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THE 100 MOST INSPIRING ASIAN AMERICANS OF ALL TIME

Pioneers who paved the way for all Asian Americans.

ow do you cull hundreds of uniquely inspired and inspiring achievements and compile a list like this?
     Painstakingly -- and with the humbling recognition that lists like this mean nothing to those they include and little more to those they omit. Every omission is mostly a function of limited time and energy. Every ranking is the product of judgments reflective more of our own limited knowledge than of the actual achievements we were considering.
     So much for the caveats. Now our method. We considered several hundred Asian American achievers in every field for which information is publicly available. We then valued and ranked candidates based on our appraisal of their positive impact, firstly, in inspiring other Asian Americans, and secondly, in inspiring Americans at large.

     An example: Filipino American quarterback Roman Gabriel is ranked behind French-Open winner Michael Chang because Gabriel's ethnicity wasn't publicized until two decades after he retired. That limited his cumulative impact on young Asian Americans and on the perception others have of Asians. Some will question why we left out people more famous than many we included. Fame doesn't equal positve impact. Serial killers are famous but have less positive impacts than shoeshine boys.
     We also weighed the social climate in which these men and women made their mark. Consider a one-armed World War II veteran who rose to prominence as a Senator in an age when some barbers refused to cut his hair. Consider an actor who made himself the world's top star in an age when Hollywood relegated Asians to playing servants.
     This is a living list, to be adjusted as time reveals more inspiring Asian Americans or amplifies the impact of those listed.


Nos. 91-100: Coming soon!

90. Lata Krishnan
Tech Entrepreneur

89. Hiro Narita
Hollywood Cinematographer

88. Vera Wang
Fashion Designer

87. David Wu
U.S. Congressman from Oregon

86. William Mow
Tech Pioneer & Entrepreneur

85. Cung Le
Professional Fighter

84. James Chu
Founder/CEO Viewsonic Corp

83. Josie Natori
Fashion Entrepreneur

82. C. W. Kim
Top San Diego Architect

81. Hiram Fong
U.S. Senator from Hawaii

80. Andrea Wong
President of Lifetime Television

79. Hubert Vo
Texas Congressman

78. Koichi Nishimura
CEO of Solectron

77. John Liu
Crusading New York City Councilman

76. Leehom Wang
Pacific Rim Pop Star

75. Cung Le
Champion Martial Artist

74. Maya Lin
Acclaimed Architect

73. John Okada
Pioneering Japanese American Novelist

72. Indra Nooyi
Pepsico CEO

71. Morgan Chu
Top Patent Trial Lawyer

70. Justin Lin
Film Director

69. Albert Y. C. Yu
Pioneering Tech Executive and Engineer

68. Robert Kiyosaki
Best-Selling Self-Help Author

67. Frank Jao
Leading Vietnamese American Developer

66. Norm Chow
Acclaimed USC Football Coach

65. Henry Cho
Pioneering Comedian

64. Ray G. Young
GM President and Managing Director for Brazil

63. Chi Huang
Doctor and Social Worker

62. Christine Poon
Chairman of Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceuticals

61. Margaret Cho
Actor and Comedian

60. Helie Lee
Daring Journalist and Activist

59. David S. C. Chu
Under-Secretary of Defense

58. Vic & Janie Tsao
Co-Founders of Linksys

57. Angela Oh
Lawyer and Community Leader

56. Andrew & Peggy Cherng
Co-Founders of Panda Express Chain

55. Edward Tsang Lu
NASA Astronaut and Physicist

54. Richard Park
NHL Hockey Player

53. Debra W. Yang
U.S. Attorney for Central District of California

52. Connie Chung
Pioneering News Anchor and Journalist

51. Robert M. Takasugi
Pioneering Federal Judge

50. Lucy Liu
Popular Actor

49. Kristi Yamaguchi
1992 Olympic Figure Skating Gold Medalist

48. Ming-Na (Wen)
Popular TV Actor

47. Teddy Zee
Hollywood Producer

46. C. N. Yang/T. D. Lee
Nobel Prize-Winning Physicists

45. Michael Chow
Trend-Setting Restaurateur and Cultural Icon

44. Ming W. Chin
California Supreme Court Justice

43. Joan Chen
Actor, Director and Producer

42. Nancy Kwan
Pioneering Actor

41. Robert Matsui
Influential California Congressman

40. Chien-Shiung Wu
Pioneering and Nobel Prize-Winning Woman Physicist

39. John Tu & David Sun
Co-founders of Kingston Technology

38. Chang-Lin Tien
UC Berkeley Chancellor

37. Tiger Woods
Record-Setting PGA Great

36. Paul Kariya
NHL's Leading Scorer

35. Gus Lee
Best-selling Novelist and Attorney

34. Elaine Chao
Secretary of Labor

33. Michelle Kwan
World Champion Figure Skater

32. Steven Chu
Nobel Prize-Winning Physicist and Stanford Researcher

31. Roman Gabriel
Trailblazing NFL Quarterback

30. Dat Nguyen
Cowboys Linebacker and Texas A&M Recordholder

29. Shoji Tabuchi
Branson's Top Country Act

28. Chang-Rae Lee
Acclaimed Novelist and Professor

27. Maxine Hong Kingston
Trail-Blazing Novelist




26. Andrea Jung
Chairman/CEO of Avon Products, Inc.

25. Ming Tsai
Chef and Emmy Award-winning TV Host

24. Ang Lee
Academy Award-winning Film Director

23. Russell Wong
Actor

22. Jerry Yang
Co-Founder and Chief Yahoo of Yahoo!,Inc.

21. George Takei
Actor, Author and Community Leader

20. Yo-Yo Ma
Celebrated Cellist and Cultural Eminence

19. Dr. Sammy Lee
Gold-Medal Olympian and Coach

18. Charles Wang
Founder/CEO Computer Associates, Owner of Islanders

17. Sessue Hayakawa
Pioneering Hollywood Actor and Producer

16. Patsy Mink
First Non-White Congresswoman

15. James Wong Howe
Renowned Cinematographer

14. James Shigeta
Hollywood Leading Man

13. Michael Chang
Youngest-Ever French Open Champ (1989)

12. Gordon P. Chung-Hoon
Admiral and War Hero

11. Eric K. Shinseki
War Hero and Army Chief of Staff

10. Michiko Kakutani
America's Top Literary Critic

9. David Ho
Breakthrough AIDS researcher

8. Colonel Young Oak Kim
War Hero and Commmunity Leader

7. Jason Scott Lee
Actor

6. I M Pei
World-Renown Architect

5. Norman Mineta
Mayor and First AA Cabinet Secretary

4. An Wang
Inventor and Pioneering Tech Entrepreneur

3. Gary Locke
Governor of Washington State

2. Bruce Lee
Martial Artist and Action Superstar

1. Daniel K. Inouye
Influential Senator and Medal of Honor Recipient




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