Far East

1. Lauren Tom

Lauren Tom is an Obie Award-winning actress, known for her roles as a dutiful daughter in the film The Joy Luck Club, as Ross's girlfriend, Julie, on the classic NBC sitcom Friends, and most recently as Mrs. Tran on Supernatural. Lauren also lent her voice talents on the animated series Futurama as...

2. Ming-Na Wen

Actress | Mulan

Ming-Na ("enlightenment") was born on the island of Macau, forty miles from Hong Kong. Her mother, Lin Chan Wen, divorced her father when Ming-Na was only a toddler. She has an older brother named Jonathan. After the divorce, they moved to Hong Kong where her mother became a nurse. There her mother...

3. Kelly Marie Tran

Actress | Raya and the Last Dragon

Kelly Marie Tran is a American actress from San Diego who is known for voicing Raya from Raya and the Last Dragon and playing Rose Tico from the Star Wars sequel trilogy. She also voiced Dawn Betterman from The Croods: A New Age. She reprised her role of Rose in Lego Star Wars specials and Forces ...

4. Bae Doona

Actress | Cloud Atlas

Doona Bae was born in Seoul, South Korea. Her mother, Hwa-Young Kim, is a stage actress. Bae started out as a model. She soon moved to T.V. and movies, and it proved the right move. Her first movie was The Ring Virus (1999). Barking Dogs Never Bite (2000) (aka "Barking Dogs Never Bite") and Take ...

5. Rinko Kikuchi

Actress | Babel

Rinko was born Kikuchi Yuriko in Hadano just south of Tokyo. The town is known mainly for its green tea and public baths. She is the youngest of three siblings. After being scouted on the street, she began modeling in her hometown and subsequently began acting under her birth name before switching ...

6. Lucy Liu

Actress | Kill Bill: Vol. 1

Born to immigrants in New York City, Lucy Liu has always tried to balance an interest in her cultural heritage with a desire to move beyond a strictly Asian-American experience. Her mother, Cecilia, a biochemist, is from Beijing & her father, Tom Liu, a civil engineer, is from Shanghai. Once ...

7. Chiaki Kuriyama

Actress | Kill Bill: Vol. 1

Chiaki Kuriyama was born on October 10, 1984 in Tsuchiura, Japan. She was a popular model during Japan's child model boom in the mid-90s. In 1997, she appeared in the photo books Girl of Myth & Girl's Residence, which were photographed by Kishin Shinoyama. Girl of Myth became a best-seller but as ...

8. Sandra Oh

Actress | Killing Eve

Sandra Oh was born to Korean parents in the Ottawa suburb of Nepean, Ontario, Canada. Her father, Oh Junsu, a businessman, and her mother, Oh Young-Nam, a biochemist, were married in Seoul, Korea. They both attended graduate school at the University of Toronto. Sandra began her career as a ballet ...

9. Samantha Futerman

Actress | Memoirs of a Geisha

Samantha Futerman is a South Korean-born American actress. She is known for her supporting role in the drama film Memoirs of a Geisha, set in Japan around World War II. She is also known for her self-made documentary film Twinsters, about how she discovered the twin sister she was not aware she had...

10. Lana Condor

Actress | To All the Boys I've Loved Before

Lana Therese Condor is a Vietnamese-born American actress. She made her film debut in X-Men: Apocalypse (2016), portraying Jubilation Lee / Jubilee. Condor was born on May 11, 1997 in Can Tho, Vietnam and was adopted by her American parents, Mary Carol (Haubold) and journalist Robert Condor, as an ...

11. Bingbing Li

Actress | Transformers: Age of Extinction

Li Bingbing (born 27 February 1973) is a Chinese actress and singer. She rose to fame with her role in Seventeen Years (1999) and since then received critical acclaim for her roles in A World Without Thieves (2004), Waiting Alone (2005), The Knot (2006), The Forbidden Kingdom (2008), The Message (...

12. Sonoya Mizuno

Actress | Ex Machina

Sonoya Mizuno's a Japanese-born English actress, model & ballet dancer. She was born on July 1, 1986 in Tokyo, Japan. She graduated from the Royal Ballet School.

She has starred in Ex Machina (2014), Annihilation (2018) & Devs (2020). She had minor roles in La La Land (2016), Beauty and the Beast (...

13. Alex Borstein

Actress | Family Guy

Alex Borstein is a Chicago-born American actress, known for her work on the animated sitcom Family Guy (1999), Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story (2005), Bad Santa (2003), and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (2017). Borstein became a MADtv cast member in 1997, during the sketch comedy show's third season. ...

