Asian Americans have been involved in the U.S. entertainment industry since the 19th century, when Afong Moy started a series of shows that evolved into essentially one-woman shows. In the mid-19th century, Chang and Eng Bunker (the original Siamese Twins) became naturalized citizens and were successful performers in the United States. Sadakichi Hartman, originally from Japan, was a successful playwright in the 1890s. Acting roles in television, film, and theater were relatively few, and many available roles were for narrow, stereotypical characters. Early Asian American actors such as Sessue Hayakawa, Anna May Wong, and Bruce Lee encountered a movie-making culture and industry that wanted to cast them as caricatures. Some, like actress Merle Oberon, hid their ethnicity to avoid discrimination by Hollywood's racist laws.
In the 21st Century, Asian Americans are gained greater visibility in mainstream U.S. film, television, music, and digital media.
Digital platforms such as YouTube have provided new visibility for some Asian American comedians, musicians, and filmmakers. Notable YouTubers include comedians such as Ryan Higa and Kevin Wu; entertainers such as Dan Chan and Christine Gambito; musicians such as MC Jin, Far East Movement, Sam Tsui, David Choi, and Kina Grannis; and the filmmaking group Wong Fu Productions. These entertainers have gained notable followings, mainly with young Asian American students, through solo and collaborative videos, short films and tours.
Several Asian American fashion designers have risen to prominence in the world of fashion, such as Vera Wang, Anna Sui, and Monique Lhuillier. Sandy Liang and her fashion label brand has garnered attention especially in New York City for pieces that exude and revolutionize femininity and romance.
In literature, Asian American authors have received recognition in both fiction and nonfiction. Some include Linda Sue Park's A Single Shard, Cynthia Kadohata's Kira-Kira, Erin Entrada Kelly's Hello, Universe, and Tae Keller's When You Trap a Tiger receiving Newbery Medals. Maxine Hong Kingston and Bharati Mukherjee won National Book Critics Circle Awards in 1976 and 1988 for their respective works The Woman Warrior and The Middleman and Other Stories.
Additionally, other Asian American music artists have broken out into mainstream audiences beyond the Asian American community. Popular artists and performers include those such as Bruno Mars, Darren Criss, Awkwafina, Jhené Aiko, Olivia Rodrigo, Conan Gray, and The Slants.
Asians have been influential in fine arts as both subjects and artists, despite Asian American artwork being rather underrepresented in many art collections and museums. Some recognized artists include Sueo Serisawa, David Choe, Isamu Noguchi, and George Tsutakawa. Notable architects include Minoru Yamasaki (World Trade Center), Maya Lin (Vietnam Veterans Memorial), and Fazlur Rahman Khan (John Hancock Center and the Willis Tower). Asian American graphic artists such as Larry Hama (Marvel Comics' G.I. Joe series) and Jim Lee (Batman: Hush, Superman: For Tomorrow, Fantastic Four, X-Men) have also been influential in the comic book industry.
Award (Golden Globe and Academy Awards) +Actor/actressAwardCategory of the awardProjectYearNotesMiyoshi UmekiAcademyBest Supporting ActressSayonara19581st East Asian-American actress and Japan born actress to win an OscarRichard ChewAcademyFilm EditingStar Wars: A New Hope19781st Asian-American to win a film editing OscarHaing NgorAcademyBest Supporting Actor The Killing Fields19851st East Asian-American actor to win an OscarAziz AnsariGolden GlobeBest Actor in Television ComedyMaster of None20181st Asian-American actor to win a Golden Globe for acting in televisionKe Huy QuanAcademy/ Golden GlobeBest Supporting ActorEverything Everywhere All at Once20231st Asian-American actor to win an Oscar as well as a Golden GlobeAli WongGolden GlobeBest ActressBeef20241st Asian-American actor to win a Golden Globe in a Limited SeriesAli WongGolden GlobeBest Performance in Stand-Up Comedy on TelevisionSingle Lady20252nd person to win the award
19th century
In 1834, Afong Moy, the first recorded Chinese woman to arrive in the United States, began appearing in public exhibition that combined performance with the display of Chinese material culture and language. Her performances would later evolve into more one-woman shows only. She would later go onto to meet U.S. President Andrew Jackson. She was the first Chinese person to meet a U.S. president. Her performances were recreated for the 2022 theatrical work: The Chinese Lady, at the Public Theater in New York City, which was written by Lloyd Suh, directed by Ralph B. Peña, and co-produced by the Ma-Yi Theatre Company. Moy was also the subject of the 2019 book named, The Chinese Lady: Afong May in Early America by curator emeritus at the National Museum of American History, Nancy E. Davis.The Chinese Lady: Afong Moy in Early America | Oxford Academic (oup.com)
Sadakichi Hartman, was born in Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan in 1867. His mother, Osada Harman, was also from Japan. He migrated to the United States, arriving in Philadelphia in 1882. He became active as a playwright in the 1890s. Between 1890 and 1900, he wrote the following controversial plays classified as Symbolist theatrical works:
Christ: A Dramatic Poem in Three Acts (1893) Buddha: A Drama in Twelve Scenes (1897)
Along with plays, he wrote a collection of short stories in Schopenhauer in the Air: Seven Stories (1899).
He was later an influential art critic and, in 1901, he authored the two volume History of American Art in 1901.Sadakichi Hartmann - Densho Encyclopedia At the dawn of the 20th century, he was an occasional performer in 1905 at the Miner's Theater in New York City.
