A Look at Anna May Wong's Most Groundbreaking Style Moments

Anna May Wong, born Wong Liu Tsong, was born in 1905 in Los Angeles, just five years before the American film industry moved west from New York five. Having grown up visiting film sets and marveling at the glamorous actresses, Wong set her sights on becoming a movie star by age 9. She landed her first role in a film at age 14, and was cast as an extra in The Red Lantern. She eventually dropped out of high school to focus on acting and is now considered the first Chinese-American film star as well as one of the first actors to be act in a Technicolor movie.

Despite being cast in dozens of films, Wong's legacy has not always received the recognition it deserves. Netflix's 2020 series Hollywood sought to reimagine what Wong's career—and life—would have looked like if she had not been so frequently typecast as subserviant and exoticized characterters in supporting roles. Read on to discover Wong's powerful legacy as a Chinese American actor from the golden age of Hollywood who wasn't afraid to be bold in her fashion and lifestyle choices.