Anna May Wong
First Asian-American star
Anna May Wong was the first Chinese American film star in Hollywood, active from the silent era through the 1960s.
She played exotic roles in films like *Shanghai Express* and *The Thief of Bagdad*, often typecast due to anti-Asian prejudice and laws prohibiting interracial romance on screen.
Wong became a symbol of both Asian representation and its historical limitations in American cinema.
In 2022, she became the first Asian American on U.S. currency, appearing on the quarter.
- HollywoodAmerican film industry center
- silent filmSoundless motion picture
- silent eraFilmmaking before talkies
- actressFemale stage performer
- leading ladyPrincipal female performer
Chinese American · 1920s · 1930s · glamour · Piccadilly · Marlene Dietrich · pioneer · discrimination · flapper · exotic · typecast · vamp · trailblazer · cinema · starlet · screen presence · icon · yellowface