Anna May Wong
Hollywood's first Asian- American Movie Star
" I was so tired of the parts I had to play. There seems little for me in Hollywood, because, rather than real Chinese, producers prefer Hungarians, Mexicans, American Indian for Chinese roles."
ABOUT
- Born on January 3rd 1905 in Los Angeles, California
- She was the daughter of a laundryman
- She starred at 17, in Toll of the Sea, a silent version of Madame Butterfly.
- Her best remembered film is Shanghai Express.
- She went international and made dozens of films in Hollywood, London, and Berlin.
- Anna May Wong was perceived as a Chinese Fetchit, someone whose roles reinforced racist stereotypes. BUT the younger genertation of Asian Americans see her as a pioneering artist who succeeded in a hostile environment that has not altogether changed.
- Wong became a fashion icon and had achieved international stardom in 1924
- In July 1933, she introduced a cabaret act at the Embassy Club in London. The next two years she took it across Europe.
- Behind the scense she was fighting the biggest fight of her career, for the leading role in MGM's production of The Good Earth.
"Im Anna May wong I come from old Hong Kong.But now im a Hollywood star".
- In 1933 TIME magazine voted her the "worlds best dessed woman".
- In 1938 Look magazine named her the "wolrd's most beautiful Chinese girl".
Anna May Wong - Chinese Costume Party Pt.1 - 1937 Technicolor