Tsuru Aoki

Born Aoki Tsuruko, Tsuru emigrated to the United States with her aunt and uncle, who were in the theatre business, in 1903 and found work on stage before moving to film. She had landed in Los Angeles, but soon moved to San Francisco and New York before returning to California. At a time when even in her home country female leads were non-existent she garnered top billing in a series of motion pictures by Thomas H. Ince, who had apparently seen her on stage in Los Angeles, including 1913's The Oath of Tsuru San. She met her eventual husband, Hayakawa Sessue, on stage and on the set of Omimi San and married him in 1914. They went on to star together several times. She retired from acting ten years later to raise her adopted children and only returned once, which was just prior to her death. This last performance was her sole talkie. She is considered the first leading lady in film from Asia in the United States.