Anna May Wong
Anna May Wong (born Wong Liu-tsong; January 3, 1905 – February 3, 1961) was an American movie actress. She was the leading Chinese American Hollywood movie star of the pre-WWII era.[1]
Anna May Wong | |
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 Paramount publicity photo, c. 1935 | |
| Born | Wong Liu-tsong January 3, 1905 Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Died | February 3, 1961 (aged 56) Santa Monica, California, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1919–1961 |
| Parent(s) | Wong Sam-sing Lee Gon-toy |
| Awards | Hollywood Walk of Fame – Motion Picture 1700 Vine Street |
| Anna May Wong | |||||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 黃柳霜 | ||||||||||||
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| Simplified Chinese | 黄柳霜 | ||||||||||||
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Life
changeShe was the first Chinese American actress to get international recognition.[2] She worked on silent film, sound film, television, theatre, and radio.[3]
Wong played the title character of Fu Manchu's vengeful daughter in Daughter of the Dragon (1931).[4] Though she was given the starring role, this status was not reflected in her paycheck: she was paid $6,000, while the male lead Hayakawa got $10,000. Warner Oland, who was only in the film for 23 minutes, was paid $12,000.[5]
Wong began using her newfound celebrity to make political statements: late in 1931, for example, she wrote a harsh criticism of the Mukden Incident and Japan's invasion of Manchuria.[6]
The Anna May Wong Award of Excellence is given yearly at the Asian-American Arts Awards;[7] the annual award given out by the Asian Fashion Designers group was also named after Wong in 1973.[8]
References
change- ↑ Chan, Anthony B. 2003. Perpetually cool: the many lives of Anna May Wong (1905–1961). Lanham, MD: The Scarecrow Press. ISBN 0-8108-4789-2, p. xi.
- ↑ Gan, Geraldine 1995. Anna May Wong. Lives of notable Asian Americans: arts, entertainment, sports. New York: Chelsea House. pp. 83–91. ISBN 978-0-7910-2188-0, p. 83.
- ↑ Wong, Elizabeth 2005. China doll, the imagined life of an American actress. Woodstock, IL: Dramatic Publishing. ISBN 1-58342-315-X
- ↑ Wollstein, Hans J 1999. Anna May Wong. Vixens, floozies, and molls: 28 Actresses of late 1920s and 1930s Hollywood. Jefferson, NC: McFarland. ISBN 0-7864-0565-1 p253.
- ↑ Corliss, Richard (January 29, 2005). "Anna May Wong Did It Right". Time. Retrieved August 11, 2010. p. 4.
- ↑ Hodges, Graham Russell Gao (2012) [2004]. Anna May Wong : from laundryman's daughter to Hollywood legend. Hong Kong University Press. ISBN 978-9882208902, p. 118.
- ↑ Chan 2003, p276.
- ↑ Hodges 2004, p232.