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Anna May Wong

Anna May Wong

Actor · Died February 2, 1961, aged 56 · Los Angeles, California, USA

Wong Liu Tsong (January 3, 1905 – February 3, 1961), known professionally as Anna May Wong, was an American actress whose long career spanned both silent and sound films, television, stage, and radio. Apart from being recognized as the the first Chinese-American movie star, as well as the first Asian-American to become an international star, she was also seen as an acclaimed fashion icon due to her being the one of the early stars to embrace the flapper look. Born near the Chinatown neighborhood of Los Angeles to second-generation Chinese-American parents, Wong became infatuated with the movies at an early age and quit education to focus on beginning an acting career. After landing parts as uncredited extras in silent films, she had her first leading role in The Toll of the Sea (1922), one of the first movies made in color. Her role in Douglas Fairbanks' The Thief of Bagdad (1924) helped her achieve international stardom. Tired of being offered stereotypical supporting roles, she left Hollywood for Europe in the late 1920s, where she starred in several plays alongside notable names like Laurence Olivier. She made her final silent film in Britain titled Piccadilly (1929), which earned her wide praise. Her first talkie, The Flame of Love (1930), was recorded in three languages: English, French and German. She spent the first half of the 1930s traveling between the United States and Europe for film and stage work. Wong was featured in films of the early sound era, such as Daughter of the Dragon (1931) and Daughter of Shanghai (1937), and with Marlene Dietrich in Josef von Sternberg's Shanghai Express (1932). These films brought her more and more fame, which she used to express her staunch political views. Although she advocated for Chinese-American causes and criticized the stereotypical roles she played, Chinese press and critics continued to view her as a disgrace to the country. After experiencing the most severe disappointment of her career, when Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer refused to consider her for the leading Chinese role in the film The Good Earth (1937), and instead chose a white German actress in yellowface, Wong spent the a year touring China, visiting her family's ancestral village, and studying Chinese culture. Returning to Hollywood, she starred in several B movies that portrayed Chinese-Americans in a positive light in the late-1930s. As World War II rolled around, she focused less on her film career and decided to devote her time and money in helping the Chinese against Japanese invasions. Returning to the public eye in the 1950s with several television appearances, she started her own detective mystery television show titled The Gallery of Madame Liu-Tsong (1951), the first U.S. television show starring an Asian-American. She was scheduled to return to film in Flower Drum Song (1961) but she died of a heart attack. For decades after her death, Wong was remembered mostly for the stereotypical roles she was given although critics have begun to reevaluate her life and career. In 2022, Wong became the first Asian-American to be depicted on American coinage when the quarters with her image on them went into circulation. In 2023, Mattel released a Barbie doll modeled on Wong in honor of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month.

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Biography from TMDB.

Born
January 3, 1905
Died
February 2, 1961 (aged 56)
From
Los Angeles, California, USA
Works as
Actor
Titles
19 on MovieCove · 73 credits in all
Links
IMDb (opens in a new tab)TMDB (opens in a new tab)Wikidata (opens in a new tab)

Known for

TMDB popularity, last 38 days to Oct 27Up 1% in 30 days

What are Anna May Wong's films like?

Across their 15 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Morality and Bonds.

Genres

Drama5 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 51st percentile
: browse their Drama movies
Adventure4 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 60th percentile, at or above their average across these genres
: browse their Adventure movies
Crime4 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 55th percentile
: browse their Crime movies

Their MovieCove films by primary genre. The badge is the typical Midcredits score of the genre's films, the median percentile; an up arrow marks a genre at or above their average across these genres.

Themes

share of theme weight
Morality
51%
Bonds
20%
Power
10%
Self
9%
Society
6%
Survival
3%
Ideas
1%
Justice6 titles, browse their movies with this themeRomantic love3 titles, browse their movies with this themeBetrayal5 titles, browse their movies with this themeFamily bonds3 titles, browse their movies with this themeDeception5 titles, browse their movies with this themeDuty3 titles, browse their movies with this themeSacrifice2 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

their average across 15 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category
Stylized: How far its world departs from everyday reality. Browse their stylized movies.
Tone · Style
naturalisticheightened

A split, not a type: Grounded 9 · Stylized 2 · Heightened 4

Charged: How hard the emotional peaks hit while you watch. Browse their charged movies.
Feel · Intensity
gentleintense

Gentle 1 · Charged 12 · Intense 2

Shifting: How much it swings between very different feelings. Browse their shifting movies.
Feel · Swings
steadyswings

Steady 7 · Shifting 8 · Whiplash 0

Straight-faced: How much of the runtime is played for laughs. Browse their straight-faced movies.
Feel · Humor
noneconstant

