FAMOUS FILIPINOS / ASIANS

Michaela Conlin, born June 8, 1978, is an American actress of Chinese and Irish descent.  She is most known for her role as Angela Montenegro in FOX’s hit series BONES, also starring Emily Deschanel and David Boreanaz.

I’m excited for all the Asian men and women who seem to be appearing more frequently and are having recurring or main roles in television and film.

While Asians or Asian mixed celebrities have previously been integrated in the mainstream media, they were either cast in martial arts roles (Bruce Lee, Chow Yun Fat, Jet Li, MIchelle Yeoh, Zhang Ziyi) or their ethinicity was physically difficult to identify (Phoebe Cates, Victoria Principal, Keanu Reeves) if we even thought to ask (hello? Eddie Van Halen and Metallica’s Kirk Hammett !?!)

Now I’m seeing Asians on primetime tv (grey’s anatomy, dollhouse, bones, gossip girl), box office smashes (star trek 2009, hangover, knocked up), and hit cable shows (bsg, firefly)…with LEADING ROLES…rock on!

Leah Remini, born June 15, 1970, is an American actress and I suspect part Filipino on her mother’s side.  I’ve been waiting to post this because I thought maybe some interview would emerge in which she would mention that she’s part Filipino.  I could have sworn she mentioned this some time, but it’s not written anywhere (Wiki, MTV, the like), so I’m not waiting any longer.  She’s going to have to be categorized under suspected.

The first time I saw her was in Who’s the Boss and I was so excited to see someone on tv who might be part Asian.  Being Asian wasn’t as widely accepted or publicized in the 80’s-90’s.  As a youngun, I was always on the lookout for people to identify with, and I’m sure I wasn’t even aware that’s what I was doing.  Growing up seeing mostly white people in the media, in a media driven world (I was a child of tv), the world that was naturally going to develop in my eyes was white dominated.  And not that that’s a bad thing, it’s just confusing and misleading, which added more unecessary twists and turns away from myself rather than towards the authentic life I could have been living accepting myself.  But I’m not on a rampage, the media isn’t fully culpable.

Anyhoo…thanks for indulging again.  I’ve a bit to say today.  Perhaps I’ll start another blog.

Remini launched her acting career in 1988, guest starring in various television series, including Head of the Class, Who’s the Boss?, Living Dolls, Paradise and The Hogan Family. She is best known for her role as Carrie Heffernan on the CBS sitcom The King of Queens.