Anna May Wong

Wong, who is known as the first Chinese American Hollywood star, appeared in over 60 movies throughout her career.

[Wong Liu Tsong](https://www.nyhistory.org/blogs/anna-may-wong-americas-first-chinese-american-star) in Los Angeles Chinatown in 1905, 23 years after the U.S. [over 60 movies throughout her career](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0938923/bio?ref_=nm_ov_bio_sm), will go into circulation starting Monday, [according to the U.S. - Wong died in 1961 of a heart attack at 56 years old. - She was also shut out of playing lead roles in romance films due to anti-miscegenation laws at the time that barred interracial marriages in the U.S. She did return to the U.S. [opened doors for Asian actors today](https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2019/05/lucy-liu-walk-of-fame-speech#:~:text=On%20Wednesday%2C%20Lucy%20Liu%20became,the%20way%20for%20her%20career.). Gibson said in a statement. [The Gallery of Madame Liu-Tsong](https://www.vulture.com/2017/09/the-search-for-the-gallery-of-madame-liu-tsong.html)," which made her the first Asian American to lead a TV show in the U.S. [famously said](https://twitter.com/sagaftra/status/1258799515026456576). Mint](https://www.usmint.gov/news/press-releases/united-states-mint-to-begin-shipping-fifth-american-women-quarters-program-coins-october-24). [honoring distinguished women and their contributions](https://www.axios.com/2022/01/10/maya-angeou-quarters-mint). [Economy & Business](https://www.axios.com/economy-business)

Regarded as Hollywood's first Chinese American movie star, Wong faced racism and discrimination during her career.

[Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882](https://www.archives.gov/news/articles/anna-may-wong-chinese-american-perpetual-foreigner) prohibited the immigration of Chinese workers, and anti-miscegenation laws forbade the on-screen representation of interracial marriages and intimacy. Most devastatingly, she [lost](https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/18/us/anna-may-wong-quarter.html?) the role of a fictional Chinese character in an adaptation of Pearl S. [confessed](https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/18/us/anna-may-wong-quarter.html?) that she would skip school just to ogle at assistants, actors, directors, and cameramen. Each year, as part of the program, up to five new coin reverse designs will be announced celebrating women who have made significant contributions to American history. [Ken Lum Holds Up a Mirror to the World ](https://hyperallergic.com/770294/ken-lum-holds-up-a-mirror-to-the-world/) [Sandra Payne’s Bling Manifesto](https://hyperallergic.com/764115/sandra-paynes-bling-manifesto/) Despite the challenges Wong faced, her career in acting was prolific. [Nine NYC Museum Restaurants to Dine at (or Skip)](https://hyperallergic.com/770009/nine-nyc-museum-restaurants-to-dine-at-or-skip/) Despite the celebrity she gained from her performance in that role, and the critical acclaim she received, she found it difficult to secure further leading roles because of Hollywood’s reluctance to cast an Asian actress. Wong is the fifth woman to be recognized as part of the American Women Quarters Program, which launched this year and will continue through 2025. Beginning next Monday, October 24, the United States Mint will begin making quarters imprinted with the face of Anna May Wong, commonly regarded as Hollywood’s first Chinese-American movie star. She will be the first Asian-American person to be honored on any US currency.

Anna May Wong: Anna May Wong's image, with her iconic blunt bangs and pencil-thin eyebrows, will feature on the back of new quarters. | World News.

Anna May Wong's image, with her iconic blunt bangs and pencil-thin eyebrows, will feature on the back of new quarters. Born in Los Angeles, Anna May Wong began acting at 14 and took a lead role in "The Toll of the Sea" in 1922. Groundbreaking actor Anna May Wong is set to become the first Asian American to appear on US currency.

Anna May Wong, who broke into Hollywood during the silent film era, will become the first Asian American to appear on US currency, a century after she ...

