Long before trailblazer Michelle Yeoh made it big in Hollywood, there was Wong Liu Tsong, known professionally as Anna May Wong. While Michelle is Malaysian-born, Anna was third generation American. Her career spanned silent film, sound film, television, stage, and radio; and probably with much difficuly, became the first Chinese-American movie star in Hollywood and the first Chinese-American actress to gain international recognition. Anna's father wasn't happy with her interest in films and prior to 1967, there was limitations to her roles as the American anti-miscegenation laws didn't allow her to share an on-screen kiss with leading men of another race. Sixty one years after her death, she would be featured in the 2022-2025 US currency, a much deserved tribute indeed.
Long before trailblazer Michelle Yeoh made it big in Hollywood, there was Wong Liu Tsong, known professionally as Anna May Wong. While Michelle is Malaysian-born, Anna was third generation American. Her career spanned silent film, sound film, television, stage, and radio; and probably with much difficuly, became the first Chinese-American movie star in Hollywood and the first Chinese-American actress to gain international recognition. Anna's father wasn't happy with her interest in films and prior to 1967, there was limitations to her roles as the American anti-miscegenation laws didn't allow her to share an on-screen kiss with leading men of another race. Sixty one years after her death, she would be featured in the 2022-2025 US currency, a much deserved tribute indeed.
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