THE 70 MOST INSPIRING ASIAN AMERICANS OF ALL TIME
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THE 80 MOST INSPIRING ASIAN AMERICANS OF ALL TIME
21. George Takei
As Mr Sulu of the original Star Trek series of the late 60s, Takei gave young Asian Americans hope that the future held acceptance and a central role in American life. In his later career Takei's rich voice and booming laugh made him an icon of boundless good will for Trekkies and non-Trekkies alike.
22. Jerry Yang
In founding the world's leading web portal, Yang put the Asian American imprimatur firmly on the internet. His grinning relish for the role of Yahoo!'s Mr Outside made him the prototype of the hip young tech entrepreneur.
23. Russell Wong
Wong did what Bruce Lee couldn't -- play the lead in a TV series about a kungfu master roaming America. Vanishing Son vanished after two seasons but its star kept hearts throbbing by portraying one of the sexiest capos ever in Romeo Must Die.
Coming out of art-film oblivion, Lee directed an attractively nuanced rendering of Emma Thompson's Oscar-winning Sense and Sensibility. In 2000 he became a Hollywood franchise when his modestly budgeted, all-Asian-cast Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon became the year's most profitable film.
By infusing bold Asian flavors into traditional American dishes, then generously dressing them in all-American-babyfaced-boy-next-door patter, Tsai became an idol for young urban bon vivants. In the process he helped elevate Asian cooking from cheap eats to hip haute cuisine.
By swiftly climbing the corporate ladder to become CEO of Avon, Jung showed there is a place for Asian women at the very top of the Fortune 500. More importantly, she proved that Asian American women are smart enough and tough enough to ignore the adolescent stereotypes with which the U.S. media would like to saddle them.
While the rest of the literary world painted Asian women as kimonoed hookers, Hong Kingston's lyrical 1976 Women Warrior romanticized an alternative tradition from which to draw strength and dignity. In 1980 her China Men debunked stereotypes of early Chinese immigrant men as comical servants.
His first two novels were hailed as literary tours-de-force and earned Lee awards and a Princeton professorship. He is the first Asian American writer to enter the ranks of the literary elite without exploiting stereotypes or pandering to American biases about Asians.
Tabuchi leveraged virtuoso fiddling and a love of country music into lavish Branson stage spectacles to warm the corny hearts of middle America. By making himself the king of America's capitol of live country music, he earned Asian Americans countless busloads of biblebelt goodwill.
By setting an all-time Texas A&M record in tackles, then becoming a record-threatening middle linebacker for the Dallas Cowboys in only his third pro season, the 5-11 Nguyen did more than anyone to dispel the myth that Asians are too small to excel in power sports.