Wong Liu Tsong, known professionally as Anna May Wong, is considered the first Chinese American Hollywood star. She will be the first Asian American to be featured on U.S. coins as part of a program to celebrate notable women in American history. Photo: VCG

Born in Los Angeles in 1905 into a family originally from Taishan, Guangdong, Wong’s first screen credit came in 1921 in a film titled “Bits of Life.” Photo: Courtesy of Marshall Neilan Productions

In 1922, 17-year-old Wong scored her first leading role in “The Toll of the Sea.” Five years later, she was featured on the cover of the Chinese magazine “The Young Companion.” Photo: Courtesy of China Culture Foundation

At 19, Wong played a supporting role as a scheming Mongol slave in the film “The Thief of Bagdad.” Her appearance as a stereotypical “Dragon Lady” caught audiences’ attention and critics. Photo: VCG

Tired of the stereotypical supporting roles offered by Hollywood, Wong moved to Europe in 1928. Later, she returned to the U.S. after accepting Paramount Studios’ invitation and played Fu Manchu’s daughter in “Daughter of the Dragon” in 1931. Photo: VCG

Wong plays the role of sex worker Hui Fei in the 1932 film “Shanghai Express.” The film was initially banned in China as the government believed it vilified Chinese people. Photo: VCG

Wong performs in a nightclub in a scene from “Limehouse Blues” around 1934. Photo: VCG

Wong and Philip Ahn (right) act in a scene for the film “Daughter of Shanghai” around 1937. Photo: VCG

Wong attends the premiere of “The Old Woman” at the Music Box Theater in Hollywood in 1933. Photo: VCG

After losing her role in “The Good Earth,” Wang announced plans to visit China to learn more about Chinese culture. She traveled to Shanghai in 1936 and took this group photo with her family and friends. Photo: Courtesy of China Culture Foundation

Wong takes a group photo with notable Peking opera artist Mei Lanfang (left second) and Chinese drama educationist and theorist Yu Shangyuan (right). She learned Peking opera with Mei during her travels in China. Photo: Courtesy of China Culture Foundation

Wong appears at a luncheon at the Brown Derby restaurant in Los Angeles in October 1942. She focused less on her career in World War II, spending much of her time gathering support for China’s resistance to the Japanese invasion. After the war, she resumed her career, acting in the leading role in the television series “The Gallery of Madame Liu-Tsong” in 1951. Photo: VCG

Contestants for the Anna May Wong lookalike contest attend a benefit dinner to celebrate Anna May Wong's 100th birthday in New York in 2005. Wong died of a heart attack at her home in Santa Monica at 56 on Feb. 3, 1961. Photo: VCG