14. Jihae

Actress | Succession

Jihae is a South Korea-born actress, musician, and multimedia artist. She recurred on HBO's Emmy-winning drama Succession Season 3 as Berry Schneider, a public relations consultant. Jihae won a SAG Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series for this role.

She guest-starred in...

15. Frankie Adams

Actress | The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart

Frankie Adams is a New Zealand-Samoan actress, Best known for playing fan favorite "Bobbie Draper" in the Amazon series The Expanse, Frankie can also be seen in the limited series The Flowers of Alice Hart opposite Sigourney Weaver for Amazon as well as Taika Waititi's Next Goal Wins. Her credits ...

16. Shay Mitchell

Actress | The Possession of Hannah Grace

Shay Mitchell (born Shannon Ashley Mitchell; April 10, 1987) is a Canadian actress, model, entrepreneur and author. She rose to prominence starring as Emily Fields in the Freeform series Pretty Little Liars (2010) (2010-2017).

She was born in Mississauga, Ontario, the daughter of Precious Garcia and...

17. Sumalee Montano

Actress | 10 Cloverfield Lane

Sumalee Montano holds a breadth of perspectives within the industry, originating her career as an investment banker, now an actress-producer.

Onscreen, she has worked extensively in film and television, as a series regular and recurring guest. Her past projects include DAN BROWN'S THE LOST SYMBOL, ...

18. Leah Lewis

Actress | The Half of It

Adopted from a Chinese orphanage as an infant, American actress Leah Lewis is poised to emigrate into living rooms everywhere with her triple talent as an actress, singer, and dancer. She was raised in Windermere, FL and in Los Angeles, CA.

Leah Lewis is known for her breakout performance in the ...

19. Nicole Kang

Actress | Batwoman

Nicole Kang was born on June 30, 1993 in Los Angeles, California, USA. She is an actress and writer, known for Batwoman (2019), You (2018) and Swallow (2019).

20. Rila Fukushima

Actress | The Wolverine

Rila Fukushima is known for The Wolverine (2013), Ghost in the Shell (2017) and Arrow (2012).

21. Ming Zhao

Actress | Reign

Ming Zhao was born in Hunan, China. When she was 11 her family emigrated to the US and settled in New York City. She attended the High School of Fashion Industries and then the Fashion Institute of Technology, receiving a BA in Fashion Design. She began modeling after graduation, although she had ...

22. Jolie Chan

Director | Above the Double Crossing

Jolie Chan is known for Above the Double Crossing (2024), Marry Me (2022) and The Splitting Mirror (2021).

23. Bingbing Fan

Actress | X-Men: Days of Future Past

Bingbing Fan was born 16 September 1981. She is a Chinese actress, television producer and pop singer.

Fan rose to fame in Asia in 1998-1999 with the mega-hit TV series My Fair Princess. In 2003, she starred in Cell Phone, which became the highest-grossing Chinese film of the year, winning a Hundred...

24. Jamie Chung

Actress | Big Hero 6

Jamie Chung was born and raised in California, the daughter of Korean parents. She studied Economics at the University of California, Riverside. Chung's break came in 2004, when she was working in a sports bar. MTV held auditions for The Real World (1992) there, she tried out, and was successful, ...

25. Elodie Yung

Actress | Gods of Egypt

Elodie Yung was born in Paris, France, of Cambodian and French descent. She grew up in Seine-saint-Denis, in Le Bourget, where she practiced karate and obtained her black belt. She graduated from University of La Sorbonne in Paris and has a law degree. She then decided to study acting at London ...

26. Levy Tran

Actress | MacGyver

Levy Tran was born on April 8, 1983 in Santa Clara, California, USA. She is an actress, known for MacGyver (2016), The Haunting of Hill House (2018) and Shameless (2011).

27. Nikki SooHoo

Actress | Stick It

Nikki SooHoo is an American-born actress from Southern California. Best known for her roles in the movies: "The Lovely Bones," directed by Peter Jackson, "Stick It," the gymnastics movie starring alongside Jeff Bridges, and "Bring It On: Fight to the Finish," the cheerleading movie costarring with ...

28. Yayaying Rhatha Phongam

Actress | Only God Forgives

Born Rhatha Phongam, Thai actress and pop star Yayaying (Ying for short) is the daughter of famed comedic actor Noi Phongam. Yayaying has recorded with some of Thailand's top talents, and released her debut album when she was only 16. She is also an excellent dancer, and has studied ballet since ...

