Actress Anna May Wong is first Asian American on U.S. money

Quarters bearing the face and manicured hand of actress Anna May Wong will start shipping Monday, according to the U.S. Mint. The quarter is part of the Mint’s American Woman Quarters Program. It’s a four-year program that started in 2022 and will continue through 2025. Every year, the mint will pick five women who contributed to the humanities, science, government, and space exploration. The mint said it chose Wong for her work in advocating for more multi-dimensional roles for Asian American actors. 

Who was Wong? Wong was born in Los Angeles in 1905. She got her first big role in 1922 as the lead in “The Toll of the Sea” but was often relegated to playing stereotypical roles before landing a multi-picture deal with Paramount. She worked in Europe for a short time but returned to eventually become the first Asian American to play the lead in a U.S. television show. Her show was called The Gallery of Madame Liu-Tsong. Wong’s career spanned theater, TV, and movies and she earned a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1960. She died in 1961. 

Dig deeper: Read Samuel D. James’ column in WORLD Opinions on diversity in the arts.