Jamie Chung as Chi-Chi in Dragonball Evolution.
Last week, we took a look at the top young Asian American leading men in Hollywood.
This week, I'm asking readers: Who is the hottest young Asian American actress?
Just to make thing's more challenging, we'll focus only on Asian American actresses under age 30.
I've assembled here a list of some names and photos to help you. Feel free to make your own picks or suggest more actresses that I might have overlooked in the comments section below.
So that nobody gets confused, we'll leave Asian-born stars like Bai Ling, Gong Li, Ziyi Zhang, Maggie Cheung, Michelle Yeoh and Isabella Leong off the list.
Although top veteran actresses like Sandra Oh, Lucy Liu, Kelly Hu, Tia Carrere, Michelle Krusiek, Grace Park, Linda Park, Ming Na, Joan Chen, and Yunjin Kim are still successfully working in Hollywood movies and on television, we're going to leave them off this list as well.
Instead, we'll take a closer look at some of the new faces that are among the hottest young Asian American actresses working in Hollywood today.
Brenda Song
The 21-year-old actress was born in Carmichael, California. Her mother is Thai-American and her father is Hmong.
She has appeared as London Tipton on Disney Channel's "The Suite Life of Zach and Cody" and "The Suite Life on Deck."
Song also starred in "Wendy Wu: Homecoming Warrior" and will reprise her role in the upcoming "Wendy Wu: Homecoming Warrior 2."
Jamie Chung
Born in San Francisco, California, the 26-year-old Chung is of Korean heritage.
She was working at "Tremors", a sports bar in Riverside, California, as a waitress when she was discovered at an MTV audition.
She has since appeared on the soap opera "Days of our Lives," the college comedy series "Greek," and starred as "Samurai Girl." Her recent movie "Dragonball Evolution" came out on her 26th birthday, April 10th.
Julia Ling
A native of Southern California, the 26-year-old Ling made her network television debut on "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," playing opposite Sarah Michelle Gellar.
Since then, Ling has appeared in numerous independent films and on several Network TV shows, including "ER" and "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip." She currently co-stars on NBC's hit comedy series "Chuck" as Anna Wu.
Devon Aoki
Born in New York but raised in California, the 26-year-old is the daughter of Benihana Steakhouse magnate 'Rocky Aoki' and Pamela Hilburger, a jewelry designer.
Aoki is of Japanese, German, and English ancestry. She started modeling when she was 13.
As an actress, she has appeared in the movies "2 Fast 2 Furious," "D.E.B.S.," "Sin City" and "War."
Kristin Kreuk
Granted Kreuk was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, but the 26-year-old actresses career took off when she was cast as Lana Lang in the hit WB TV series "Smallville."
The daughter of a Dutch father and a mother of Chinese descent, she has since starred as Chun Li in the martial arts action flick "Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun Li."
Maggie Q
Born as Maggie Denise Quigley to a Polish-Irish American father and a Vietnamese mother, she was raised in Hawaii.
She pursued modeling careers in Japan, Taiwan, and Hong Kong, before beginning her film career.
The multi-ethnic actress has since appeared in "Mission Impossible III," "Live Free, Die Hard," and co-starred in the ping pong comedy "Balls of Fury."
Although she just turned 30 in May, the actress continues to book high-profile roles. She will next appear in the Zach Galifianakis movie "Rogue's Gallery" and the martial arts flick "King of Fighters" based on the video game.
FYI: I made an exception to include Maggie Q here even though she just turned 30. I've also included the multi-ethnic Aoki and Kreuk.
Here are some more readers' suggestions:
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Moon Bloodgood
Although Moon Bloodgood is over age 30, the stunning multi-racial actress has made a big splash in Hollywood in recent years.
Born of Korean, Irish, and Dutch ancestry, Bloodgood grew up in Southern California.
She was named one of People Magazine's 100 Most Beautiful People in the world 2009.
Bloodgood can be seen in the recent action flicks "Terminator Salvation" and "Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun Li."
Cassandra Hepburn
A reader also suggested Cassandra Hepburn, who was born of French, Chinese, Spanish and Filipino descent.
The 32-year-old actress / model recently appeared alongside Matthew McConaughey in the comedy movie "Surfer, Dude" and was featured in the Quentin Tarantino produced action drama "Hell Ride" starring Michael Madsen and Larry Bishop.
Click here to read more about her in a recent Q&A feature story.
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Smith Cho
Korean American actress Smith Cho, appeared in the movies "Bad Boys 2" and "Blades of Glory" as well as numerous TV shows.
