Anna May Wong

Born: 1905-01-03

​From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Anna May Wong (January 3, 1905 – February 3, 1961) was an American actress, the first Chinese American movie star, and the first Asian American to become an international star. Her long and varied career spanned both silent and sound film, television, stage, and radio. Born near the Chinatown neighborhood of Los Angeles to second-generation Chinese-American parents, Wong became infatuated with the movies and began acting in films at an early age. During the silent film era, she acted in The Toll of the Sea (1922), one of the first movies made in color and Douglas Fairbanks' The Thief of Bagdad (1924). Wong became a fashion icon, and by 1924 had achieved international stardom. Frustrated by the stereotypical supporting roles she reluctantly played in Hollywood, she left for Europe in the late 1920s, where she starred in several notable plays and films, among them Piccadilly (1929). She spent the first half of the 1930s traveling between the United States and Europe for film and stage work. Wong was featured in films of the early sound era, such as Daughter of the Dragon (1931) and Daughter of Shanghai (1937), and with Marlene Dietrich in Josef von Sternberg's Shanghai Express (1932). In 1935 Wong was dealt the most severe disappointment of her career, when Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer refused to consider her for the leading role in its film version of Pearl S. Buck's The Good Earth, choosing instead the German actress Luise Rainer to play the leading role. Wong spent the next year touring China, visiting her family's ancestral village and studying Chinese culture. In the late 1930s, she starred in several B movies for Paramount Pictures, portraying Chinese-Americans in a positive light. She paid less attention to her film career during World War II, when she devoted her time and money to helping the Chinese cause against Japan. Wong returned to the public eye in the 1950s in several television appearances as well as her own series in 1951, The Gallery of Madame Liu-Tsong, the first U.S. television show starring an Asian-American. She had been planning to return to film in Flower Drum Song when she died in 1961, at the age of 56. For decades after her death, Wong was remembered principally for the stereotypical "Dragon Lady" and demure "Butterfly" roles that she was often given. Her life and career were re-evaluated in the years around the centennial of her birth, in three major literary works and film retrospectives. Interest in her life story continues and another biography, Shining Star: The Anna May Wong Story, was published in 2009. Description above from the Wikipedia article Anna May Wong, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.


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Shanghai Express

as Hui Fei
Released: 1932-02-12

A beautiful temptress re-kindles an old romance while trying to escape her past during a...

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The Thief of Bagdad

as The Mongol Slave
Released: 1924-03-18

A recalcitrant thief vies with a duplicitous Mongol ruler for the hand of a beautiful princess.

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Peter Pan

as Tiger Lily
Released: 1924-12-29

Peter Pan enters the nursery of the Darling children and, with the help of fairy dust, leads...

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Impact

as Su Lin
Released: 1949-03-20

After surviving a murder attempt, an auto magnate goes into hiding so his wife can pay for the...

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The Savage Innocents

as Hiku
Released: 1960-03-20

An Eskimo who has had little contact with white men goes to a trading post where he accidentally...

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Piccadilly

as Shosho
Released: 1929-02-01

A young Chinese woman, working in the kitchen at a London dance club, is given the chance to...

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Mr. Wu

as Loo Song
Released: 1927-03-26

When Mandarin Wu's unmarried daughter becomes pregnant by a young Englishman, he seeks vengeance.

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Bombs Over Burma

as Lin Ying
Released: 1942-06-05

The film tells the story of Chinese guerrillas fighting for the Allied cause in Burma during...

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Elstree Calling

as Herself / Katherina in Taming of the Shrew
Released: 1930-02-06

A series of 19 musical and comedy "vaudeville" sketches presented in the form of a live...

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Yellowface: Asian Whitewashing and Racism in Hollywood

as (archive footage)
Released: 2019-10-13

A history of anti-Asian racism and yellowface in Hollywood after the 1941 Pearl Harbor attack.

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Dangerous to Know

as Madame Lan Ying
Released: 1938-03-11

Racketeer Steve Recka, art patron and political power-maker, rules his town and Madame Lan Ying,...

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Portrait in Black

as Tawny
Released: 1960-07-27

A pair of lovers plot to kill the woman's rich husband.

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Limehouse Blues

as Tu Tuan
Released: 1934-12-11

Fresh from Chinatown in New York, Harry Young has taken over the illegal import business in the...

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Thundering Dawn

as Honky-Tonk Girl
Released: 1923-11-05

Jack Standish feels responsible for the failure of the partnership with his father and goes to...

