Wednesday’s Google Doodle celebrates one of the first Asian American movie stars, Anna May Wong.
According to CNET, Wednesday marks the 97th anniversary of the general release of a silent movie called The Toll of the Sea. It is the movie in which Wong claimed her first starring role.
In honor of that anniversary, Google created a slideshow of artwork depicting scenes from Wong’s life and roles. The artist who created the doodle is named Sophie Dao, CNN reports.
“Asian American actors are underrepresented even now, so amazingly Anna May Wong was so active right at the beginning of film history, bridging the gap between silent films and talkies,” Diao told CNN.
According to CNET, as a child, Wong used to hang around film sets in her neighborhood. At the age of 11, she landed her first role as an uncredited extra in Red Lantern.
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Wong’s path to stardom wasn’t easy. She was often cast in supporting roles based on racial stereotypes. In 1928, she moved to Europe in order to pursue lead roles. Two years later she returned to star in Shanghai Express, the movie many know her for.
From the 1920s to the 1950s, Wong appeared in several films and television shows.
Wong died of a heart attack in 1961 at the age of 56. Her achievements in the film industry had been honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame a year earlier.
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