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ASIAMS.NET |
ASIAN AMERICAN ISSUES
Kristin Kreuk: Next Asian American Beauty?
t isn't a question of droolworthiness. Her looks are dazzling enough to have locked up a lead role in each of her first three auditions, including the title role in an upcoming TV movie. It's more a question of whether most of us would identify hazel-eyed Smallville heartthrob Lana Lang as a fellow Asian.
Kristin Laura Kreuk was born to a Chinese mother and a Dutch father on December 30, 1982. She grew up in Vancouver, Canada. Kreuk, 5-4, had decided to go to college to study forensic pathology until, in her senior year, her drama teacher suggested she go to an audition for a new Fox Family series called Edgement. She was promptly plucked out of the open audition to play a Chinese Canadian high school student named Laurel Yeung. Even as she won fans in the role, she landed the Lana Lang role for WB's dramatization of Superboy's life as Clark Kent, then the role of Snow White in the ABC TV movie set for release in 2002. Kreuk's star-quality was obvious to all who tuned in for Smallville's premiere last October. Some even proclaimed her the show's main attraction.
But many Asian American viewers didn't even suspect Kreuk's Asian ancestry. Even those who learned of her mother's nationality questioned whether she can be claimed by Asian Americans. Without an Asian surname or obvious Asian facial features, they argue, Kreuk's success would do nothing for the image of Asians in the American media. Others might argue that most African American stars are, in fact, only fractionally of African descent.
Should we claim Kristin Kreuk and other hapas like her as Asian American celebrities? Or should that designation be reserved for those with a more obviously Asian identity?
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WHAT YOU SAY
[This page is closed to new input. --Ed.]
(Updated
Tuesday, Apr 1, 2008, 06:00:02 PM)
jeez, folks, give her time to come into her own. SHe's only recently rocketed to stardom. Being an INFLUENTIAL star takes time and she's got to gain her footing before she goes out there and says "I eat 1000 year old eggs"! Gimme a break, people.
haze
Monday, October 07, 2002 at 23:01:22 (PDT)
[24.25.2.41]
Her life is her life but I think everyone forgets she is of Dutch ancestry too.
Why do many condemn her for not speaking Chinese. If you are going to say she is not Asian then realize she does not speak Dutch either. Also why is no one frustrated that she doesn't speak Indonesian. Isn't her mother Indonesian (but with Chinese ancestry)? Do we expect KK to speak ALL the languages of her ancestors? What if she had a child with an Arab, would THat child have to speak Chinese, Indonesian, Arabic, Dutch, and English in order to be a role model.
People are free to roam around the world and produce children with different nationalities than the parents.
Who cares
Monday, October 07, 2002 at 14:27:34 (PDT)
[12.13.178.126]
who care's what etnicity kristen kreuk is!!! it shouldn't matter. what matters is her talent for acting. stop criticizing her when you say she is so-called dissing her own asian heritage when you all dont't have prove of that!
kristen fan
Saturday, October 05, 2002 at 21:40:11 (PDT)
[66.125.127.59]
what ever she wants to call herself it's up to her. she has not denied her asian ancestry, she has classfied herself as eurasian.
kk defintely looks eurasian, when i first turned the tellie on- "oh new hapa star"
the most give away of her asian ancestry is her eyes.
in some angles she looks more caucasian and in some other angle she looks more asian
10
Saturday, October 05, 2002 at 21:00:58 (PDT)
[202.180.99.234]
"Take pride in the fact she is one of your most beautiful and popular exports.
Jan-E
I wish we could take pride except the fact that she sold her Asian side out to kowtow to the other side as so many before her have done. Not only do we not take pride but we are ashamed of her
Been There So Many Times
Saturday, October 05, 2002 at 11:57:21 (PDT)
[152.163.188.162]
I'm a black English girl and when I watched Smallville for the first time, I could clearly see she was biracial – part white, part Oriental.
Whether she looks mixed in everybody's eyes is irrelevant. Her mother is Chinese so she can rightfully claim that heritage as her own. In the UK there are few Asian girls like her on TV, bar Ally McBeal's Lucy Liu. Take pride in the fact she is one of your most beautiful and popular exports.
Jan-E
Tuesday, October 01, 2002 at 05:38:34 (PDT)
[217.35.105.1]
Islandgurl,
We can assume because practically every asian actress before her (half of whole) has abandoned their culture.
Can you name an asian actress who has represented asians? Beyond the "I'm asian, I'm female, now let's talk about something that whites are interested in".
