Anna May Wong, a trailblazing Hollywood actress, will be the first Asian American ever to appear on U.S. currency later this month.U.S. MintIt was announced.
Wong will be the fifth female quarter-coin holder and she will be joined by astronaut Sally Ride, Maya Angelou, and writer Maya Angelou.
Anna May Wong was born Wong Liu Tsong, on Jan. 3, 1905, in Los Angeles. Her family quickly gave her the English-sounding name Anna May.
At 14 years old, she was already staring in Hollywood movies. Her first role was as an additional in the 1919 film. “The Red Lantern.” She got her first leading role in 1922’s “The Toll of the Sea.”
She appeared in more than 60 films and had a career that spanned movies, TV and theater. She became the first Asian American lead actor in a U.S. television show with her role in 1951’s “The Gallery of Madame Liu-Tsong.”
Wong faced discrimination in Hollywood and typecasting during an era where there was a lot of discrimination “yellowface”Anti-miscegenation legislation, The New York Times reported.
In 1960, Wong received a star on Hollywood Walk of Fame. She died on Feb. 3, 1961.
The 2020 Netflix series told her story. “Hollywood,”Ryan Murphy created this.