Top Asian Actresses Under 40 to Watch for in Hollywood
January 2023 Update
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Jessica Yu Li Henwick is an English actress. She is best known for her roles as Nymeria Sand in the HBO series Game of Thrones (2011), X-wing pilot Jessika Pava in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, and Colleen Wing in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, making her debut in the Netflix television series Iron Fist. Her film debut was St Trinian's 2: The Legend of Fritton's Gold (2009). She was the first actress of East Asian descent to play the lead role in a British television series, the children's show Spirit Warriors.
Henwick was born and raised in Surrey, the daughter of Pearlyn Goh Kun Shan and Mark Henwick, author of the Bite Back series of novels. Her father, who was born in Zambia, is English, and her mother is Singaporean Chinese. She trained at Redroofs Theatre School and the National Youth Theatre. In June 2009, it was announced that Henwick had been cast in the lead role of Bo for the BBC show Spirit Warriors, making her the first actress of East Asian descent to play the lead role in a British television series. For the role, Henwick trained in wushu with martial arts choreographer Jude Poyer. The show was nominated for several awards, including the Broadcast Awards 2011. In early 2013, Henwick made her professional theatre debut in the international premiere of Running on the Cracks, based on the book by Julia Donaldson. Allan Radcliffe of The Times praised her "excellent" and "understated" performance, while the Guardian wrote, "with tremendous physical presence, Henwick captures the sense of adolescent righteousness, passion and confusion of a girl trying to create order in an unfair universe." Theatre critic Joyce McMillan wrote that Henwick was "outstanding as Leo".
Later that year she was cast as Jane Jeong Trenka in the drama Obsession: Dark Desires, which aired January 2014. The adaptation details Trenka's stalking in Minnesota, 1991, which she details in her book The Language of Blood. Henwick also joined the cast of Silk as new barrister pupil Amy. The series brought in an average of 5 million viewers per episode. She reprised her role for the spin-off radio series Silk: The Clerks' Room and later that year went on to play a young Oxford University student in Inspector Lewis. In 2015 Henwick joined the cast of the HBO series Game of Thrones in Season 5 as Nymeria Sand, with Oscar-nominee Keisha Castle-Hughes and Rosabell Laurenti Sellers playing her sisters. The process included six months of training to use a traditional bullwhip. She continued performing the role until Season 7.
Henwick played the X-wing pilot Jess Pava in Star Wars: The Force Awakens. The character's full name is established as Jessika "Testor" Pava in the spin-off novel The Weapon of a Jedi: A Luke Skywalker Adventure, which establishes her as an admirer of Luke Skywalker. Despite her limited screen time, the character of Pava has become a fan favorite. Since the release of the film, Pava has appeared as a supporting character in the comic book series Star Wars: Poe Dameron. In 2017, Henwick appeared in the second season of drama series Fortitude, as well as Colleen Wing in the Netflix television series Iron Fist. Although critical reception of Iron Fist was generally negative, Henwick's performance in the series was well received. She reprises the role for the series The Defenders. At the end of 2017, Henwick was listed as one of Variety's Top Breakout Stars of 2017. In 2020, she co-starred in the Fox feature film Underwater.- Brianne Tju's an actress. She was born on June 14, 1998 in Los Angeles, California. She's of Chinese & Indonesian descent. She's known as Riley Marra in Scream: The TV Series (2015), Alex Portnoy in Light as a Feather (2018), Alexa in 47 Meters Down: Uncaged (2019) & Margot in I Know What You Did Last Summer (2021). She graduated from Ruben S. Ayala High School & Cal State Fullerton.
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Actress Stephanie Hsu (pronounced "Shoe") was born on November 25 in Los Angeles, California. She's known for her breakout performance as Joy/Jobu Tupaki in A24 & Daniels' "Everything Everywhere All at Once," as well as her work as Mei on Season 3 and 4 of "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel," Joy on Hulu's cult drama "The Path", and MTV's "Girl Code." She made her start in experimental, downtown theater in New York, which eventually led her to Broadway as Karen the Computer in "SpongeBob The Musical," and as Christine Canigula in the viral sensation "Be More Chill." She is a graduate of NYU Tisch School of the Arts, where she studied at the Atlantic Theater Company and the Experimental Theater Wing.- Actress
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Kelsey Asbille Chow is the oldest of three siblings, a younger brother and younger sister. At a young age she studied dance, and grew to love performing. School plays led to community theater, then she was member of the Hammond Select Ensemble, which she has performed with in Italy and other places. She has a recurring role in "One Tree Hill (2003)", also co-stars Matisse Burrows in the Disney movie "Den Brother (2010)". She is perhaps best known for her role as Mikayla in Disney XD's popular TV show "Pair of Kings (2010)".Yellowstone- Actress
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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 infant. Her non-biological brother, Arthur Robert, was adopted along with her.
