Women We Love- Anna May Wong

“This is such a short life that nothing can matter much either one way or another. I have learned not to struggle but flow along with the tide. If I am to be rich and famous, that will be fine. If not, what do riches and fame count in the long run?” - Anna May Wong

Born Wong Lui-tsong in Los Angeles in 1905 to second-generation Taishanese Chinese Americans, Anna May Wong would become the first Chinese American Hollywood movie star and the first internationally recognized Chinese American actress. Her lengthy career spanned nearly 30 years and included roles in silent film, sound film, radio, stage, and television. Dubbed the “Dragon Lady” of Hollywood, Wong’s career consisted largely of roles that played into stereotypical Asian caricatures such as the “oriental seductress,” the China doll, and the exotic slave girl like in the 1931 film Daughter of the Dragon. Wong was outspoken about her treatment as an Asian-American woman in Hollywood, often expressing her distaste for the roles she was relegated to.

“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,” Wong said in a 1933 magazine interview. “We are not like that. How could we be, with a civilization that’s so many times older than that of the west?” In 1937, MGM cast Luise Rainer as O-lan in yellowface for the film The Good Earth, denying Wong the lead role. She spoke out against the snub, earning pushback from Hollywood giants and bringing much-needed attention to racism and sexism in the entertainment industry.

'Dangerous to Know, Anna May Wong, 1938' Photo | AllPosters_com.jpg

Wong was also celebrated for her unparalleled beauty as well as her approach to the Westernization of traditional Chinese beauty practices and styles. Her iconic hair was usually worn in a short bob with straight, flat bangs: framing her face by following right above her penciled-in, bold eyebrows. She is also credited with popularizing the cat eye, using a sharply winged liner to accentuate her natural shape. Wong often sported dark red lips in her black and white publicity photos and on film, defining them against her healthy, glowing skin. Her finishing touches? A quick swipe of mascara on her lower lash lines and cream-based blush on the apples of her cheeks. By the time Wong finally decided to step out of the lights in the early 1950s, she left a legacy of dedication to the arts, resistance to social injustice, and a cultural reset in her wake. Anna May Wong was a supernova, and will always be remembered as one of Hollywood’s most memorable stars.