Straight-faced 13 · Some laughs 2 · Funny 0

Even-paced: How fast it moves from scene to scene. Browse their even-paced movies.
Demand · Pace
slowrelentless

Slow burn 6 · Even-paced 7 · Relentless 2

Engaged: How much focus it asks of you — look away and lose the thread? Browse their engaged movies.
Demand · Attention
casualfull focus

Casual 4 · Engaged 11 · Full focus 0

Affecting: How much it costs you emotionally; whether you need recovery time. Browse their affecting movies.
Demand · Emotional cost
easyheavy

A split, not a type: Easy watch 7 · Affecting 6 · Heavy 2

Resolved: How much is left for you to interpret. Browse their resolved movies.
Demand · Resolution
resolvedambiguous

Resolved 13 · Open-ended 2 · Ambiguous 0

Roles they play

8 analyzed roles

Usually the Hero: 6 of 8 analyzed roles.

Hero
6 of 8
Ally
1 of 8
Shapeshifter
1 of 8
Show the 8 roles

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Tense
13
Melancholic
5
Dread
4
Hopeful
4
Thrilling
3
Other
6

How their films linger

Feel-good7 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteFun5 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteHopeful4 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteCathartic3 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteDevastating2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteThought-provoking2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

How their films end · 3 with a twist

  • Happy8
  • Bittersweet4
  • Tragic3

AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.

Where can I watch Anna May Wong's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 7 of their 19 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Tubi (6).

Also on these channels

Subscription and free streaming for Anna May Wong's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.

Filmography

73 credits, 19 with a MovieCove page; 8 appearances as themselves are hidden until asked for.

  • Drifting (The Attempted Reanimation of Anna May Wong) (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2024)

    as Archive Footage

  • Yellowface: Asian Whitewashing and Racism in Hollywood(2019)

    as (archive footage)

    Midcredits score: 50th percentile of all films

  • Dragon by the Tail (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1961)

    as A-Hsing

  • The Barbara Stanwyck Show (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1960)

    Show 1 episode · as A-Hsing

  • Danger Man(1960)

    Show 1 episode · as Miss Lee

    Midcredits score: 83rd percentile of all shows

  • Portrait in Black(1960)

    as Tawny

    Midcredits score: 53rd percentile of all films

  • Just Joe (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1960)

    as Peach Blossom

  • The Savage Innocents(1960)

    as Hiku

    Midcredits score: 75th percentile of all films

  • Adventures in Paradise (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1959)

    Show 1 episode · as Lu Yang

  • The Letter (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1956)

    as The Woman

  • The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1955)

    Show 1 episode · Actor

  • Producers' Showcase (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1954)

    Show 1 episode · as Chinese Woman

  • Climax! (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1954)

    Show 1 episode · as Clerk · as Mayli

  • The Gallery of Madame Liu-Tsong (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1951)

    Show 9 episodes · Actor

  • Impact(1949)

    as Su Lin

    Midcredits score: 76th percentile of all films

  • Lady from Chungking(1942)

    as Kwan Mei

    Midcredits score: 34th percentile of all films

  • Bombs Over Burma(1942)

    as Lin Ying

    Midcredits score: 11th percentile of all films

  • Ellery Queen's Penthouse Mystery(1941)

    as Lois Ling

    Midcredits score: 31st percentile of all films

  • Island of Lost Men(1939)

    as Kim Ling

    Midcredits score: 38th percentile of all films

  • King of Chinatown(1939)

    as Dr. Mary Ling

    Midcredits score: 47th percentile of all films

  • When Were You Born?(1938)

    as Mei Lei Ming

    Midcredits score: 38th percentile of all films

  • Dangerous to Know(1938)

    as Madame Lan Ying

    Midcredits score: 57th percentile of all films

  • Daughter of Shanghai (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1937)

    as Lan Ying Lin

  • My China Film (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1936)

    Director · Producer · as self

  • Limehouse Blues (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1934)

    as Tu Tuan

  • Tiger Bay (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1934)

    as Lui Chang

  • Java Head (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1934)

    as Princess Taou Yuen

  • Chu Chin Chow (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1934)

    as Zahrat

  • A Study in Scarlet(1933)

    as Mrs. Pyke

    Midcredits score: 21st percentile of all films

  • Shanghai Express(1932)

    as Hui Fei

    Midcredits score: 88th percentile of all films

  • Daughter of the Dragon (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1931)

    as Ling Moy

  • Hai-Tang(1930)

    Actor

    Midcredits score: 53rd percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)

