Michelle Yeoh-
The beloved actress best known for her portrayals in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and the most recent blockbuster to take the world by storm, Everything Everywhere All at Once, Michelle Yeoh is one of the most dynamic talents in Hollywood today. She is not only an award-winning actress, starring in hit films on an international level but has consciously used her skills to defy stereotypes, promote the stories of Asian creatives and strengthen the positive representation of Asian people in the media. Her efforts to promote these stories were taken to a new level this last year with the tremendous success of the Oscar expectant, Asian-led Everything film. Her portrayal of the movie and activism have earned her numerous nominations from some of the most prestigious award societies and the title of the 2022 Icon of the Year for TIME Magazine. “I am so grateful and lucky that today the importance of representation is also finally being embraced,” Variety reported Yeoh saying at the Santa Barbara Film Fest. “How essential and enlightened and just right it is to finally see different cultures and different places and different backgrounds and abilities portrayed on the screen. And I am incredibly proud that maybe, just maybe, I played some tiny part in all of that.”
Sources: Wikipedia, Hollywood Reporter
Janet Yang
Janet Yang, a Hollywood producer best known for her work on The Joy Luck Club and Over the Moon, Janet Yang, made history this last year when she became the first Asian woman to be president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. This position makes her the first in charge of the actions and processes of the Oscar nomination and awarding process. Along with her new role at the Academy, Yang is a dedicated activist for advancing the arts and Asian representation. She is a member of the Committee of 100, an organization of prominent Chinese-Americans; an advisory board member of Asia Society Southern California; the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations and an advisory board member of CAPE, the Coalition of Asian-Pacific Americans in Entertainment. Additionally, Yang co-founded Gold House, a collective of influential Asians across entertainment, technology, lifestyle and business.
Sources: Wikipedia, Variety
Helen Park
A composer from New York, Helen Park has been hailed by the likes of the New York Times and the Hollywood Reporter for her unique writing and musical stylings. Most recently, Park wrote all of the music for a short-lived but beloved Broadway musical, “KPOP,” that debuted in the winter of 2022 and brought Asian representation to the theatre world in a way that has never been done before. The musical’s arrival was not only a huge milestone for the Asian American community but for Park personally, making her the first Asian American woman to compose a musical on Broadway. Her work on the music earned her the Richard Rogers and the Lucille Lortel awards, and she is currently nominated for three Drama Desk Awards, an annual prize honoring theatrical talents on Broadway. “We’ve just started to tell our story,” Park said of Asian representation in the musical world, “We pushed boundaries, and we broke many glass ceilings with 18 Broadway debuts. We created an all-original musical, the only one this season, unapologetically in our own way, with passion and pride. I wish for more diverse stories told from an authentic point of view. And I can’t help but feel that we’re still only halfway there.”
Sources: Helen Park Music, Playbill
Gurinder Chadha
From Bend it Like Beckham and Angus, Thongs, and the Perfect Snogging, Gurinder Chadha has been using her unique stylings to create some of film’s most beloved comedies since the beginning of her career. Named as one of the United Kingdom’s most prolific directors of today, Chadha focuses many of her films on the importance of racial diversity, mainly showcasing the stories of Indian families. Now, Chadha will be taking her heart for diverse representation to one of the biggest entertainment studios in the world, Disney. Working on their next animated feature, Chadha has been named the director of the upcoming and currently untitled Disney princess film. The movie will center around the franchise’s first Indian princess and take place sometime in India’s history. Along with her passion for racial diversity, Chadha is a huge advocate for supporting women in television and film. She is an active patron of numerous charities including Medical Aid Films, Directors UK Inspire, the British Film Institute, the Sundance Directors Lab and a patron of Women in Film U.K. Chada is a creative mentor and role model for Creative Access.
Sources: Wikipedia, Deadline
Esther Young Lim
After seeing an increase in anti-Asian racism against the AAPI community, Esther Young Lim became increasingly worried about herself, her family and her friends. To better protect and educate her community, Lim created the “Hate Crime Booklets,” a grassroots resource designed to help people recognize and report AAPI-related hate crimes. In less than two years, the booklets went from a predominant distribution in the Los Angeles area to being a widely popular resource available in 13 languages across the United States. The book has additionally been used and promoted by nonprofit organizations, federal agencies, community groups and businesses alike and was even promoted by popular singer, Lizzo at the People’s Choice Awards. “I never could have imagined the impact that my grassroots booklets could have on bringing awareness to end anti-Asian hate crimes,” Young Lim states on her website, “and (I) am openly pursuing publicity and partnership opportunities to keep awareness moving forward.” Sources: Hate Crime Book, Los Angeles Times