29. Cho Yeo-jeong

Actress | Gisaengchung

Cho Yeo-jeong was born on February 10, 1981 in South Korea. She is an actress, known for Parasite (2019), The Servant (2010) and Obsessed (2014).

30. Anna Sawai

Actress | Ninja Assassin

Anna Sawai was born in New Zealand. She is an actress, known for Ninja Assassin (2009), F9: The Fast Saga (2021) and Pachinko (2022).

31. Gong Li

Actress | Man cheng jin dai huang jin jia

Born in Shenyang, grew up in Jinan, the daughter of an economics professor. Loved music from childhood, and dreamed of a singing career. After failing to gain entrance to China's top music school in 1985, applied for and was admitted to the Central Drama Academy in Beijing, from which she graduated...

32. Gemma Chan

Actress | The Creator

Gemma Chan (born 29 November 1982) is a British film, television, and theatre actress and former fashion model. She played Charlotte in season four of the Showtime and ITV2 series Secret Diary of a Call Girl (2007); Ruth in Channel 4's Fresh Meat (2011); Mia Bennett in Doctor Who: The Waters of Mars...

33. Mel Jarnson

Actress | Mortal Kombat

Mel Jarnson was born in Bangkok, Thailand. She is a Thai-Australian actress, known for Mortal Kombat (2021), Harrow (2018) and Blacklight (2021). Mel spent much of her upbringing living in Belgium, Thailand and India - and is fluent in French, English and Thai. At 17, she moved to Sydney, Australia.

34. Emily Liu

Actress | Harry's Law

Emily Liu was born in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA. She is known for Harry's Law (2011), Modern Family (2009) and A Good Day to Be Black & Sexy (2008).

35. Havana Rose Liu

Actress | Bottoms

Havana Rose Liu was born and brought up in Brooklyn, New York. She went to Saint Ann's School and New York University. She has appeared on the Vogue magazine cover and she has worked with IMG Models as a professional Model. She identifies herself as a multimedia artist and can sing, dance, act, ...

36. Kelly Yu

Actress | Moonfall

Kelly Yu is known for Moonfall (2022), The Ex-File 3: Return of the Exes (2017) and Back to Earth (2022).

37. Jing Lusi

Actress | Crazy Rich Asians

Jing Lusi was born in Shanghai and moved to England with her parents at the age of five. After graduating law from University College London, Lusi went on to become one of the most prominent Asian actresses in the UK. She has appeared across TV (Lucky Man (2016), Scott & Bailey (2011)), film (...

38. Midori Francis

Actress | Dash & Lily

Midori Francis was born on April 16, 1994 in Rumson, New Jersey, USA. She is an actress, known for Dash & Lily (2020), Good Boys (2019) and The Sex Lives of College Girls (2021).

39. Lola Tung

Actress | The Summer I Turned Pretty

Lola Tung stars in the Amazon Prime series, 'The Summer I Turned Pretty', based on the New York Times bestselling trilogy by Jenny Han ('To All The Boys..'). She plays the lead role of Isabel "Belly" Conklin, an ordinary teenage girl who spends the summer in Cousin's Beach with her mother and older...

40. Madeleine Madden

Actress | Dora and the Lost City of Gold

Madeleine Madden was born on January 29, 1997 in Australia. She is an actress, known for Dora and the Lost City of Gold (2019), Mystery Road (2018) and Picnic at Hanging Rock (2018).

41. Jennifer Cheon Garcia

Actress | Van Helsing

Jennifer Cheon Garcia is a native to Vancouver, Canada and of Indigenous Mexican/Korean heritage. She is also a New Zealand resident. Jen started performing at the age 6 in music, theatre, and dance. She holds a 2 degree black belt in Taekwondo and is a trained Mauy Thai fighter and weapons ...

42. Kae Alexander

Actress | Game of Thrones

Kae Alexander was born on August 31, 1985 in Kobe, Japan. She is an actress, known for Game of Thrones (2011), Fleabag (2016) and Maleficent: Mistress of Evil (2019).

43. Kelly Hu

Actress | The Scorpion King

On February 13th, 1968, a girl of Chinese, English, and Hawaiian ancestry was born in Honolulu, Hawaii. Her father, Herbert, was a salesman and her mother, Juanita, worked many odd jobs to help support the family. She has one older brother, Glenn. She is a former Miss Teen USA, and modeled in Japan...

44. Avantika

Actress | Senior Year

Avantika is a multi-hyphenate artist with a passion for storytelling and expressive thinking. She is the youngest South-Asian to Star and Executive produce a 'Crown of Wishes' series which she optioned the rights and sold to Disney+ as its first Indian Hindu Mythology based series. This young adult...