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Bruce Lee, Anna May Wong paved the way for Asians in Hollywood – their heirs talk about their legacy, a ‘soft spot’ for Michelle Yeoh and the pain of ‘horrible tropes’
- Bruce Lee’s daughter Shannon Lee and actress Anna May Wong’s niece discuss how the two overcame prejudice to win fame – and marvel at how things have changed
- From being passed over even for Asian roles to Everything Everywhere All at Once sweeping the 2023 film awards, ‘it’s crazy how far we’ve come,’ says Anna Wong
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Almost every working Asian actor in Hollywood can trace their path back to Bruce Lee and Anna May Wong.
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The Chinese-American screen legends are typically talked about the way one talks about revered ancestors. One was a martial arts icon, the other an actress who stood out during the silent film era despite playing women who were either submissive or dragon ladies. Both are credited with showing Asians could be more than just extras for films about China or Chinatown.
Although Wong was born in 1905 in Los Angeles and Lee in 1940 in San Francisco, their families like to imagine they crossed paths.
“They may have. Well, they may have seen each other at like a party or something,” says Anna Wong, the older Wong’s niece and namesake.
“My father was an actor when he was a child in Hong Kong. So, you know, he may have seen some of her films that came across,” Shannon Lee chimes in. “He loved to see Hollywood films as well when he was young.”
Lee and Wong had never met before doing a recent joint Zoom interview. They discovered parallel experiences protecting the legacy of a family member who happens to be an icon of both Hollywood and Asian America.
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