Anna May Wong was the first Chinese American film star in Hollywood, staring in over fifty movies throughout her career.
Born as Wong Liu Tsong on January 3, 1905 in the Chinatown area of Los Angeles, California, she was given the English name Anna May by her family. Growing up, she worked in her family’s laundry mat and attended Chinese language classes after school.
When film productions moved from New York to California, Wong would often visit movie sets, giving herself the stage name Anna May Wong. In 1919, she was cast as an extra in the new film The Red Lantern. In 1921, Wong dropped out of high school to became a full-time actress. In that same year, she landed a role as Toy Ling’s wife in the film Bits of Life. In 1922, she landed her first leading role in The Toll of the Sea, one of the first films made in Technicolor. She achieved stardom when cast in a supporting role in a Douglas Fairbanks picture, The Thief of Baghdad (1924).
It was challenging for Wong to land leading roles in romantic films because the laws at the time prevented interracial marriages and interracial actors from kissing on screen. In 1924, she attempted to create her own production company called Anna May Wong Productions, however the company did not last.
Fed up with being starred in racially stereotypical roles, Wong left Hollywood and moved to Europe, starring in many films including Schmutziges Geld (1928), Piccadilly (1929), and her first talking film, The Flame of Love (1930). In the 1930s, Paramount Studios in the United States contacted Wong, offering leading roles. She returned to star in the Broadway production of On the Spot.
Wong was still asked to play stereotypical Asian roles. The director of the film Dangerous to Know asked her to use Japanese mannerisms, in which Wong refused. She accepted many discriminatory roles with the prospects that they would lead to further success. In 1935, Wong dealt with the most disappointing blow to her career when she was passed over for the leading role of O’lan in The Good Earth, Metro Goldywn-Mayer’s screen adaption of Pear S. Buck’s awarding-winning novel about the hardships of Chinese farmers. Wong received the role as the concubine Lotus, but refused the part, while the role of O’lan went to a German actress. Wong was dismayed that she, as a Chinese woman, was offered the only unsympathetic role in an all-American cast portraying Chinese characters.
In 1951, Wong played a gallery owner and detective in The Gallery of Madame Liu-Tsong, making history as the first Asian American to lead a television series
In 1961, at the age of 56, Wong passed away from a heart attack.
During her lifetime, Wong advocated for Asian American awareness, becoming an inspiration for other women who faced similar challenges in the film industry.
Segment, featured in February 13, 1922 Perth Amboy Evening News, shows Anna May Wong starring in Bits of Life. Note that many American actors were cast as Chinese characters, as seen above with Lon Chaney playing the role as a Chinese immigrant.
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“I was so tired of the parts I had to play. 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. We are not like that. How should we be, with a civilization that’s so many times older that that of the West. We have our own virtues. We have our rigid code of behavior, of honor. Why do they never show these on the screen? Why should we always scheme, rob, kill?”
-Anna May Wong’s opinion about the portrayal of Chinese in Hollywood films.
(Contributed by Kristi Chanda)
References
Alexander, Kerri Lee. (2019). “Anna May Wong.” National Women’s History Museum. Received from https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/anna-may-wong.
Gonzales, Erica. (2020). “Hollywood Tries to Right Anna May Wong’s Story-Here’s What Really Happened.” Harpers Bazaar. Received from https://www.harpersbazaar.com/culture/film-tv/a32346961/who-is-anna-may-wong-hollywood-star/.
Westenfeld, Adrienne. (2020). “Ryan Murphy’s New Show is An Alt-History. But Anna May Wong’s Story is a Real Hollywood Injustice.” Esquire. Received from https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/tv/a32333040/anna-may-wong-the-good-earth-ryan-murphy-hollywood-netflix-true-story/.