Who Was Anna May Wong?

Earlier this year, the United States Mint started the American Women Quarters Program which is a 4 year program celebrating the accomplishments and contributions made by women of the United States. On October 25, they released their quarter featuring Anna May Wong - the first Asian American ever to be featured on American money. But who was Anna May Wong and how did she get this honor?

Anna May Wong was born January 3, 1905 in Los Angeles, California. Anna May was a third-generation Chinese American, and the second of seven kids. Her parents ran a laundromat. In Anna May’s younger years, her family lived in a relatively diverse neighborhood, though in 1910 they relocated to a street where they were the only Chinese family on the block. Anna May and her sister were often teased and bullied at public school because of their race, so their parents switched them to a Presbyterian Chinese school , and Anna May attended Chinese language school a few afternoons a week as well.

Again, to set the scene, this is 1910. The film industry is still pretty new, and is just starting to relocate from the east coast to Hollywood … you might remember my Uncle Carl, and a lot of other filmmakers too, were looking to escape Thomas Edison and his oppressive hold over the film industry on the east coast. Well, a lot of those movies started filming in the neighborhoods around Anna May Wong, and she became obsessed with the industry. She missed classes to go see movies during the day, and hung around film sets as a nine year old, begging filmmakers to give her roles.

She got her first professional acting gig in 1919 in Alla Nazimova’s film The Red Lantern. A friend of her dad’s got her a part as an extra, carrying a lantern. She continued working as much as she could for the next two years, and then at age 16 she dropped out of high school to pursue a full-time acting career. It’s pretty incredible how quickly her career picked up from here. She got her first screen credit that year playing Lon Chaney’s wife on screen. Yes…that Lon Chaney. And the following year got her first leading role in a technicolor movie The Toll of the Sea. She got rave reviews.

But this doesn’t mean that suddenly everything was so easy for her. I mean, think of how limited diverse roles can be today, and then remember this was 100 years ago. The vast majority of the roles offered to her were Chinese stereotypes, and she couldn’t have an interracial relationship with any non-Asian actor on screen…even a white actor pretending to be Asian…so it barred her from being a leading lady.

Anna May Wong was really disappointed by this. She had the talent, she had the love of the critics and the public, but it just wasn’t enough. It was hard enough to get such stereotypical roles all the time, but on top of that, sometimes Anna May Wong would be passed over in favor of non-Asian actresses playing those stereotypical roles. It must have been so demoralizing. In 1928, in search of better opportunities, Anna May Wong moved to Europe.

Just as in Hollywood, Anna May Wong got great reviews working overseas. She got some fantastic roles both on stage, and on film, though I’d be lying if I said all issues of typecasting and on-screen racism disappeared. In the 1929 film Piccadilly, first instance, a scene where she was going to kiss her love interest got cut from the film. Her work in Europe gained her greater attention back in Hollywood, of all. places. She got a contract with Paramount promising her top billing and leading roles and she appeared in On the Spot on Broadway. But she also continued to accept some stereotypical roles as well - usually, as far as I can tell, when it would further her career and influence.

Anna May Wong was determined not to sit idly by as Hollywood continued to disrespect her and her race. She started pushing back against directors who depicted elements of her culture incorrectly, and advocating for better roles for Chinese American actors. She went back and forth between Hollywood and Europe a few times, finding her best opportunities and continuing to solidify her reputation as a bonafide star. But in 1936, she would face her greatest industry heartbreak.

Pearl Buck’s novel “The Good Earth” was being turned into a movie, and Anna May Wong was determined to play the lead - a Chinese woman named O-lan. For years, she told people she wanted to play the part, and newspapers and magazines all agreed she’d be the best actress for the role. But the role was given to German-American actress Luise Rainer, and Anna May Wong was offered only a smaller character who is essentially a villain. She is quoted as telling Irving Thalberg at MGM, who was head of production: “If you let me play O-lan, I will be very glad. But you’re asking me - with Chinese blood - to do the only unsympathetic role in the picture featuring an all-American cast portraying Chinese characters.” Luise Rainer won an Oscar for the role, and Anna May Wong subsequently took a short hiatus from Hollywood.