She also had a lead role in Jimmy Tsai's Asian American comedy "Ping Pong Playa" and was cast as Zoe Chae in the 2008 NBC series "Knight Rider."
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Kim Hidalgo
Another young actress rising up in Hollywood is Filipina Kim Hidalgo, who appears in “Ball Don’t Lie,” a feature film with an impressive ensemble cast including Nick Cannon, Rosanna Arquette, rapper Ludacris and even 2009 Oscar nominee Melissa Leo.
Hidalgo grew up in Walnut Creek, California. She also made a recent appearance on the TV show "The New Adventures of Old Christine." Click here to read a recent Q&A with her.
Vanessa Hudgens
The multi-racial Vanessa Hudgens, was born in Salinas, California. Her father is an American of Irish and Native American descent, and her mother, who grew up in Manila, is of Filipino, Spanish, and Chinese descent.
The 20-year-old actress is best known for playing Gabriella Montez in the "High School Musical" film series.
A gifted musician, she also released an album "V" in 2006. She can be seen in the upcoming movie "Bandslam", and is set to star in "Beastly," a fantasy romance.
So who do you think is the hottest young Asian American actress working in Hollywood?
You can list your top choices and suggest other names that I may have overlooked in the comments section below.
Comments
Brenda Song is the hottest!
Alisa Allapach is both hot and funny. She can perform in any role with style, confidence, pose, elegance and beauty -
http://www.eastportlandblog.com/?p=16563
smith cho should be on this list!
Thanks for the Smith Cho suggestion.
No Filipinos on either list?
If you can name some top Filipino American actors that are under 30 years old and rising up in Hollywood and I will post them? Of the top of my head, I can only think of the guys like Gene Cajayon, the Basco brothers... but that's about it... Name me some new faces that are out there?
Ginger Gonzaga - she's in a movie TED, directed by Seth Macfarlane which will be out in summer of 2012 with Mila Kunis and Mark Walhberg (check it on IMDB). She's also in Hulu.Com: The Morning After and on the NBC internet sitcom "in Gayle we trust". Will be a guest on, The Finders which will be out in January.
Moon Bloodgood was hotter than Kreuk in Street Fighter... and even hotter in Terminator Salvation. She should get an exception too.
Thanks for pointing out about the Filipino actor actresses... I looked for some names -- and found a couple .... one a multi-racial actress.
Anything which helps promote the martial arts has my full support
Rick
newbieservices.com/MAForum/
Damn, their all hot! But I'll have to go with Brenda Song as the Hottest.
Cassandra Hephurn,her ancestors were born French,Chinese,Spanish and Pilipino.Her mother was a French Spanish and was born in the Philippines and is considered Pilipino.Her Grandpa is born Chinese,Spanish,they come from a well to do family.
Thanks for mentioning Cassandra... I just did an article Q&A about her about a week and half ago... I didn't list her because of that... but I will add her to the reader suggestions...
Kim Hidalgo is smokin'!
There is Mei Melancon from X-men 3 and the L-word but she was born in Japan I think. But She's American. French/Chinese/Japanese bloodline.
brenda is definitely the hottest and most famous asian american actress, she is sensational and is breaking out and branching out with her new feature film, Boogie Town which is very dark and mature. I CAN'T WAIT!
brenda song is very talented i can't wait for a new dark movie boogie town i hope she'll left disney very soon becasue she has too talent for to stay in the industrie and playing the same character!
Why don't you go by talent a little instead of just "hot". Which asian american actresses actually are doing good work? I think this is one of the problems with how the media looks at asian women.
You have a point about "talent" but the honest truth is there are tons of "talented" actress that never get a break because it is "more than talent" in Hollywood.... And you can blame the media all you want but the fact is a lot of lead roles go to the latest "hot" actress that is on People magazine most beautiful list, etc... Same goes for young guys that are actors... serious "Actors" go with stage/theater... I listed some very talented actresses at the top of my article... If you want to name talented actresses leave some more names in the comments... Check out my article about actress Ella Thomas -- she started as a model and became an actress -- one of her quotes is that it is that working in Hollywood isn't just about "being the best" because it's about "so many thing's other than just talent." The best actor doesn't always get the role... marketability, look, bankable name, hair color, eye color, etc... will factor into producers and studio choices...
