Anna May Wong Was The First Chinese American Film Star In Hollywood, And This Is How She Made History In The Film Industry
Do you know the woman who was considered to be the first Chinese American film star in Hollywood?
Her name was Anna May Wong, and she made history in the film industry.
Anna was born in 1905 in the Chinatown area of Los Angeles, California. Her birth name was Wong Liu Tsong, and she was one of eight children in her family. Eventually, she was given the English name Anna May.
As a young kid, Anna was sent to a public school where she and her sister were constantly harassed and bullied because of their race. It got so bad that she had to transfer schools and finally felt safe at the Chinese Mission School in Chinatown.
In school, Anna studied English and Cantonese but excelled in speaking English. She worked at her parents’ laundromat and became interested in movies growing up. Anna would use her money from working at the laundromat to buy movie tickets and would visit film sets near her home as often as possible.
In 1919, when she was 14 years old, she responded to a casting call for extras for the film The Red Lantern. She got a role as an extra and carried around a lantern in one of the film’s scenes. Although it wasn’t a major film debut, it catalyzed her career.
While still attending school, Anna took on more film roles as an extra and began auditioning for whatever she could. Finally, in 1921, she dropped out of high school to begin acting full-time and started going by the name Anna May Wong.
By the time she was 17, Anna had landed her first leading role in the silent drama film The Toll of the Sea, which was one of the first American films to be made in Technicolor.
Although she was making a name for herself, Anna often had to deal with racial stereotyping and racist policies in the American film industry. For example, she was making films during an era when interracial actors were not allowed to kiss on screen.
Jag_cz- stock.adobe.com – illustrative purposes only
Therefore, she often wasn’t cast in any romantic leading roles. It was common for white women to play Asian women on screen, so Anna had to compete with non-Asian women for Asian roles.
Anna attempted to open her own production company to make films about her life and culture in 1924, which, unfortunately, failed due to her business partner. She grew tired of the discrimination she faced in her line of work in America and decided to travel to Europe and work there.
In Europe, she starred and performed in several different plays and films. One of which was an operetta called Tschun Tschi which was in German and performed in a play alongside Laurence Olivier.
Anna returned to the United States in the 1930s and starred in a Broadway production. She auditioned for the film The Good Earth about Chinese farmers but lost the role to a white actress.
She was devastated and decided to visit China with her family in 1934. She became an advocate for the country and raised money for Chinese refugees during World War II.
Anna continued to be cast in stereotypical Asian roles but worked as hard as possible. When she returned to America in the 1950s, she made history as the first Asian American woman to lead a US television show, The Gallery of Madame Liu-Tsong.
Although Anna wanted to continue to work, she tragically died after a heart attack in 1961 when she was only 56 years old. Nevertheless, Anna has left quite a legacy and helped bring Chinese American actors to the big screen during a time of discrimination.
Since her death, Anna’s life has greatly inspired writers and artists. Many awards have been named after her, and she even became the first Asian-American put on American currency.
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