Asian Actresses Who Are Breaking Barriers in Hollywood

Over the past few years, Asian actresses from all across the diaspora have been taking over Hollywood. From Michelle Yeoh‘s history-making Oscar win in 2023 for Everything Everywhere All at Once to Auli’i Cravalho and Avantika absolutely stealing the show in the 2024 Mean Girls musical spinoff, so many Asian actresses are wowing us as they break Hollywood’s barriers one at a time.

Talking to Avantika at Variety’s Power of Women event earlier this month, she gushed about how the global audience’s reaction was even better than she had expected. “I did know that the South Asian community was obviously going to be very supportive, we are subverting expectations and that is what our community wants but I didn’t expect a global audience to be so receptive to the fact that a brown woman was playing Karen,” Avantika told SheKnows. “I was really pleasantly surprised, we are evolving as a society, we are becoming more open-minded.”

To find out more Asian and Asian-American stars taking over Hollywood in honor of AAPI month, scroll below!

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Mindy Kaling

In addition to establishing herself as an actress in shows like The Office and The Mindy Project, Mindy Kaling’s takeover of Hollywood has happened behind the scenes, with her as a creator and producer for many beloved shows and movies like Sex Lives of College Girls, Never Have I Ever and Four Weddings and a Funeral. At the forefront of each of these titles, of course, are AAPI stories.

Michelle Yeoh

Michelle Yeoh’s Oscar win in 2023 for Everything Everywhere All at Once made us all teary-eyed. Not only was she deserving, but it was a milestone for Asian actresses everywhere.

Since then, Yeoh’s been quite busy. In addition to getting married after a 19-year (!) engagement, Yeoh also starred in The Brothers Sun, The Haunting in Venice, American Born Chinese, and many more.

Stephanie Hsu

Alongside Yeoh, Stephanie Hsu also wowed in her portrayal as Joy in Everything Everywhere All at Once. Since then, she’s kept her schedule busy with so many talked-about productions like Poker Face, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Joy Ride and, most recently, The Fall Guy. 

Constance Wu

In the past few years, Constance Wu has branched out in much more than TV and film. The Crazy Rich Asians star recently starred in Little Shop of Horrors Off-Broadway as well releasing her tell-all memoir, Making a Scene. On the TV and film side, she’s recently starred in East Bay, The Terminal List and Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile. 

Simone Ashley

Ever since starring in a small role in Sex Education, Simone Ashley’s career has only been on the rise. Since then, she’s starred in The Little Mermaid and, of course, season 2 of Bridgerton. Coming up, Ashley will be starring in This Tempting Madness and Picture This.

Lana Condor

While Lana Condor will always be known for her work in the To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before Series, she’s got an impressive resume with so many other titles. Among them are Boo, B—, Moonshot and a recent surprise cameo in Abbott Elementary.

Avantika

Avantika may still be relatively new to the scene, but her portrayal as Karen in Mean Girls the musical proved she’s a true force to be reckoned with. Most recently, she starred in the horror movie Tarot and is set to star in a new series, titled Masoom, which is currently in pre-production.

Ali Wong

Ali Wong took the 2024 Awards show season by storm for her Emmy-winning role in the limited series Beef, alongside fellow Asian actor Steven Yeun. Previously, she’d found success in both scripted and non-scripted stand-up specials like Ali Wong: Baby Cobra and Always Be My Maybe.

Midori Francis

Before starring as one of the new interns in the past few seasons of Grey’s Anatomy, Midori Francis had long established herself in Hollywood. In addition to her main role in Netflix’s Dash & Lily, Francis also starred in The Sex Lives of College Girls, Ocean’s 8 and Good Boys, just to name a few.

Greta Lee

While Greta Lee’s talents have always been evident in her smaller roles, like as Stella in The Morning Show, her beautiful portrayal as Nora in Past Lives absolutely took our breath away. For the role, she was nominated for many awards including the 2024 Critics Choice Awards and the 2024 Golden Globe Awards.

Geraldine Viswanathan

Most recently, rising actress Geraldine Viswanathan starred in Drive-Away Dolls alongside Margaret Qualley. But, before that, she’s had an impressive career too including Blockers, The Broken Hearts Gallery and 7 Days. 

Sandra Oh

Sure, we’ll always know Sandra Oh as the irreverent Dr. Cristina Yang from Grey’s Anatomy, but she’s done so many things since leaving the show that the medical drama is even buried in her IMDb.

In addition to her gripping role in Killing Eve, Oh has starred in The Chair, Quiz Lady and even Turning Red. She also has a series of new projects coming up the rest of The Sympathizer, Can I Get a Witness and Stone Mattress.

Ritu Arya

In 2023, Ritu Arya accomplished a Hollywood first: she became an English-Indian Barbie in Barbie! While the movie was the biggest movie of the year, Arya has had many incredible performances throughout her career including Polite Society, The Umbrella Academy and Red Notice. 

Auli’i Cravalho

Most recently, you might’ve seen Auli’i Cravalho shine onscreen as Janis in the 2024 Mean Girls musical adaptation. Cravalho, who started in the industry as the voice behind Moana in 2016, has been non-stop working ever since. Coming up for the actress is the long-awaited Moana 2!

Naomi Scott

Naomi Scott has had a series of star-studded big productions in the past few years. Among them are Power Rangers, Charlie’s Angels and, of course, her title role as Jasmin in 2019’s Aladdin. Scott’s also got a busy few years ahead, starring in upcoming movies like Smile 2, Distant, Eternal Return and Wizards!

Maitreyi Ramakrishnan

In addition to captivating millions of viewers in the four seasons of Never Have I Ever, Maitreyi Ramakrishnan’s career is only beginning. Ramakrishnan, who’s voice-acted in Turning Red, Big Mouth and My Little Pony, is also set to star in her first-ever movie, titled The Netherfield Girls, in which she portrays a modern-day Lizzie Bennet, per Variety.

Alia Bhatt

While Alia Bhatt is a household name in Bollywood, with an award-winning film career of over a decade, she’s making her triumphant debut in Hollywood. In 2023, she starred as Keya Dhawan in the Netflix action series Heart of Stone.

Iman Vellani

Iman Vellani burst into the acting world in 2022 when she was cast as Kamala Khan in Marvel’s movie Ms. Marvel. After receiving critical acclaim for her role, the Pakistani actress embodied Khan once again in The Marvels and is also set to star in Avengers: Secret Wars.

Ambika Mod

The last time you probably saw Ambika Mod, chances are tears were running down your face in the last few episodes of One Day. If so, then you already know Mod is going to take Hollywood by storm. Coming up for her is a new TV series called Playdate. We hope to cry a little less on that one…