Magician Chung Ling Foo brought his show from China to the 1898 Trans-Mississippi International Exposition in Omaha, Nebraska. His shows were at the Chinese Village of the exposition. He did a following show in 1899 at the same village.
Chang and Eng Bunker had a long career as public performers in the United States. Cheng and Eng Bunker were conjoined twins who become widely known in the 19th century as the "Siamese Twins." They were born in 1811 in a village sixty miles from Bangkok. Cheng and Eng were conjoined at the chest at birth, thus starting their career as a human spectacle. They were gawked at in their own country before coming to America at age eighteen. Touring city to city, they were well received, giving performances that featured their unique physiognomy and also highlighted their distinctive wit and innate intelligence. After ten years, at the age of twenty-eight, Chang and Eng retired and decided to settle down in Wilkes County in western North Carolina where they also adopted the surname "Bunker." In North Carolina, they married sisters Sarah Anne and Adelaide Yates and began their lives as southern gentlemen by managing their individual households, plantations, and slaves. The former Siamese Twins from the countryside outside of Bangkok became the wealthiest men in the county and the patriarchs of two large families (between the two, there were twenty-one children). When need be, they returned to touring in order to accumulate more funds. In 1874, both Chang and Eng died at age sixty-two.
Despite few Asian/Asian-American entertainers in the 19th century, many entertainment platforms attempt to depict accurate occurrences in 19th-century Asia, such as Dunhuang Performative Arts company and their performances exhibiting the journey of the Silk Road in "Dunhuang, My Dreamland." The show portrays Daoist priest Wang Yuanlu in accurate garb and performed by an appropriate actor, Chen Yizong. The playwright sets the stage at the Dunhuang Magao Caves which was historically important for travelers along the Silk Road, especially Buddhist monks from India and central Asia while on their journey to Chang'an (now Xi'an). Among meditations, the caves were used to reference the monastery's texts and records.
Actor/actress transitions from film to television and vice versa NameFromToExamplesAnna May WongFilmTelevisionFrom silent films to The Gallery of Madame Liu-Tsong (1951)Phillip AhnFilmTelevisionFrom films in the 1930s to Kung Fu (1972)Myoshi UmekiFilmTelevisionFrom films in the 1950s (including Sayonara, for which she received an Academy Award) to The Courtship of Eddie's Father (1969–1972)France NuyenFilmTelevisionFrom films in the 1950s to St. Elsewhere (1986–1988)Bruce LeeTelevision
FilmFilm
TelevisionFrom The Green Hornet to film. From films made in Hong Kong (1940s) to US television (1960s).George TakeiFilmTelevisionFrom film in the late 1950s to cast member of Star Trek (1966–1969).Pat Morita TelevisionFilmFrom Happy Days (1970s) to The Karate Kid (1980s)Ming-Na WenFilmTelevisionFrom Joy Luck Club (1993) to Dr.Jing-Mei "Deb" Chen on ER from (1994–1995) and (1999–2004)
Film
Film actors / actresses
1920s
Anna May Wong Anna May Wong was the first Asian American to become an international acting star.Gan 1995, p. 83. She became a fashion icon during the silent film era, beginning with her success in the film The Toll of the Sea (1922), the first color feature to be made in Hollywood. During her career she sought roles that portrayed Chinese and Asian Americans in a positive light, but these films never became famous except for a select few, such as Daughter of Shanghai (1937).
In 1935, Wong wanted to be cast in the film adaptation of The Good Earth, but lost the role to white actress Luise Rainer. Due to anti-miscegenation laws, producers did not even consider Wong to play the role, even when she publicly explained her desire for the role. She found out that "she was never considered because the producers wanted a white male actor for the Chinese lead, and anti-miscegenation laws prevented a nonwhite woman to be cast opposite a white man."(Tseng, A., 2018)
Frustrated by being stereotyped and typecast during her career in the United States, she moved to Europe, where she appeared in many plays and films, most notably the British film Piccadilly (1929).
She later returned to the United States in an ironic twist, at a time when American studios were searching Europe for fresh new talent, despite the fact that she was an American. She returned with promises of leading roles, but these did not come about. She eventually stopped acting in professional films, and turned to stage, cabaret, B movies, and anti-Japanese propaganda films such as Bombs Over Burma (1943) due to her advocacy against the Japanese aggression in China. She was set to make her comeback with the film Flower Drum Song (1961), but was unable to, due to failing health. Despite a prolific career, Wong's only film to have ever been a truly big success was Shanghai Express (1932). For her later work in television, see Television 1950s.
On February 8, 1960, Wong became the first Asian American actress to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Sessue Hayakawa
Sessue Hayakawa was the first and one of the few Asian American/Asian actors to find stardom in the United States and Europe, and was also the first leading Asian male actor in the United States. He became the first male sex symbol of Hollywood long before and the precursor to Rudolph Valentino. His fame rivaled that of Douglas Fairbanks and Charlie Chaplin.
Hayakawa's career began during the silent film era, leading into sound pictures in his later life. He became a film actor in a somewhat reluctant and accidental manner when the famous producer Thomas Ince saw his theater play The Typhoon and wanted to turn it into a silent film. When it was released, the film was an instant hit. With rising stardom, he was eventually offered a film contract by Famous Players–Lasky (now Paramount Pictures).