The Brightest Star

Anna May Wong was a lauded film star working during the Golden Age of Hollywood, considered to be the first Chinese-American film star in Hollywood as well as the first Chinese-American actress to gain international recognition. Recently so, she has been receiving attention in numerous ways including an exhibit at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History, a Barbie doll, and is even featured as one of the notable women on the reverse of the U.S. quarter.

Gail Tsukyama’s The Brightest Star offers a novelization of Wong’s story, depicting her friendships, relationships, successes, and challenges. Wong often found herself typecast and stereotyped in addition to being limited in the types of roles she received. After many disappointments in Hollywood, she did achieve success internationally. Tsukyama’s novel gives readers the chance to indulge in Wong’s story in order to better understand the ups and downs of her career in addition to the frustrations she experienced in the film industry.

The Brightest Star is sure to be enjoyed by fans of classic films as well as fans of Wong.


The Brightest Star is available for purchase via HarperCollins.

About Annette Bochenek

Dr. Annette Bochenek of Chicago, Illinois, is an avid scholar of Hollywood’s Golden Age. She manages the Hometowns to Hollywood blog, in which she writes about her trips exploring the legacies and hometowns of Golden Age stars. Annette also hosts the “Hometowns to Hollywood” film series throughout the Chicago area. She has been featured on Turner Classic Movies and is the president of TCM Backlot’s Chicago chapter. In addition to writing for TCM Backlot, she also writes for Classic Movie Hub, Silent Film Quarterly, Nostalgia Digest, and Chicago Art Deco Society Magazine.
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1 Response to The Brightest Star

  1. Ricky Butler says:

    This would be an interesting read. I was watching a movie called, When were you born? a 1930’s mystery movie. I haven’t seen a lot of her films, but from I did see I liked her. I remember her role as the maid in Portrait in Black.

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