Wong became the first Asian American depicted on American coinage.

She is definitely someone I want to meet if I can time travel.

January 3rd was her birthday. Though she may not be physically present, her spirit continues to live on. Her impact is everlasting. Her memory inspirational.