A biopic of the actor's life, which will see her portrayed by "Crazy Rich Asians" star Gemma Chan, is currently in production. She went on to appear in dozens of movies but faced deeply entrenched racism in Hollywood, where she struggled to break from stereotypical roles. Considered the movie industry's first Chinese American star, Wong overcame widespread discrimination to carve out a four-decade career in film, theater and radio.

The Hollywood superstar was a fierce advocate for racial inclusivity in the movie industry.

She is known for her roles in The Toll of the Sea, Shanghai Express, and Picadilly. Anna May Wong was a Hollywood star considered to be the first Chinese American actress to gain international fame. The coin is bordered by dots that represent marquee lights, reminiscent of how actors in the 1920s and ’30s would see their names “framed by lightbulbs on movie theater marquees.”

A new quarter coin features Wong, who became Hollywood's first Chinese American star at a time of widespread anti-Asian xenophobia.

She was the first Asian American actress to get a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, in 1960. She was criticized at home for perpetuating stale and demeaning stereotypes, and in China, where she toured after “The Good Earth” debacle, she was seen as too American. [survey](https://assets.uscannenberg.org/docs/aii_aapi-representation-across-films-2021-05-18.pdf) by the University of Southern California of 1,300 popular films from 2007 to 2019, only 29 featured an Asian lead or co-lead, and 21 had a Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander lead or co-lead, totaling just over 3 percent of the films examined. She gained fame for her roles in silent films like [“The Toll of the Sea”](https://youtu.be/V6ohQAwElCs) (1922) — one of the first Technicolor movies — and “The Thief of Bagdad” (1924). Wong vied for the starring role of O-Lan in the 1937 film “The Good Earth” but was instead offered the role of Lotus, a sex worker who becomes the concubine of O-Lan’s husband. “As the first Chinese American film star in Hollywood, she faced constant discrimination, frequently being typecast and passed over for lead roles in favor of non-Asian actresses,” Rep. Wong died in 1961 at the age of 56. “Why is it that the screen Chinese is nearly always the villain of the piece, and so cruel a villain — murderous, treacherous, a snake in the grass. “She is remembered not only as a great actress, but also as an advocate for increased representation of Asian Americans in film and media.” “Wong sought to be valued as an actress, a woman with vision and ambition, and an American, all at a time when U.S. [according](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1987-07-12-ca-3279-story.html) to the Los Angeles Times. currency to carry the likeness of an Asian American will begin shipping on Monday, according to the U.S.

The actor was a champion for Asian American representation in film. She is one of five women to be featured on new quarter designs this year.

New quarters will be unveiled as part of the series, which the U.S. The reverse or “tails” side will be a close-up image of Wong resting her head on her hand, framed by the lights of a marquee sign, the U.S. The obverse or “heads” side of the coin will feature a portrait of George Washington designed and sculpted by Laura Gardin Fraser in 1932. The first U.S. 24, the U.S. The quarter will depict Anna May Wong, considered the first Chinese American film star in Hollywood.

She will appear as part of an effort to feature notable women on American quarters. Wong, who is considered the first Chinese American film star in Hollywood, ...

Her name at birth was Wong Liu Tsong, but later in life she adopted the stage name of Anna May Wong, formed by joining both her English and family names. Native Hawaiian hula teacher Edith Kanaka'ole has been named as one of the selections for 2023. She was cast in her first role at 14 as an extra in the film The Red Lantern and continued to take on smaller parts until her lead role in The Toll of the Sea in 1922.

Wong, trailblazing actor of early 20th century who faced discrimination in Hollywood, to have image shown on new quarters from Monday.

When actor Lucy Liu became the She died the next year. Her career also ranged beyond motion pictures, including being the She was often boxed into racist and underpaid roles: in Shanghai Express, for example, Wong was only paid $6,000 while her white, co-star Marlene Dietrich earned $78,166, reported NPR. [first Asian American to lead a television show](https://www.usmint.gov/coins/coin-medal-programs/american-women-quarters/anna-may-wong), The Gallery of Madame Liu-Tsong. “We are not like that.”