Anna May Wong with actress Marlene Dietrich

I should step back a moment to talk about Anna May Wong behind the scenes. Because … yes she was a movie star, but that stardom extended beyond her movies. In the 1920s, she crafted a flapper image. She had blunt cut bangs, and a thin physique that fit the style perfectly. She often combined the fashions of Hollywood with traditional Chinese dress - or as one article I read put it: “sometimes her clothes are as modern as the Chrysler Building, sometimes as Chinese as the pagodas in the Forbidden City. But they are always smart and correct.” Women all around the world tried to copy her look and her style. I think Anna May really loved her place as a fashion icon. Fashion was where she could authentically express herself without judgment or ridicule. Where suddenly who she was wasn’t shamed or mocked, but instead people looked to her for inspiration and to try to be like her.

Anna May Wong had an active social life. She never married, but had quite a few romances and relationships. Some notable names I know of are Tod Browning, director of Dracula, cinematographer Charles Rosher, and it’s said Eric Manschwitz may have been the love of her life. She had a close friendship with Marlene Dietrich, who she acted with in Shanghai Express, and it’s possible that at some point, that friendship got a little more intimate.

As Anna May distanced herself from Hollywood, she decided to take a year long trip to China to learn about her heritage. She created a documentary about her experience, “My China Film” almost as a direct response to being passed over in The Good Earth. Anna May struggled a bit on her journey abroad. The Chinese dialect she spoke was not widely spoken or understood, so she often had to use a translator. Some towns welcomed her with excitement, but others felt her film roles or European clothes were degrading. When Anna May Wong returned to Hollywood, she felt like she didn’t belong anywhere. Not Chinese enough to feel at home there, but not American enough to be welcomed where she grew up.

I think her whole life and her whole career, Anna May Wong had to walk a very delicate line. How could she be a part of the industry she loved while also standing up for what’s right? If she opted out entirely, there’s no way she could affect any change, but if she played too many stereotypical roles, she was reinforcing those ideas around the world. What was she supposed to do?

In the late 1930s, Anna May Wong finished out her contract with Paramount with a string of B Movies. Though these movies were less popular than the big-budget films from her earlier years, they were able to take bigger risks and allow her to play better roles: roles that were more fleshed out, where she was sympathetic, successful or even powerful. With every year, it seemed her confidence and sense of self grew, and she was more comfortable being outspoken and standing up for China and for Chinese-Americans. In 1938, she auctioned off her movie costumes and donated the money to Chinese aid, she donated her salary on a few movies to United China Relief, she campaigned openly for politicians, and continued to advocate for better roles for Chinese American actors, and better representation for Chinese characters in film.

In 1951, Anna May would transition to television with The Gallery of Madame Liu-Tsong - a detective show written for her. It was the first television show with an Asian-American lead, and in 1956 she narrated ABC’s Bold Journey, a documentary about China that used footage from her 1936 excursion.

I think the constant pressure on Anna May Wong was a lot. To spend her whole career fighting discrimination, feeling like an outsider everywhere, being one of the only faces representing your entire race and heritage - I can’t imagine the stress that would put on someone. Anna May in her later years started drinking quite a bit and had various health issues, and in 1961 at just 56 years old, Anna died of a heart attack at her home in Santa Monica.

I almost feel I’ve done Anna May Wong a disservice by not talking more about her many accomplishments in theater, TV, and radio, but there’s just not enough time. I highly encourage you to keep learning about Anna May Wong and the incredible impact she had on the industry, and her tireless activism - working to change Hollywood from the inside out.

In the last few years, Anna May Wong has finally been getting her due. A few years ago she was celebrated on the Google homepage for the 97th anniversary of The Toll of the Sea. She was a character in Ryan Murphy’s Hollywood. There’s a biopic in the works starring Gemma Chan. And of course, you can now see her beautiful portrait on the back of the US quarter. I can’t wait to see my first one!