A New Biography
of Anna May Wong

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Set against the glittering backdrop of Los Angeles during the gin-soaked Jazz Age and the rise of Hollywood, this debut book celebrates Anna May Wong, the first Asian American movie star, to bring an unsung heroine to light and reclaim her place in cinema history.

Before Constance Wu, Sandra Oh, Awkwafina, or Lucy Liu, there was Anna May Wong. In her time, she was a legendary beauty, witty conversationalist, and fashion icon. Plucked from her family’s laundry business in Los Angeles, Anna May Wong rose to stardom in Douglas Fairbanks’s blockbuster The Thief of Bagdad. Fans and the press clamored to see more of this unlikely actress, but when Hollywood repeatedly cast her in stereotypical roles, she headed abroad in protest.

Anna May starred in acclaimed films in Berlin, Paris, and London. She dazzled royalty and heads of state across several nations, leaving trails of suitors in her wake. She returned to challenge Hollywood at its own game by speaking out about the industry’s blatant racism. She used her new stature to move away from her typecasting as the China doll or dragon lady, and worked to reshape Asian American representation in film.

Filled with stories of capricious directors and admiring costars, glamorous parties and far-flung love affairs, Not Your China Doll showcases the vibrant, radical life of a groundbreaking artist.

  • “Here at last is a biography of a groundbreaking and inspiring woman that is well-researched, thoughtful, enlightening, nuanced, and honest.”

    Lisa See, New York Times bestselling author of Lady Tan’s Circle of Women

  • “Anna May Wong truly comes to life in this irresistible read. Her story navigating stardom in the early days of Hollywood is dazzling."

    Simu Liu, actor and New York Times bestselling author of We Were Dreamers

  • "It's really fucking good. It’s hard to toe the line between historical excavation and analysis, establishing your own authority as a biographer but also underlining the ways in which no biography is ever objective—but Salisbury pulls it off."

    Anne Helen Petersen, Culture Study

  • “With impeccable research and eloquent prose, Katie Gee Salisbury captures not only Wong’s grand ambition and delicious swagger, but also the significant challenges and prejudices she faced during her career.”

    Karen Abbott, New York Times bestselling author of The Ghosts of Eden Park

  • “Katie Gee Salisbury's vivid biography of the first Asian American movie star is not only a fun, transporting trip to a golden age, but also a contemporary consideration of why Anna May Wong still matters. Not Your China Doll is a must read."

    Phil Yu, founder of Angry Asian Man and coauthor of the New York Times bestseller Rise

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BUY THE BOOK

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photo by Jmar Teran

Katie Gee Salisbury is a writer and photographer whose work has appeared in the New York Times, MSNBC, Vanity Fair, The Ringer, The Believer, the Asian American Writers' Workshop, and elsewhere. She was a finalist for the Jerome Hill Artist Fellowship in 2021 and gave the TED Talk “As American as Chop Suey.” She also writes the newsletter Half-Caste Woman. A fifth-generation Chinese American who hails from Southern California, she now lives in Brooklyn. Not Your China Doll is her first book.