Jean Wong

Jean Wong was born Pearl Jean Wong, one of the first Chinese-American actresses. She was born in the Year of the Pig with traits of diligence and compassion to parents Hi Loy Wong and Lillie Lum. Jean Wong first came into the spotlight at 17 years when she was crowned Raisin Queen in Fresno and appeared on a parade float. She married Charles W. Luck in 1932 and eventually moved from Portland to Los Angeles in the late 1930s where she was named Wistaria Queen in Sierra Madre. She was recruited to appear as an extra in the 1942 film Casablanca and was subsequently cast in many other Golden Era films in the 1940s and early 1950s. Lead roles for Asians during this deeply racist time were few and far between, much less for an Asian woman. This was an especially tumultuous period in Chinese history that saw the rise of the Communist party, the Depression, the Chinese Exclusionary and World War II. Nonetheless, Wong gained a reputation for her graciousness and on-set tenacity, but never complaining. In addition to Casablanca (1942), some other films that she appeared in minor roles include: Keys of the Kingdom (1944), China's Little Devils (1945), The Clock (1945), The Red Dragon (1945), The Chinese Ring (1945), Deception (1946), Without Reservations (1946), Anna and the King of Siam (1946), Dangerous Millions (1946), The Lady from Shanghai (1947), My Favorite Brunette (1947), Dead Men on Furlough (1954), Love is a Many Splendored Thing (1955). Wong embodied the Caucasian ideal of an exotic foreign beauty, despite her American citizenship and also despite the fact that she never ventured to any of East Asian locations that she was depicted. She and Charles W. Luck had three children: Charles Jr., Wesley, and Arlene Luck. The Luck grandchildren are: Stephen, Cynthia, Kenneth, Daniel, Eileen, Lester, Rodney, Adriene, Beverly, Rhonda, Duane, and Julie.