  • The Flame of Love (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1930)

    as Hai Tang

  • The Road to Dishonour (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1930)

    as Hai-Tang

  • Pavement Butterfly (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1929)

    as Hai-Tang

  • Piccadilly (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1929)

    as Shosho

  • Song (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1928)

    as Song

  • Chinatown Charlie (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1928)

    as Mandarin's Sweetheart

  • Across to Singapore(1928)

    as Singapore Saloon Girl (uncredited)

    Midcredits score: 60th percentile of all films

  • The Crimson City (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1928)

    as Su

  • Souvenirs (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1928)

    as The Captain's Chinese Love

  • Streets of Shanghai (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1927)

    as Su Quan

  • The Devil Dancer (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1927)

    as Sada

  • The Chinese Parrot (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1927)

    as Nautch Dancer

  • Old San Francisco(1927)

    as A Flower of the Orient

    Midcredits score: 51st percentile of all films

  • Why Girls Love Sailors (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1927)

    as Delamar (scenes deleted)

  • The Honorable Mr. Buggs (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1927)

    as Baroness Stoloff

  • Mr. Wu(1927)

    as Loo Song

    Midcredits score: 55th percentile of all films

  • Driven from Home (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1927)

    Actor

  • The Desert's Toll (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1926)

    as Oneta

  • The Silk Bouquet (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1926)

    as Dragon Horse

  • A Trip to Chinatown (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1926)

    as Ohati

  • Fifth Avenue (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1926)

    as Nan Lo

  • His Supreme Moment (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1925)

    as Harem Girl in Play (uncredited)

  • Forty Winks (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1925)

    as Annabelle Wu

  • Peter Pan (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1924)

    as Tiger Lily

  • The Alaskan (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1924)

    as Keok

  • The Fortieth Door (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1924)

    as Zira

  • The Thief of Bagdad(1924)

    as The Mongol Slave

    Midcredits score: 94th percentile of all films

  • Lilies of the Field (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1924)

    Actor

  • Thundering Dawn (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1923)

    as Honky-Tonk Girl

  • Drifting (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1923)

    as Rose Li

  • Mary of the Movies (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1923)

    as Anna May Wong (uncredited)

  • The Toll of the Sea (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1923)

    as Lotus Flower

  • The White Mouse (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1921)

    Actor

  • Bits of Life (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1921)

    as Toy Sing, Chin Chow's Wife

  • Shame (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1921)

    as Lotus Blossom

  • Mother o' Mine (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1921)

    as (uncredited)

  • A Tale of Two Worlds (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1921)

    Actor

  • The First Born (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1921)

    Actor

  • Outside the Law (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1921)

    as Chinese Girl (uncredited)

  • Dinty (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1920)

    as Half Moon

  • The Red Lantern (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1919)

    as Eurasian woman (uncredited)

Career shape

Star power in the 90th percentile of 239,109 people with a billed film role, over a full career of 73 titles from 1919 to 2024.

Biggest box office

Shanghai Express (1932)

$71 worldwide

Highest rated

The Thief of Bagdad (1924)

Midcredits 94th

Most popular right now

Shanghai Express (1932)

Film career

  • 1923Screen debut· The Toll of the Sea

By role

only this rolewith another role
Acting72 of 73: 72 only acting, 0 with another role · typical Midcredits score53rdDirecting1 of 73: 0 only directing, 1 with another roleProducing1 of 73: 0 only producing, 1 with another role

By decade

1910s1 · acting1920s38 · acting1930s16 · 15 acting · 1 crew1940s4 · acting1950s6 · acting1960s6 · acting2010s1 · acting2020s1 · acting

Billing

usually 5th · top billed in 0% of 9 roles

Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored. Billing is TMDB cast order for roles with 25+ votes, billed in the top 30.

How do Anna May Wong's films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 52nd percentile, the median of all 18; across their 15 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 47th percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

47thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 15

Approval · how many liked their films

46thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 15

Reach · how many have seen their films

30thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 15

Midcredits score across 19 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up5
  • 50th to 74th7
  • 25th to 49th5
  • Below 25th2

Shape of the crowd

8 of their 19 titles are Crowd Pleasers.

  • Universally Loved1
  • Cult Classic2
  • Crowd Pleaser8
  • Broadly Agreed2
  • Mixed6

Most divisive · actor

Across to Singapore (1928)

84th percentile spread · 18% rated it 4 or lower

Most loved · actor

The Thief of Bagdad (1924)

Midcredits 94th · 83% liked

Reviewers score the acting 65/100 in their films, across 14 reviewed titles; fans 75, detractors 41. The element that speaks to their work as an actor.

Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.

Who does Anna May Wong work with?

People who share at least 2 of Anna May Wong's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Anthony Quinn shares the most, 4.

Directors

Writers

Actors

Composers, cinematographers and editors

Producers

Mixed roles