Barbara Jean Wong: Movies & Filmography

Barbara Jean Wong (March 3, 1924 – November 13, 1999) was a pioneering Chinese American actress born in Los Angeles, California, to produce market owners Thomas and Maye Wong, making her a fourth-generation Chinese American. She began her performance career at the remarkably young age of five, as she could already read and possessed a clear voice, quickly earning her the nickname "the Chinese American Shirley Temple" due to her long black hair curled into ringlets and her charming persona. Wong trained at the Fanchon and Marco School of the Theater and also showcased her talents as a dancer, performing at various events such as a charity fashion show in 1932 and a Hollywood Women's Club costume party in 1935. She appeared in films as early as 1934 with a featured bit in The Painted Veil, and by 1937 she was working as a voice actress for CBS, notably playing Judy Barton in the children's Christmas radio show The Cinnamon Bear. Her biggest radio role came on the hugely popular comedy show Amos 'n' Andy, where she portrayed Amos' daughter Arbadella. She also played the detective's oldest daughter in a Charlie Chan radio series starting in October 1938, and took on the role of P.Y., a Chinese character, in I Love a Mystery on radio.

After college, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in speech and drama from the University of Southern California and a Master of Arts degree from Columbia University, Wong worked in approximately 20 films, including notable productions like The Good Earth, The Man from Button Willow, and Charlie Chan in Honolulu, in which she played Charlie Chan's Number Three daughter. She also played a key supporting role in The Trap in 1946, which was the last Charlie Chan movie to feature Sidney Toler, and her final role was an uncredited appearance as a nurse in the film Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing. Her featured-part movie career spanned from 1938 to 1955, after which she retired from acting upon marrying Robert Wah Lee. Following her retirement from the entertainment industry, Wong earned her teaching credentials from California State, Los Angeles, and spent 23 years as an elementary school teacher before retiring in 1992. She remained active on the boards of multiple Los Angeles organizations, including the El Pueblo Historical Monument and the Friends of the Chinese American Museum. Wong was married to Robert Wah Lee until his death in 1988, and together they had four children. She passed away from a respiratory illness on November 13, 1999, in Tarzana, California, at the age of 75.