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Old San Francisco

as A Flower of the Orient
Released: 1927-09-04

In San Francisco, a villainous landowner with underworld connections seeks to steal the property...

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Java Head

as Princess Taou Yuen
Released: 1934-07-31

The port city of Bristol, England, in the 1800s is home to Java Head, a sailing ship line...

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When Were You Born

as Mei Lei Ming
Released: 1938-06-18

A San Francisco astrologer correctly predicts a ship passenger's death and then helps the police...

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A Study in Scarlet

as Mrs. Pyke
Released: 1933-05-14

In London, a secret society led by lawyer Thaddeus Merrydew collects the assets of any of its...

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The Chinese Parrot

as Nautch Dancer
Released: 1927-10-23

The plot is motivated by a pearl necklace, which has caused the death and/or ruination of all...

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Outside the Law

as Chinese Girl (uncredited)
Released: 1921-01-06

Silent Madden and his daughter Molly have left the criminal underworld of San Francisco thanks...

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Across to Singapore

as Singapore Saloon Girl (uncredited)
Released: 1928-04-07

While Joel and his older ship's captain brother Mark are at sea, the latter is abandoned in...

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Pavement Butterfly

as Hai-Tang
Released: 1929-04-09

In this, her second silent film with Eichberg, Wong plays Princess Butterfly, an exotic Parisian...

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Hollywood Party

as Herself
Released: 1937-04-03

Elissa Landi and Charley Chase host an East Asian themed garden tea party in Hollywood. After...

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Tiger Bay

as Lui Chang
Released: 1934-09-01

Michael is a young Englishman abroad who deliberately visits a tough Chinese district of Tiger...

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Chinatown Charlie

as Mandarin's Sweetheart
Released: 1928-04-15

A likeable pickpocket happens to stumble onto a white slavery ring while plying his trade in...

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Why Girls Love Sailors

as Delamar (scenes deleted)
Released: 1927-07-17

Stan is a sailor whose girl gets kidnapped by a rough sea captain. Stan dresses in drag and...

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Shame

as Lotus Blossom
Released: 1921-07-31

William Fielding, a young widower, is living in Shanghai with his little boy, David. A young...

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Drifting

as Rose Li
Released: 1923-08-26

In Shanghai, an American girl who helps runs an opium ring meets an American agent disguised as...

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The Devil Dancer

as Sada
Released: 1927-11-03

An English explorer disturbed by the practices of an isolated tribe attempts to rescue a native...

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The Toll of the Sea

as Lotus Flower
Released: 1923-01-22

While visiting China, an American man falls in love with a young Chinese woman, but he then has...

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Mary of the Movies

as Anna May Wong (uncredited)
Released: 1923-05-27

Mary's kid brother needs an operation and, in order to pay for it, Mary goes to a Hollywood...

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Daughter of the Dragon

as Ling Moy
Released: 1931-09-05

At her Chinese father's bidding, a woman goes to murder an enemy and meets a Scotland Yard...

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Daughter of Shanghai

as Lan Ying Lin
Released: 1937-12-17

A Chinese-American woman tries to expose an illegal alien smuggling ring.

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Chu Chin Chow

as Zahrat
Released: 1934-05-01

Musical retelling of the "Ali Baba and the 40 Thieves" Arabian Nights tale.

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His Supreme Moment

as Harem Girl in Play (uncredited)
Released: 1925-04-12

John Douglas, a down-on-his-luck engineer, takes his sweetheart, Sara Deeping, to a play...

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Ellery Queen's Penthouse Mystery

as Lois Ling
Released: 1941-03-24

Chinese ventriloquist Gordon Cobb is murdered by a gang of jewel thieves. Baffled by the...

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Lady from Chungking

as Kwan Mei
Released: 1942-12-21

During World War II, Chinese guerrillas fight against the occupying Japanese forces. A young...

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King of Chinatown

as Dr. Mary Ling
Released: 1939-03-17

A Chinese-American surgeon faces a moral dilemma after operating on the mob boss in charge of...

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The Honorable Mr. Buggs

as Baroness Stoloff
Released: 1927-04-24

Mr. Buggs is an insect collector. A beautiful and mysterious Asian woman (the lovely Anna May...

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Lilies of the Field

as uncredited
Released: 1924-02-29

A young mother, Mildred, doesn't know that her husband Walter is cheating on her. One night she...

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Forty Winks

as Annabelle Wu
Released: 1925-02-02

The Butterworth family attorney Gaspar Le Sage, and a suitor for the hand of Eleanor...

