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Anna May Wong (January 3, 1905 – February 3,
1961) was the first truly notable Chinese American
Hollywood actress.  Born Wong Liu Tsong
(zh-cp|c=黃柳霜|p=Huáng
Liǔshuāng) in Los Angeles, California, a
daughter of a laundryman, she began playing bit
parts as a teenager.  Her first role was in the
silent film, The Red Lantern (1919) with Alla
Nazimova, as an uncredited extra.  Her ethnicity
prevented her from getting choice parts,
especially romantic ones due to the Hays Code
anti-miscegenation rules.  When MGM was casting
for the The Good Earth (1937), she was passed up
for the lead female role of O-lan because Paul
Muni, an actor of European descent, was to play
Wang Lung, O-lan's husband.  Even though Muni was
to be wear heavy make up to look Asian, industry
regulations prevented her from playing romantic
roles opposite actors of different ethnicity.
Instead, the role Wong hoped for went to Luise
Rainer. 

Despite this discrimination, she had a number of
significant film roles.  Her first starring role
was in The Toll of the Sea (1921).  Anna May
travelled throughout Europe, and was one of the
leads in the British film Piccadilly (1929). In
Java Head (1934) she starred opposite John Loder
as a Chinese princess married to a 19th-century
English gentleman.  She also made films in German
and French.  In addition, she co-starred with
Marlene Dietrich in Shanghai Express (1932) and
with Lana Turner in Portrait in Black, though she
typically earned far less than her billing would
indicate. For her work in Shanghai Express, she
received $6,000 in comparison to Dietrich's more
than $78,000.  She toured extensively on the stage
throughout Europe and the United States, including
opposite Vincent Price in Princess Turandot , a
stage version of Giacomo Puccini's opera.

Wong never married, though reportedly was a
mistress of film director Marshall Neilan, among
others.

In 2003-4, two biographies and a book on her
career appeared.
Anna May Wong: A Complete Guide to Her Film,
Stage, Radio and Television Work was written by
Philip Leibfried and Chei Mi Lane.

For her contribution to the film industry,  Anna
May Wong was given a star on the legendary
Hollywood Walk of Fame, located at 1708 Vine
Street. 


==Partial filmography==

*The Red Lantern (1919) uncredited
* The Toll of the Sea (1921) as Lotus Flower
*The Thief of Bagdad (1924)
*Peter Pan (1924) as Tiger Lily
*Piccadilly (1929) as Shosho
*Shanghai Express (1932) as Hui Fei
*A Study in Scarlet (1933)
*Dangerous to Know (1937)
*Daughter of Shanghai (1937)
*Impact (1949 movie)|Impact (1949)
*Portrait In Black (1960)