Anna May Wong Steps into the Spotlight

June 4, 1939. Anna May Wong steps off an ocean liner to greet her fans in Australia. In many ways, she is a classic Hollywood actor. Glamorous and famous. She’s made some sixty movies that have been seen around the world. But in other ways, Anna May Wong is singular. She’s the first–and at this time only–Chinese American movie star. But behind the scenes...she is reaching the end of her rope. How did a Chinese American girl from a poor family defy expectations to become an international star? And what is now fueling her Hollywood rebirth?


Thank you to our guests: Professor Shirley Lim, author of Anna May Wong: Performing the Modern; and actor Michelle Krusiec, from Netflix's "Hollywood."


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