Actress of the Day: Ming Na

Who’s reflection do I see~
Staring straight back at me?~

-MulanDangnabit. I hate to say this, but my favorite Ming-Na role to date has been a fictionalized Disney cartoon character. Her take on Fa Mulan inspired so  many AA girls (and open-minded boys) over the years, but in all seriousness, she has been a steady and powerfully talented force in the thespi-Asian community.

Ming-Na Wen originally hails from Macau and born unto Cantonese parents. She and her family re-located to the U.S. when she was 4 and later majored in theater at Carnegie Mellon University, despite her (very Asian-appropriate) mother’s urges for her to take up the holy grail of AA professions, medicine. She soared against the winds of Hollywo-adversity by nabbing a role on the soap, As the World Turns, got her “big break” by being the lead actress in the iconic AA film, The Joy Luck Club, and became a quasi-household name by portraying Dr. Jing-Mei “Deb” Chen on ER.

And there is quite a buzz over her current gig as the character, Camille Wray, in the TV series, Stargate. She is expanding the horizons of AA portrayal on T.V. by double fisting an image of a strong Asian woman kicking butt in outer space in one hand and an image of an in-love lesbian (with fellow AA Reiko Aylesworth) in the other! I have yet to catch an episode (I’m a Trekkie all the way), but I am incredibly excited for her to take on this challenging role.

Despite the recent influx of talented young AA into the entertainment scene, Ming-Na will continue to reign as the ultimate queen 0f AAA (Asian American Actors) for me. She singlehandedly helped pave the rocky way for other young hopefuls with the weights of  both their Hollywood dreams and Asian-child guilt on their shoulders. I salute you, Ming-Na, and I hope that you and Shang (Mulan’s smokin’ hot main squeeze) are living a happy life together. Tee hee.