Could Anna May Wong speak Chinese?

Anna May Wong was an American actress who was the first Chinese-American actress to achieve international acclaim.

Anna May Wong learned to speak English, Chinese, French, German, and Italian during her career.

Anna May Wong spoke German and French so well that critics couldn’t believe they were hearing her rather than a native actress.

Anna May Wong had one of the few romantic lead roles she would ever play at the age of seventeen in Toll of the Sea (1923), the first Technicolor (early colour film) features ever made.

Wong captured the media’s attention for the first time as a young village girl who marries an American sailor.

Wong made history in 1951 with her television show The Gallery of Madame Liu-Tsong, the first in the United States to feature an Asian American series lead.

For decades after her death, Wong was remembered primarily for her stereotypical “Dragon Lady” and demure “Butterfly” roles. Her life and career were revisited in the years leading up to her centennial, with three major literary works and film retrospectives.