--- description: Anna May Wong is one of the leaders, innovators, activists, entertainers, athletes and artists who defined the last century. title: Anna May Wong: 100 Women of the Year image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt177d2be3da44d5ff/698a0af9457a521d0cd639e3/social-1928_Anna-May-Wong.jpg?branch=production --- * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # 1928: Anna May Wong Mar 5, 2020 11:33 AM CUT  Buy the cover art→ Buy the cover art→Illustration by George Dawnay for TIME; Redux by [TIME Staff](/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 5, 2020 11:33 AM CUT Long before Lucy Liu or [Awkwafina](https://time.com/collection/time-100-next-2019/5718887/awkwafina/ "undefined") spoke up about the [lack of Asian representation in Hollywood](https://time.com/5622913/asian-american-representation-hollywood/ "undefined"), Anna May Wong was fighting the same unjust structures. The native Angeleno, born to second-­generation Chinese-American parents, became a silent-film star in the 1920s on the strength of her expressiveness. But because of miscegenation laws that prevented interracial couples onscreen—and rampant yellowface practices—her opportunities were mostly limited to stereotypes like the rejected other woman or the villainous dragon lady. After years of speaking up against racism, Wong moved in 1928 to Europe, where she found audiences were more receptive to her talent, regardless of her race. She starred in films, plays and operettas, and became a global fashion icon. She later returned to the U.S., where she continued to fight discrimination and, in the 1950s, became the first Asian American to land a leading role in a U.S. TV series, _The Gallery of Madame Liu-Tsong._ With her ingenuity and resilience, she set a template for generations of Asian Americans to pursue their [own artistry and stardom](https://time.com/longform/crazy-rich-asians/ "undefined"). _—Andrew R. Chow_ [**Buy the cover art→**](https://fineartamerica.com/featured/anna-may-wong-1928-time.html "undefined") --- _This article is part of_ [_100 Women of the Year_](https://time.com/100-women-of-the-year/ "undefined")_, TIME’s list of the most influential women of the past century. Read more_ [_about the project_](https://time.com/5793734/time-100-women-of-the-year-issue/ "undefined")_, explore the_ [_100 covers_](https://time.com/5793732/time-100-women-of-the-year-covers/ "undefined") _and sign up for our_ [_Inside TIME newsletter_](https://cloud.newsletters.time.com/newsletters?newsletter%5Fname=INSIDE%5FTIME&source=article-woy-footer "undefined") _for more._ ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5792709/anna-may-wong-100-women-of-the-year/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5792709/anna-may-wong-100-women-of-the-year/"},"headline":"1928: Anna May Wong","datePublished":"2020-03-05T11:33:34.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-24T08:20:01.536Z","description":"Anna May Wong is one of the leaders, innovators, activists, entertainers, athletes and artists who defined the last century.","url":"https://time.com/5792709/anna-may-wong-100-women-of-the-year/","keywords":["Women of the Year"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt177d2be3da44d5ff/698a0af9457a521d0cd639e3/social-1928_Anna-May-Wong.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt177d2be3da44d5ff/698a0af9457a521d0cd639e3/social-1928_Anna-May-Wong.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"SOCIAL - Women of the Year: 1928_Anna-May-Wong","caption":"","creditText":"","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5792709/anna-may-wong-100-women-of-the-year/","name":"1928: Anna May Wong"}}]}] ```