Condor spent her early years in Chicago, Illinois. By seven years old, her family had settled in Whidbey Island, Washington, where Condor took her first dance class. She went on to dance at the Rock School of Dance Education and the Spectrum Dance Theater in Seattle. At 11 years old, Condor and her family moved to New York City, where she continued her classical ballet training, dancing at multiple prestigious academies including the Joffrey School of Classical Ballet, the Gelsey Kirkland Academy of Classical Ballet, and the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater.
While living in New York, Condor's parents encouraged her to try acting when they saw a natural ability in their daughter. She took her first acting class during her freshman year at the Professional Performing Arts School, and went on to study for a summer at the New York Film Academy. Condor and her family then moved to Los Angeles, California for her sophomore year of high school, where she auditioned and landed a coveted spot in the Los Angeles Ballet. She joined the theatre department at her all-girls Catholic school, the Notre Dame Academy, and also studied at the Yale Summer Conservatory for Actors. During her senior year, she went out on her first handful of auditions and landed her role in X-Men: Apocalypse (2016).To All the Boys I've Loved Before- Actress
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Priyanka Chopra Jonas (née Chopra) was born on July 18, 1982 in Jamshedpur, India, to the family of Capt. Dr. Ashok Chopra and Dr. Madhu Chopra, both Indian Army physicians. She had a very varied upbringing. She started her education at La Martinière Girls College in Lucknow as a resident student; a short stay at Maria Goretti College in Bareilly prepared her for further studies in the U.S. Having completed tenth grade in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S., she decided to become a software engineer or a criminal psychologist. She enjoys Indian music and dance; flair for writing poetry and short stories; reading, especially biographies; and has worked for a lot of social welfare programs.- Actress
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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 of Destiny.Star Wars, Raya and the Last Dragon, Monsterland- Actress
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Ali Wong was born on 19 April 1982 in San Francisco, California, USA. She is an actress and producer, known for Ali Wong: Baby Cobra (2016), Always Be My Maybe (2019) and Beef (2023). She has been married to Justin Hakuta since 27 November 2014. They have two children.- Actress
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Karen Fukuhara is a Japanese-American actress from Los Angeles, California. She is fluent in English and Japanese. While attending UCLA, she continued to work on numerous shows in Japan, notably the Disney Channel. She is a martial arts champion, trained in karate and sword fighting. She made her film debut as the sword wielding superhero, Katana, in Suicide Squad (2016). She is represented by UTA.The Boys, Suicide Squad- Actress
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Sophia Taylor Ramseyer Ali is an American actress. She is best known for her work in the MTV romantic comedy series, Faking It, the ABC medical drama series Grey's Anatomy, and The Wilds. Ali is Pakistani American. Although she was born in San Diego, California, her family was at the time living in Dubai, so when she was 10 days old, she and her mother flew back home to be with Ali's father. After around four years in Dubai her family relocated to Texas. When Ali was 19 years old she moved to California to pursue her dream of becoming an actor.Uncharted, Grey's Anatomy- Actress
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Paris was born & raised in the suburbs of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Paris started in dance at the age of 4 then competed in gymnastics for 9 years. She started a modeling career when she was 9 with Ford Models Chicago then begun an acting career a few years later. Paris moved to LA at the age of 14 to pursue her acting career. She has 3 younger sisters. Bless, who's also an aspiring actress. Joelie, who's following on her footstep as a gymnast and the youngest, Skye.Alexa & Katie- Actress
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Li Jun Li was born in Shanghai and at the age of six, moved to Bogotá, Colombia where Spanish became her second language. She then relocated to New York City, where she attended Fiorello LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts as a Dance major. This is where she discovered her passion and switched to studying acting in college. Li Jun started out in musical theatre, starring in various plays and musicals, as well as originating the role of Liat in the Tony-award winning Broadway revival of South Pacific. She is also a dedicated animal activist.- Actress
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Naomi Scott is a multi-talented actor, singer, and songwriter. She stars as "Jasmine" in Disney's blockbuster live-action remake Aladdin (2019), alongside Mena Massoud and Will Smith, directed by Guy Ritchie. Disney released the film in May 2019, and it became one of the biggest films of the year.
Naomi was born in London, England to Usha (Joshi) and Christopher Scott, who are pastors of the Bridge Church, Woodford in Redbridge. Her father is British and her mother, who is from Uganda, is from a Gujarati Indian family.