If I'm not mistaken, her mother doesn't speak chinese, and neither does she. How much representing do you think she can do? How much representing do you think she wants to do, especially since it's easier to cater to non-asians?
huu76
Monday, September 30, 2002 at 16:48:26 (PDT)
[64.231.98.120]
I think you guys are way to obsessed with her not being full asian. Find something more important to do with your time than dissin the fact she or anyone else isn't full asian or doesn't want to speak chinese or what not. I'm part japanese and you can tell really tell I'm part asian but hey that's how I got to be a model, so it's not a bad thing. Look at Michelle Branch she looks part asian and she's beautiful. and personally I think full blooded asians are starting to look dull, part is prettier. :)
jun
Sunday, September 29, 2002 at 17:51:54 (PDT)
[65.100.60.178]
First of all, she looks Asian whether she has hazel eyes or not. And second, her mother is Chinese, she has Chinese blood running through her body, there's no escape.
She's a great young actress. She is a great young Asian American actress.
Storm
Saturday, September 28, 2002 at 07:35:14 (PDT)
[66.24.224.244]
We shouldn't judge ethnicity because that shows ignorance. Kristine Kreuk is a talented young actress. She is born half Dutch and half Chinese and how do we know that she doesn't know anything about asian heritage. She is in a business where it is based in entertainment. We watch or read about her life but what do we really know about the real her. Entertainment influences how we see celebrities but it doesn't mean that is what they really are. We don't how she is back then all we see is the role she plays on tv and it is basically entertainment. We can't judge people by its cover.
Islandgurl
Saturday, September 28, 2002 at 00:20:11 (PDT)
[198.81.16.169]
Why is it that "an American" is automatically catogorized as someone from the United States? Are Mexico, Canada, and S. America not all in the Americas? It amazes me how this society can be so impetuous about the distinctions of their own ethnicities and nationalities. Seems to me that some people are just trying to isolate their own characteristics just to convince themselves and others that they are "unique" or "superior/inferior" in some ways. In my opinion (although you may not care), anyone from the Americas are considered American... and anyone from the United States (like myself) are "from the US" -- I guess most people just call United States citizens Americans because we do not have a distinct lable.
J Governor
Friday, September 27, 2002 at 20:07:04 (PDT)
[66.214.164.103]
she definitely has asian features... don't know what you guys are talking about... just look at her eyes, you can totally tell she's mixed asian with something else and I think it's great that there's someone out there who half-represents the asian community...
Asian chick
Tuesday, September 24, 2002 at 22:42:27 (PDT)
[64.165.204.153]
I suspected that Kristen was part asian when I first saw her.. so I went on search engine to find out and indeed she is... I don't think you can choose your own ethnicity. Whether you like it or not you are who you are...just cause I have two nationalities doesn't mean that I can drop one..I mean I'd like to live in a world where we're not bounded by our mere looks and nationalities,,, but since we can't, whichever groups we belong to based on our ancestries will be a concern for us for the rest of our lives.. To be honest,I wouldn't have cared enough to search for her website on line, if KK was not part asian..
and there's a part of me that's proud of her b/c she's part asian. The fact that KK looks white enough to pass as a full white doesn't give her the choice of denying her asian heritage. Idealistically, your ethnicity shouldn't matter, but in real life, it does. Just like none of us pure blooded can switch our races, neither can she just cause she's a half..she's what she is, an Asian-Caucasian. And she should be damn proud!
Asian American
Monday, September 23, 2002 at 23:48:51 (PDT)
[216.12.11.49]
She's ASian and should say that she is Asian!
J.J.
Sunday, September 22, 2002 at 23:28:10 (PDT)
[198.81.26.103]
Kristin is one very attractive young woman. I hope that the lure of this world doesn't detract from her the precious gift that God gave her. Keep it decent, Kristin. You do not need any more episodes like that one with the flower to become sucessful.
Rick
rfrankjr55@hotmail.com
Thursday, September 19, 2002 at 18:44:36 (PDT)
[67.249.218.140]
I think a couple of people who posted on the subject of Kristin Kreuk need to get a grip. Saying "For her to say she doesn't want to be apart or be considered an asian is offensive since asians are the majority of her fans. Another disgrace is that she doesn't even know how to speak mandarin or even bothered to take interest in the language. She has totally abandoned her chinese roots. She can't deny her chinese heritage because it is definitely in her blood, but she chooses to." You know it is her choice as what race of people she wants to be associated with. Just because she doesn't know the language doesn't mean a thing. I am very interested in my heritage but I have yet to learn the language. I don't think you should judge her and speak so harshly of her when you don't know her whole story. For the record I think she is beautiful and is a very talented actress. I was also interested to read in one of her interviews that she was going to go to school to be a Forensic Scientist, which is what I am going to school for.
Sarah
sfjf1392@msn.com
Thursday, September 19, 2002 at 17:51:55 (PDT)
[64.146.112.209]
She is so BEAUTIFUL isn't she?
shelbe
Thursday, September 19, 2002 at 16:14:21 (PDT)
[212.239.166.112]
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