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Chloe Zhao, Best Director
Photo: AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, Pool/CP Images
"Nomadland" director Chloe Zhao made history in April 2021 as the first Asian woman in history to win an Oscar for Best Director at the Academy Awards. Zhao is only the second woman in history to win the Oscar. It also marked the first time a director of Chinese descent earned Best Picture.
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Yuh-Jung Youn Makes History At 73
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Yuh-Jung Youn is 73-years-old and she is only just hitting her Hollywood prime. The Korean actress has been a mainstay in her country since the late 1960s. In 2021, she was awarded Best Supporting Actress at the Oscars for her role in "Minari". Youn is the first Korean actress to win a Screen Actors Guild Award, British Academy Film Award and Academy Award, as well as the first to be nominated for a Critics Choice Movie Award.
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The Original, Anna May Wong
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Anna May Wong is generally considered to be the first major Asian-American movie star in the world. Wong, born in 1905, was a third-generation Chinese-American. She also starred in 1951's "The Gallery of Madame Liu-Tsong", the first-ever U.S. television show starring an Asian American series lead.
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Miyoshi Umeki Is A Trendsetter
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Miyoshi Umeki is a pillar for successful Asian actresses. The Japanese-American singer and actress was the first Asian woman to be nominated for and win an Academy Award for acting. She was honoured in 1957 for her supporting role in "Sayonara".
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Haing Somnang Ngor Follows Suit
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27 years after Miyoshi Umeki won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress, Haing Somnang Ngor became the first Asian-American actor to win Best Supporting Actor at the 1984 Academy Awards. He was honoured for his role in "The Killing Fields".
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Bong Joon-ho And 'Parasite'
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Director Bong Joon-ho captured the world's imagination with his family class dark comedy thriller, "Parasite". The movie broke barriers at the 2019 Academy Awards, becoming the first Korean, Asian and foreign-language film to win the Oscar for Best Picture.
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BTS Make Platinum-Tinted History
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BTS is one of the biggest musical acts in the world and that success is highlighted by the success of their album, Love Yourself: Answer. The 2018 album went platinum in the U.S., marking the first time a K-Pop act went platinum stateside.
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John Cho Is Thrilling
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Most fans caught wind of John Cho through his beloved work in the "Harold & Kumar" movie series with Kal Penn. Fun fact, the "Star Trek" alum's leading role in 2018's "Searching" marked the first time an Asian American actor headlined a mainstream Hollywood thriller. The movie was a critical and commercial success and a sequel is in the works.
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James Wong Howe And 'The Rose Tattoo'
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All the way back in 1955, James Wong Howe became the first director to win the Academy Award for Best Cinematography for his work on "The Rose Tattoo".
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Awkwafina's Refreshing Performance
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Rapper-turned-actress Awkwafina caught the world's eye with her laugh-out-loud performance in "Crazy Rich Asians". It was her role in "The Farewell" that earned her a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress, the first Asian-American to do so. She will star alongside Simu Liu in Marvel's "Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten RIngs" and Disney's "The Little Mermaid".
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Aziz Ansari's Golden Globe
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Aziz Ansari also has a history-making Golden Globe to his name. Ansari won a Best Actor award for "Master of None", becoming the first Asian-American to win a Golden Globe for acting in television.
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Bowen Yang Is Live
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Bowen Yang became the first Asian-American cast member of Global's "Saturday Night Live" when he joined the long-running sketch-comedy show in 2019. The Australian-born Chinese American served as a staff writer on the show before getting the big promotion.
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Alexander Wang Is Fashion Forward
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The success of Asian talent is not limited to the big or small screen. Alexander Wang became the first Asian-American creative director and head of a French haute couture house when he took the reigns at Balenciaga.
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Far East Movement Up The Charts
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Los Angeles-based musical group Far East Movement dominated sounds systems with their 2010 hit "Like a G6". Members Kev Nish (Kevin Nishimura), Prohgress (James Roh) and DJ Virman (Virman Coquia) became the first Asian-American music group to earn a number one song on the Billboard Hot 100 with electronic hip-hop bop.
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The Beautiful Angela Perez Baraquio Grey
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Angela Perez Baraquio Grey achieved the height of pageantry fame when she was crowned Miss America in 2001. She became the first Asian American, first Filipino American, and the first teacher to ever win the pageant.
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Kelly Marie Tran, Disney Darling
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Kelly Marie Tran made history within the Disney universe not once, but twice.
The actress was the first-ever Asian American woman to have a major role in a “Star Wars” film, making her debut as Rose Tico in 2017’s “Star Wars: The Last Jedi”. She later reprised her already-iconic role in 2019’s “Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker”.
Tran later joined forces with Disney again when she voiced the first Southeast Asian Disney princess in the new animated feature “Raya And The Last Dragon”.
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Sandra Oh, Golden Girl
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In 2019, Sandra Oh made history within the Hollywood Foreign Press as the first Asian host of the Golden Globe Awards. She hosted the show next to Andy Samberg.
Later that evening, Oh became the first woman of Asian descent to win multiple Golden Globes. The actress won her first Globe in 2006 for her role as Cristina Yang on “Grey’s Anatomy” and later won for her role in “Killing Eve”.
Her win for “Killing Eve” also marked the first time a woman of Asian descent won a Best Actress Golden Globe - in a TV drama - in 39 years.
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Lucy Liu Makes 'SNL' History
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Lucy Liu made history in 2000 when she became the first actress of Asian descent to host the iconic sketch show, Global’s “Saturday Night Live”.
No other Asian woman hosted the show until 18-years later, when Awkwafina took the stage with musical guest Travis Scott.
In her opening monologue, Awkwafina revealed a then 11-year-old named Nora Lum from Queens had travelled to Manhattan to wait outside 30 Rockefeller Plaza hoping to see Liu make history.
“I was a kid and I didn’t have a ticket, so I knew I wasn’t getting in. But I just wanted to be near the building. And I remember how important that episode was for me and how it totally changed what I thought was possible for an Asian American woman,” the “Crazy Rich Asian” star said. “Standing here tonight is a dream I never thought would come true. So thank you, Lucy, for opening the door. I wasn’t able to make it into the building back then, but 18 years later, I’m hosting the show.”
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Photo: AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, Pool/CP Images
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