WASHINGTON — The fifth coin in the American Women Quarters collection, featuring Chinese American actress Anna May Wong, will begin shipping on Oct. 24, the United States Mint announced this week.
Wong was the first Chinese American Hollywood film star, a trailblazer in the industry and a champion for greater representation of Asian Americans in film. Wong will be the first Asian American featured on U.S. currency.
The collection of quarters will feature 20 trailblazing American women over four years.
Born Wong Liu Tsong in 1905 in Los Angeles, her family gave her the English name Anna May. During her career across movies, television and theater, she appeared in more than 60 films, and became the first Asian American lead actor in an American television show for her role in "The Gallery of Madame Liu-Tsong." Facing discrimination in Hollywood, she traveled around the world to work on European films and theater productions.
She was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1960. She died in 1961.
“The fifth coin in our American Women Quarters Program honors Anna May Wong, a courageous advocate who championed for increased representation and more multi-dimensional roles for Asian American actors,” said U.S. Mint director Ventris C. Gibson.
The quarter features a close-up image of Wong with her head resting on her hand, surrounded by marquee lights.
“Along with the hard work, determination and skill Anna May Wong brought to the profession of acting, I think it was her face and expressive gestures that really captivated movie audiences, so I included these elements next to her name," said designer Emily Damstra.
The American Women Quarters program has this year featured:
- Maya Angelou, the celebrated writer, performer, and social activist
- Dr. Sally Ride, physicist, astronaut, educator, and first American woman in space
- Wilma Mankiller, the first woman elected principal chief of the Cherokee Nation
- Nina Otero-Warren, a leader in New Mexico’s suffrage movement and the first woman superintendent of Santa Fe public schools
Next year's five honorees are Bessie Coleman, Edith Kanakaʻole, Eleanor Roosevelt, Jovita Idar, and Maria Tallchief.
The mint will release five new quarters featuring a different woman in American history each year through 2025.