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 | |||||||||||||
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| Traditional Chinese | 黃柳霜 | ||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 黄柳霜 | ||||||||||||
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Life
She 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]
Anna May Wong Media
Anna May Wong seated in her mother's lap, c. 1905
This is a duplicate copy of the Certificate of Identity issued to actress Anna May Wong.
Wong (holding child) with Beatrice Bentley in The Toll of the Sea (1922)
Wong on the cover of the Chinese magazine The Young Companion in June 1927
Wong with Ramón Novarro in Across to Singapore (1928)
Anna May Wong in Daughter of the Dragon (1931)
Carl Van Vechten photographic portrait of Wong, September 22, 1935
Carl Van Vechten photographic portrait of Wong, in costume for a dramatic adaptation of Gozzi's Turandot at the Westport Country Playhouse, August 11, 1937
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References
- ↑ 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.