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Bits of Life

as Toy Sing, Chin Chow's Wife
Released: 1921-09-26

This film combines four short films under the title Bits Of Life. The Bad Samaritan is taken...

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Island of Lost Men

as Kim Ling
Released: 1939-08-16

A Chinese general's daughter tracks her father to a slave-labor tyrant's jungle empire.

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Hollywood on Parade

as Self
Released: 1932-06-05

A short featuring many stars

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A Trip to Chinatown

as Ohati
Released: 1926-06-06

A young hypochondriac who believes that he has only a week to live. His name, by the way, is...

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The Red Lantern

as Eurasian woman (uncredited)
Released: 1919-05-04

Mahlee and Blanche Sackville are half-sisters, Blanche the daughter of an Englishman and his...

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Hollywood on Parade No. A-3

as Self
Released: 1932-10-20

Eddie Kane wanders round the studio back-lot, opening various doors to see which stars pop out.

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Song

as Song
Released: 1928-08-21

After committing a murder for his lover, Gloria, the famous painter Jack is forced to go...

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Just Joe

as Peach Blossom
Released: 1960-07-01

A shy detergent factory employee unexpectedly finds his feet.

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The White Mouse

as uncredited
Released: 1921-11-06

Sergeant Blake of the Northwest Mounted Police is sent to the border to break up a ring of...

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Driven from Home

as uncredited
Released: 1927-01-15

A father throws his daughter out of the house when she marries a man he doesn't approve of. In...

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Dinty

as Half Moon
Released: 1920-11-21

Dinty is a newsboy whose fight to care for his ailing mother leads him into conflicts with the...

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The Crimson City

as Su
Released: 1928-04-07

Gregory Kent is on the run for a crime he did not commit.

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A Tale of Two Worlds

as uncredited
Released: 1921-03-13

A white child is adopted and raised by a Chinese citizen and brought to San Francisco, where no...

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The Alaskan

as Keok
Released: 1924-09-14

An Alaskan defies robber barons intent on corrupting the new state.

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The Flame of Love

as Hai Tang
Released: 1930-03-07

In Russia, a Chinese dancer gives herself to a duke to save her brother's life.

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The First Born

as uncredited
Released: 1921-01-30

Loey Tsing, the first love of Chan Wang, is sold into slavery by her father. Although Chan...

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Streets of Shanghai

as Su Quan
Released: 1927-12-15

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Flame of Love

as uncredited
Released: 1930-09-19

French language version. A Chinese cabaret singer will do whatever it takes to save her brother...

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The Desert's Toll

as Oneta
Released: 1926-11-14

Frank Darwin needs to convince Muriel he didn't kill her Father, as claimed by Jasper and Oneta.

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The Road to Dishonour

as Hai-Tang
Released: 1930-02-26

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The Fortieth Door

as Zira
Released: 1924-05-25

Aimee is a young girl betrothed to a rascal, Hamid Bey. An American archeologist, Jack Ryder,...

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Fifth Avenue

as Nan Lo
Released: 1926-01-24

When her cotton crop is burned, Barbara Pelham, a beautiful southern girl, comes to New York to...

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The Silk Bouquet

as Dragon Horse
Released: 1926-06-25

This obscure silent melodrama, directed by the veteran Harry J. Revier, was filmed entirely in...

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Golden Gate Girls

as Self (archive footage)
Released: 2013-04-01

The film traces the life and times of Esther Eng, a San Francisco native known as Hong Kong’s...

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Adventures in Paradise

as Lu Yang
First aired: 1959-10-05

Adventures in Paradise is an American television series created by James Michener which ran on...

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The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp

as uncredited
First aired: 1955-09-06

The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp is a television western series loosely based on the life of...

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The Barbara Stanwyck Show

as A-Hsing
First aired: 1960-09-19

The Barbara Stanwyck Show is an American anthology drama television series which ran on NBC from...

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Climax!

as Clerk
First aired: 1954-10-07

Climax! is an American anthology series that aired on CBS from 1954 to 1958. The series was...

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Climax!

as Mayli
First aired: 1954-10-07

Climax! is an American anthology series that aired on CBS from 1954 to 1958. The series was...

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Danger Man

as uncredited
First aired: 1960-09-11

Danger Man is a British television series which was broadcast between 1960 and 1962, and again...

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Asian Americans

as Self (archive footage)
First aired: 2020-05-11

This five-part series traces the story of Asian Americans, spanning 150 years of immigration,...

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