On Monday, the United States Mint will begin delivering coins depicting actress Anna May Wong, the first Asian American to appear on US money
Wong, known as Hollywood's first Asian American movie star, advocated for increased representation and less stereotyped roles for Asian Americans on screen. Wong, who died in 1961, struggled to get jobs in Hollywood in the early twentieth century, during a period of "yellowface" in which white individuals applied makeup and costumes to play Asian characters, and anti-miscegenation laws, which criminalized interracial relationships.
Her parts were riddled with racial stereotypes, and she was underpaid, getting $6,000 for her top-billed role in Daughter of the Dragon compared to Warner Oland's $12,000 for barely appearing in the first 23 minutes. Wong got $6,000 for Shanghai Express, while Marlene Dietrich earned $78,166.
After being subjected to discriminatory treatment in Hollywood, Wong relocated to Europe, where he appeared in films in English, French, and German. In a 1933 interview with the Los Angeles Times, she stated that she was bored of the characters she had to play in Hollywood.
"Why is it that the screen Chinese is almost always the villain of the piece, and such a horrible villain - ruthless, devious, a snake in the grass?" she said. "That is not how we are."
Wong's career covered 60 films, many of which were silent, and she was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1960.
The American Women Quarters Program of the United States Mint honors five female trailblazers in American history each year between 2022 and 2025. Wong appears on the fifth coin issued this year. The US Mint expects to create more over 300 million Wong quarters at its Philadelphia and Denver plants.
Wong was described as a "courageous campaigner who championed for more representation and more multidimensional parts for Asian American performers" by Mint Director Ventris Gibson.
The coins' tails will have a close-up of Wong with her head resting on her hand, while the front will include a depiction of George Washington designed by 20th century sculptor Laura Gardin Fraser, who was the first woman to design a coin for the United States in 1921.
This year's other women in the program were poet Maya Angelou, astronaut Sally Ride, suffragist and politician Nina Otero-Warren, and Wilma Mankiller, the Cherokee Nation's first female major chief.
#Wong @AnnaMayWong
SOURCE: npr
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