Can you name a famous living Asian American? If so, you’re among only 56% of Americans.
According to a study from Leading Asian Americans to Unite for Change (LAAUNCH) and the nonprofit Asian American Foundation, 44% of Americans are unable to name a living Asian-American celebrity.
This May, we’re celebrating Asian American Native Hawaiian Pacific Islander (AANHPI) Heritage Month. AANHPI Heritage Month commemorates the generations of Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders who have enriched America’s history and are instrumental to its future success.
In 1978, President Jimmy Carter launched Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Week, and in 1990, Congress extended the weeklong celebration to one month. In 2021, President Joe Biden changed the name to better acknowledge the history and contributions of Native Hawaiians.
To honor and celebrate AANHPI Heritage Month, we put together a list of 5 AANHPI celebrities blazing a trail in Hollywood:
Jason Momoa
Jason Momoa is Native Hawaiian on his father’s side. He was born in Honolulu, Hawaii and raised in Norwalk, Iowa by his mother before moving back to Honolulu after graduating from high school.
He appeared in “Baywatch Hawaii” in 1999 before joining the sci-fi series “Stargate: Atlantis” in 2005 and becoming a household name when he appeared in the hit HBO fantasy drama “Game of Thrones” in 2011.
In 2016, Momoa took on the role of Aquaman, redefining the character for a new generation. He first appeared in “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice,” and then “Justice League,” before getting his own solo movie in 2018.
“Aquaman” is the second live-action studio superhero movie to feature a biracial leading character in the title role (with the first being the 2004 film “Catwoman,” starring Halle Barry). In a departure from the Aquaman seen in the comics, Momoa’s version takes inspiration from and pays tribute to the actor’s own Native Hawaiian background.
“It’s an honor to be a brown-skinned superhero for sure,” Momoa said. “There’s a lot of Polynesian kids who are going to be very stoked to have someone to look up to like that.”
Auli'i Cravalho
Auli’i Cravalho is a native Polynesian and was born in Kohala, Hawaii. She made her acting debut in 2016 as the voice of Moana, the first Polynesian Disney princess from the film of the same name.
Cravalho is proud of how her culture was represented in the movie and has stated how important it is for young people to be able to see themselves onscreen. “I understood the importance that [Moana] would have, not only culturally, but also generationally,” Cravalho said. She recorded the Hawaiian-language version of the film in 2017.
Since then, Cravalho has taken on diverse roles and used her platform to highlight injustice. She appeared at the premiere of one of her projects, “The Power,” with a red handprint painted over her mouth to raise awareness for No More Stolen Sisters, a human rights movement highlighting murdered and missing Indigenous women and girls.
Cravalho recently starred as Janis ‘Imi’ike in the 2024 movie musical “Mean Girls,” an adaptation of the stage musical which itself was adapted from the 2004 film.
Steven Yeun
Steven Yeun was born in Seoul, South Korea as Yeun Sang-yeop. His family immigrated to Canada when Yeun was in kindergarten before moving to Troy, Michigan one year later. He began going by the name Steven while living in the United States.
Yeun performed in improv and sketch comedy groups before landing his breakout role: fan favorite Glenn Rhee on the AMC show “The Walking Dead,” which he appeared on for 7 years before exiting the show in 2016. When choosing which roles to accept, he focuses on nuanced characters that allow him to show his range as an actor.
In 2017, Yeun became the first Asian American to be nominated for an Oscar for Best Actor. He received the nomination for his role in “Minari,” in which he plays Jacob, a Korean immigrant who brings his family to a farm in Arkansas. “I read the script and I was blown away,” Yeun said. “I was in tears. Seeing the words of how a life similar to mine could be put on a page was very liberating.”
Yeun has also received critical acclaim for his performances in “Burning,” “Sorry to Bother You,” “Nope,” and the Netflix series “Beef,” which he stars in alongside comedian Ali Wong.
Lucy Liu
Lucy Liu was born in Queens, New York, and is the daughter of Chinese immigrants. She began acting in 1991 and gained fame in 1998 when she appeared as Ling Woo in the TV series “Ally McBeal.” In 1999, she received an Emmy nomination for the role.
Liu has also starred in many other movies and TV shows, including “Shanghai Noon,” “Charlie’s Angels,” “Kill Bill,” and “Elementary.” She has won a Critics’ Choice Television Award, 2 Screen Actors Guild Awards, and a Seoul International Drama Award.
In 2000, Liu was the first Asian woman to host “Saturday Night Live.” In 2019, she became the second Asian-American woman to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The first was Anna May Wong, a Chinese-American movie star from the 1920s and ’30s, to whom Liu paid tribute in her speech.
“Sometimes people talk about my mainstream successes as groundbreaking for an Asian, but Asians have been making movies for a long time,” she said. “They just weren’t making them here because we weren’t yet invited to the table. I was lucky that trailblazers like Anna May Wong and Bruce Lee came before me. If my body of work somehow helped bridge the gap between stereotypical roles, first given to Anna May, and mainstream success today, I am thrilled to have been part of that process.”
Mindy Kaling
Mindy Kaling was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts as Vera Mindy Chokalingam. Her father was a Tamil architect, and her mother was a Bengali ob-gyn. Kaling is a writer, actress, director, and producer, and she has received 2 Screen Actors Guild Awards and a Tony Award, as well as 6 Emmy nominations. In early 2023, she became the first South Asian person to receive the Norman Lear Prize for Achievement in Television at the Producers Guild Awards.
Kaling began pursuing a career in comedy in 2001, and in 2002, she wrote and starred in an off-Broadway play, “Matt & Ben,” playing a fictionalized version of the actor Ben Affleck. She became a writer for “The Office” in 2005 and went on to appear in the series as Kelly Kapoor. She has also created her own TV shows, including “The Mindy Project,” “Champions,” and “Never Have I Ever.”
When she started “The Mindy Project” in 2012, she became the first Indian American to create and star in an American TV show. Her Netflix show “Never Have I Ever,” which she launched in 2020, has also been praised as a landmark for authentic representation of South Asian families. It was partly inspired by Kaling’s own childhood and depicts the story of a South Asian girl attending high school in Los Angeles.
“If something is truthful, and it’s honest to your experience, it can have universal appeal,” Kaling said, regarding the show’s success. “I was so proud as an Asian American, that so many people who didn’t look like that family felt the story was compelling.”
These are just a few of the many talented Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders working in the entertainment industry today!
Representation in media is important, and everyone deserves the opportunity to see themselves onscreen. When AANHPI communities can tell their stories, they inspire AANHPI youth to achieve their dreams and help other young people expand their curiosity, perspective, and respect for other cultures.
AANHPI Heritage Month is the perfect time to learn about the great accomplishments of Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders, so do some more research, and find someone who inspires you!