Naomi appeared in "The 33," directed by Patricia Riggen. Starring Juliette Binoche, Gabriel Byrne, and Antonio Banderas, the film is based on the 2010 rescue of 33 Chilean miners after being trapped for 69 days in a gold and copper mine. Naomi plays "Escarlette", the daughter of Banderas' character who is the leader of the miners. Additional credits include a series regular role in Steven Spielberg's television series "Terra Nova" for DreamWorks and FOX, a lead role in the hit Disney Channel movie "Lemonade Mouth", and a lead role in Lee Toland Krieger's short film "Modern/Love" produced by Roman Coppola.
In 2017, Scott was seen in Lionsgate's Power Rangers (2017), directed by Dean Israelite, which tells the story of a group of teenagers who transform into a uniformed team of superheroes ready to protect the world from evil. Naomi plays "Kimberly" aka 'The Pink Ranger', a girl unconventionally cool in a way all the popular girls wish they were.
Naomi is in production on "Charlie's Angels," which Elizabeth Banks is helming for Sony; she won the highly-coveted leading role of "Elena" opposite Kristen Stewart. Sony is set to release the film in November 2019.
Naomi resides in London.- Parveen Kaur is a Canadian actress. She is best known for playing Christine in Beyond and scientist Saanvi Bahl in Manifest. Kaur was born on 19 October 1988 and raised in Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, Canada. She is of Punjabi ethnicity and a Sikh. At the age of 18, she moved to Toronto. She is a practitioner of yoga, hot yoga and mindfulness.
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Ellen Wong was born in Scarborough, Ontario, Canada. Her first role was on the award winning television series "This Is Wonderland". She is best known for her role as Knives Chau in "Scott Pilgrim vs. The World", starring alongside Michael Cera, Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Jason Schwartzman. She auditioned against many hopefuls through an international talent search to fill the role of Knives Chau. Edgar Wright wanted to work with Ellen as she was able to showcase herself as a unique actress, with the ability to also take on intense fight choreography. During training for "Scott Pilgrim vs. The World", the on-set trainer nicknamed Ellen, The Ellen-nator.Glow- Actress
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Prior to booking her films "Model Minority" and "Project X," Nichole has done commercial work and modeled for American Apparel. Although she cannot pinpoint the exact moment she realized she wanted to start acting, Nichole recalls that she loved recreating characters and doing funny voices from a very young age. As a kid, she begged her parents to help her get an agent, and then at the age of 14, she moved to Los Angeles to pursue acting as a career. Nichole went on to attend USC as a Theater major and graduated early, after only three years. She says it was a challenge for her to get cast in the university's own plays because she dedicated so much of her spare time to professional auditions outside of school.- Actress
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Brenda Song was born in Carmichael, California. Her father is Hmong and her mother is Thai-American. Brenda, her parents, and her younger brothers Timmy and Nathan now live in a suburb of Los Angeles.
Brenda was named an All-American Scholar in ninth grade and holds a black belt in Tae Kwon Do.
She stars as London Tipton, the hotel owner's spoiled daughter, in the Disney Channel's sitcom The Suite Life of Zack & Cody (2005). Having acted since age six, Brenda is already a familiar face to Disney Channel viewers. Before beginning production on the new series, she had a recurring role as the hip and trendy Tia on Phil of the Future (2004). She also starred in the top-rated Disney Channel Original Movies Stuck in the Suburbs (2004), the mystery Get a Clue (2002) with Lindsay Lohan, and The Ultimate Christmas Present (2000) with Hallee Hirsh and Spencer Breslin.
Her other television credits include guest starring roles on That's So Raven (2003), George Lopez (2002), The Bernie Mac Show (2001), 7th Heaven (1996), One on One (2001), The Nightmare Room (2001), Judging Amy (1999), Popular (1999), Once and Again (1999), and as a panelist on Small Talk (1996). Brenda also had a starring role on the series 100 Deeds for Eddie McDowd (1999).
On the big screen, she starred in Like Mike (2002) opposite Shad Moss and Jonathan Lipnicki, and appeared in Leave It to Beaver (1997) and Santa with Muscles (1996) starring Hulk Hogan.
A self-proclaimed total dork, she loves sampling international cuisine, shopping and studying. She is an avid Los Angeles Lakers fan.- Actress
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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, appearing in the San Diego based fourteenth season.
Chung went on to successfully launched an acting career, making her debut with a small part in Veronica Mars (2004). Roles in other TV series followed, including Days of Our Lives (1965) and Greek (2007). She also transitioned into feature films with such projects as Sorority Row (2009), Sucker Punch (2011) and The Hangover Part II (2011).- Claudia Kim, is a South Korean actress and model. She has appeared in the television series Queen of the Game (2006-2007) and Marco Polo (2014-2016), as well as the films Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015), The Dark Tower (2017), and Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald (2018).Avengers, Fantastic Beasts