In reply to Daniel, I was also a sports writer for several years, and in sports there are also tons of "talented" players but things like injuries, motivation, work habits, skill level and ability to work within a team concept also affect whether a "talented" player succeeds. I think that holds true in "acting" where you get lots of "talented" actor/actress and attractive faces, i.e. model types... but again if they are "talented" and "hot" they got a better chance... (FYI in this article I defined "hot" by how much "buzz" they are getting in Hollywood along with things like 'Is Disney backing their career?' Are they on the cover of magazines or getting top-billing in movies? Along with their overall "look" and "talent"). It really comes down to "luck" according to one actress I interviewed... you can have all the talent, do all the hard work but if you don't have luck, you'll still be just another talented actress / actor looking for a break... hope that clarifies everything...
JAMIE CHUNG!!!! No question.
right on
You left out Patricia Ja Lee. She was a Power Ranger and recently did a Doritos commercial. She also does live anime acting. I'm not into that but Patricia does wear skimpy outfits so I put up with it.
I would have to say that my vote goes to Brenda Song since she has had a lot of success on the Disney channel. Good article; I enjoyed reading about the backgrounds of all these talented young women.
Thanks for your response. I guess you are referring to Hot as "whats new" appreciate you drawing attention to Asian actors. thx.
vanessa hudgens is so very pretty she looks awesome she is my one hollywood inspiration......?
my vote is go to vanessa hudges she is the one most talented in hollywood and her boyfriend zac efron,,,,........
my vote is go to vanessa hudgens she is the one most talented in hollywood and her boyfriend zac efron,,,,........
talent hot: Noureen De Wolf, Moon bloodgood, Mei melancon,
Hot: Jamie Chung, Maya Hazen, Devon Aoki, Kristin Kreuk
Which actress will most likely win an oscar?
Please don't forget the indian actresses if anyone can think of any other than Noureen who is very talented. I'm a big fan.
Up and coming Jessalyn Wanlim. She is an amazing Filipino actress who i have been a fan of since All My Children. Most recently she has been on Bones, CSI NY, Gossip Girl and the movie The Good Guy supporting Alexis Bledel. I hope to see more of her..
I think there is a better shorter list oh Asian actresses in hollywood here...
hubpages.com/_3dpo1s4nyuwdc/hub/Famous-Asian-Actresses
Moon Bloodgood all the way around!! Brenda Song and Vanessa are definitely hot and will only look better for years to come.
Lucy Liu is so fine especially in Charlies angel
lucy liu is so ugly and is way too old shes even worse than brenda song
What about Malese Jow? Her character on the Vampire Diaries created quite a buzz and she displayed much skill as an actress. Although, I'm honestly not familiar with her other work.
Where the fuck is ZHANG ZIYI there!
Hey World Damian Miles Hollywood 101 Show Here....
I Rarely Pick Favorites In The Critic Business One Must Watch Ones Words However......As Fabulous As All These Girls Are I Am Here To Say There Never Was And There Never Will Be Another "Anna Mae Wong" Our Golden Era Starlet Who Really Kicked Some Doors Down Back In The Day For All Our Asian Girls In The Wings...Girls, I Suggest " Shanghi Exspress With The Lovely and Mysterious *Anna Mae Wong* And The Always Glamorous Marlene Dietrich !
In Closing I Hand That Title Of "Most Sexy" To The Always Fierce and Beautiful *Lucy Lu *! Come On Guys Has Anyone Seen Charlie's Angels And Kill Bill ! In A Class All Her Own The Charming, Beautiful and Always Dry And Funny Ms. Lucy Lu Kicks Everyone To The Curb....As The Great Mae West Would Say " Your Gorgeous Your Beautiful Your Stupendous !!! The Always Handsome "Kent Taylor" Said That To Mae In Her Classic Film " I'm No Angel " Mae West Wrote All The Dialog...Pretty Amazing I Reccommed It As Well...... Can't Wait To Bump Into Ms. Lu On The Red Carpet One Day.... Lucy Lu One Of Hollywood's Great New Starlets And A Froce To Be Recconed With.....I Smell an Academy Award! Good Luck Lucy Lu...I've Got My Critic's Eye On You!....Perhaps Lucille Ball Will Watch Over Your Career? I Love Lucy Too!
jamie chung and kristin kreuk i hate brenda song so fat and ugly the others are shit
jamie chung is shit brenda song is ok but i dont like her since she is fat maggie q and kristin kreuk are hot and sexy
what are you guys joking it is obviously Devon aoki she's burning hot even though shes really ugly
I like Smith Cho and Maggie Q
what happened to crystal liu?
Shay Mitchell.
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