Anna May Wong
Anna May Wong
Movie star fought to be viewed beyond stereotypes in Hollywood
Anna May Wong (1905–1961) was the first Chinese American actress to become a major box-office attraction. When World War II broke out, she put her film career on hold and worked from the United States on Chinese war relief. While some Chinese Americans of the time reprimanded her for playing to stereotypes, many people today see her as a pioneer who succeeded in a hostile industry.
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Anna May Wong
- Artist
- Nickolas Muray, 15 Feb 1892 - 2 Nov 1965
- Sitter
- Anna May Wong, 3 Jan 1905 - 3 Feb 1961
- Exhibition Label
- Anna May Wong was the first Chinese American actress to become a major box-office attraction. After scoring a success as the exotic Mongol slave in The Thief of Bagdad (1924), Wong was immediately pegged as Hollywood’s "oriental siren." Relegated to minor parts in a series of movies featuring unsympathetic portrayals of Asian characters, she left Hollywood for Europe in 1928, where she received leading film and stage roles. She returned to the United States in 1930 to star in the Broadway play On the Spot. Although Wong appeared regularly on screen throughout the 1930s, the U.S. film industry never gave her the opportunity to move beyond stereotypical roles. As a consequence, Wong often found herself in the unenviable position of performing in films that perpetuated racial stereotypes or not working at all.
- Credit Line
- National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution
- 1937
- Object number
- NPG.99.45
- Restrictions & Rights
- Usage conditions apply
- Copyright
- © Nickolas Muray Photo Archives
- Type
- Photograph
- Medium
- Color carbro print
- Dimensions
- Image: 39 x 31.1cm (15 3/8 x 12 1/4")
- Sheet: 43.9 x 34.6cm (17 5/16 x 13 5/8")
- Mount: 50.6 x 38.2cm (19 15/16 x 15 1/16")
- Mat: 71.1 x 55.9cm (28 x 22")
- National Portrait Gallery
- Topic
- Costume\Jewelry\Earring
- Indeterminable
- Costume\Dress Accessory\Fan
- Anna May Wong: Female
- Anna May Wong: Performing Arts\Performer\Actor\Movie
- Portrait
- Record ID
- npg_NPG.99.45
- Usage of Metadata (Object Detail Text)
- Usage conditions apply
- GUID (Link to Original Record)
- http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/sm4efab9cea-8650-4489-89e0-9c5e3d5a252a