In the United States, there are two particularly famous Asian actresses, one is Huang Liushuang and the other is Liu Yuling.
Although the two people were born in different eras, they almost both had similar experiences.
In 1919, at the age of 14, Huang Liushuang starred in "Red Lantern" and became the first Chinese actress in Hollywood, and it was 13 years later that she played a role from beginning to end.
In 1960, her name appeared on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, becoming the first Chinese actress to stay famous, and sixty years later, Liu Yuling also had her own "star".
From her first film and television drama, Liu Yuling worked hard for nearly thirty years, bearing the similar Asian stereotype of Huang Liushuang, and even being discriminated against and prejudiced, but she survived.
In her talk at Shin Kong Boulevard, she said: "If my work has somehow helped bridge the gap between the stereotypical roles that were originally given to Willow Cream and the mainstream success [of Asians] today, I am happy to be a part of that process." "
01
Liu Yuling did not have a happy childhood.
Although she was born in New York, she later moved to Taiwan and then immigrated to the United States again, living in a predominantly Italian immigrant community in Queens.
His father was a civil engineer and his mother was a biochemist, and his income from selling pen-shaped watches in Atlantic City was the family's most important source of income.
A family of five was crowded in a cramped apartment, crowded and tattered. Wallpapers had shattered and fell to the ground everywhere, and cockroaches and rats roamed at random.
In the evening, Liu Yuling and her brother would put on boots and gloves to compete who caught the most cockroaches.
The most common foods in the house are rice and boiled cucumbers, and it is already good to be full, basically most of them are hungry.
Her grandmother lived in the apartment downstairs, and Liu Yuling would often sneak into her grandmother's room and steal some orange candy to eat.
As the youngest child in the family, she knew that the conditions at home were difficult, so she would do several jobs at the same time: serving dishes, teaching children to dance, and working as a child laborer in a clothing factory.
Until the age of five, she spoke only Mandarin at home, and she didn't start to touch English until her sister was in kindergarten. She has always felt that her family is different from others, and it is difficult for her to integrate into this society.
She lost herself in the contradiction of her identity, hated why she was not American but Asian, and this life was not free until she went to college.
Perhaps out of her research into her own identity, she chose to major in Asian languages and cultures and received her bachelor's degree in 1990.
In high school, Liu Yuling was invited to shoot a stationery commercial, and she fell in love with acting ever since. In that shoot, she raised her $90 salary to $100, which shows that her character is not weak.
In her final year of college, she was chosen as the lead actor in Alice in Wonderland, and it was this performance that made her really realize what she wanted to do.
In her days before she became famous, she slept in a "matchbox-packed" house rented by her brother, working three jobs while not missing a single audition.
02
When she first debuted, she thought that she could get any role as long as she worked hard, but the real Asians could get very few roles, not even the opportunity to audition.
It happened in 1997 when she auditioned for "SweetHeart Pretty Lady", and although she failed, the producer wrote a role for her alone, the Chinese lawyer Wu Ling.
She is smart and cool, but she is also playful and weird, because of the audience's love, she originally had only eight episodes of the scene, and became a resident character.
In an interview, she said that the experience of child labor gave her a lot of inspiration, and she would use Wu Ling as an outlet when performing. The role also earned her nominations for Best Supporting Actress and Best Actress.
In 2000, Liu Yuling participated in the female agent in "Thunderbolt Jiaowa". She fills in the gap of what was originally a white girl, allowing the audience to accept that she is a black-haired Asian woman.
She changed into a black leather jacket and black leather pants, beating the big men one by one, and this movie became the originator of all female agents.
At the same time, in her other film "Kill Bill", she played the gangster boss, fierce-eyed, knife-wielding, killing people in an instant, which is a classic female killer image.
Because of the two plays "Thunderbolt Baby" and "Kill Bill", she became the most famous actress of Chinese descent, so she was crowned "the first person in Asia".
But she doesn't seem to acknowledge the title: "Don't give me an award just because I'm the only Asian at the moment, I hope people see me not only as an Asian girl who knocked everyone down, or as an asian girl with no feelings." "
03
All of this made her famous, and she began negotiating with the company for remuneration, which rose from $1 million to $4 million. These two films opened the door to martial arts drama for Liu Yuling.
Although she has become a "beating woman" in Hollywood, people's stereotypes of her have not been eliminated, and she is still within the framework of Hollywood's regulations for Chinese.
In 2013, Liu Yuling was asked which one of her favorite movie roles she played, and she replied that it was "Lucky Number Sleven" and "Careful Detective" because she didn't need to do anything, just play an Asian woman.
Huang Liushuang's enthusiasm has not been paid by people, she has always been eager to be recognized by the Chinese, but she has never escaped the cage of stereotypes.
Liu Yuling did not follow the path of Huang Liushuang, and her early career has been supporting her to challenge more difficult things.
She successfully transitioned as a director and producer. In "Deadly Woman", she is not only an actress but also a director, she plays Simone, who is soft and inward, full of image, and injects poison into her body when she dances with her husband for the last dance, ending his painful life in advance.
In the next step, she will continue to develop the female-themed drama "Unsung Heroes", which tells the stories of some unknown and excellent women, in which she will play Huang Liushuang.
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She never wanted to be a pioneer, nor did she set a goal to be the first person, she just did what she liked.
At the age of 47, she found a surrogate and gave birth to a son, and everyone retained the impression of "a cool and tough Asian woman" for her.
Everyone thought she was not a good troublemaker.
Liu Yuling once said: "My father gave me the best gift to make me independent."
Therefore, in the face of external disturbances, she is never afraid of people's words, dares to express herself and pursue her dreams.
The last time there were Chinese people who still left stars on the Avenue of Stars, it was Jackie Chan seventeen years ago, and there were only four Chinese who could stay on the Avenue of Stars.
Liu Yuling, who was born in 68, has crossed the threshold of 50 years old this year, but she is not limited by age at all and is still free.
The excitement of life never stops at the surface. To live beautifully is to be truly beautiful.