Top 10 Asian-American entertainers and writers

By: Jacob Link

Reasoning

• I decided to make my selections using people from different areas of media and literature. While all choices are entertainers or writers, each one covers different forms of media, literature, and sports. After picking people of different areas, I took Asian Americans who had won or been nominated for major awards, medals, etc. I also picked people with common names among American culture.

Reasoning Cont.

• I decided it was best to also get people of diverse backgrounds. I did not want the list to be 10 people of the same ancestry, but rather a list of vast diversity among Asian-Americans. The main reason that these ten were picked while others were excluded is because of their vast popularity and the amount of awards they have won. All ten of these people rank towards the top of their fields among all races of people. Also, My main criteria for selecting these people is that they had to have been nominated or won at least one major award. However, many have won several awards.

#1: Ang Lee

• Ang Lee is a naturalized American citizen from Taiwan. He won an Oscar award for directing the major film hit Brokeback Mountain. He is quickly becoming a top director and is credited with being one of the best Asian American directors.

#2: Keanu Reeves

• Keanu Reeves is an actor who is of Chinese-Hawaiian descent. He has won 9 awards and 3 MTV movie awards. He has starred in hits like Speed and The Matrix. He is an extremely popular actor in America and often times not acknowledged for being of Pacific Island heritage.

#3: Connie Chung

• Connie Chung is an Asian American reporter who has worked for numerous television stations like CBS, NBC, and others. She was the co-host of the CBS evening news, which any consider to be the top news program in America. She is married to popular talk show host Maury Povich. Chung has also won 3 Emmy awards in her distinguished career.

#4: Yo Yo Ma

• Yo Yo Ma is a Chinese American musician who has won multiple Grammy awards. He studied at Julliard which is the most prestigious music schools in the United States. He has won 15 Grammy awards and is by far the most decorated Asian-American musician.

#5: Amy Tan

• Amy Tan is a Chinese American author. She has written many popular books including The Joy Luck Club. She has won numerous awards including being a finalist for the National Book Award and has had 3 New York Times notable books.

#6: Norah Jones

• Norah Jones is a singer of Indian Bengali descent. She was born Geethali Norah Jones Shankar. Her first and most famous album is come away with me. Norah Jones has won 5 Grammy awards. She has sang with many other famous singers such as Dolly Parton and Willie Nelson.

#7: Michelle Kwan

• Michelle Kwan is a Chinese-American figure skater. She has won 9 United States championships and 2 Olympic medals. Kwan is widely considered to be one of the best figure skaters of all time. One of her biggest knocks is that she never won a gold medal in the Olympics. She also won the James E. Sullivan award, the award given to the best amateur athlete in America.

#8: Tiger Woods• Tiger Woods is a professional golfer who

considers himself Cablinasian. He is one quarter Thai and one quarter Chinese among other things. Woods is considered to be the best golfer of his era and will probably go down as the greatest golfer of all time. He has won 65 PGA tour events and 14 majors. He is also one of the richest golfers of all time. He has been the PGA player of the year 9 times. He has done more things in the game of golf than any other individual.

#9: Hines Ward

• Hines Ward is a football player currently playing for the Pittsburg Steelers in the NFL. He is the son of a Korean mother and an African-American father. Ward is a four time pro-bowl player and was also the MVP of Super Bowl 40. Ward was actually born in South Korea, but moved here when he was 1 year old. Hines Ward is one of the best wide receivers in the NFL and is very popular to fans all across the country.

#10: Apolo Anton Ohno

• Apolo Anton Ohno is a professional speed skater. He is the son of an American mother and a Japanese father. Apolo Anton Ohno has won 5 Olympic medals and 2 of them were gold medals. Ohno also has won many events at the world championships. Ohno also competed ont eh reality show Dancing with the Stars, and he ended up being the winner. The show helped him become even more popular in the United States.

Works Cited• Slide #4 – Ang Lee

International Movie Database. http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000487/. 12-3-08 Indiewire. http://www.indiewire.com/ipop/AngLee.JPG. 12-3-08

• Slide #5- Keanu ReevesWikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keanu_reeves#Career. 12-3-08International Movie Database. http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000206/awards. 12-3-08 Topnews.in. http://www.topnews.in/light/files/Keanu-Reeves.jpg. 12-3-08

• Slide #6 - Connie ChungAnswers.com. http://www.answers.com/topic/connie-chung. 12-3-08Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Connie_Chung. 12-3-08AEI Speakers Bureau. http://www.aeispeakers.com/images/headshots/Chung-Connie.jpg. 12-4-08

• Slide #7 - Yo Yo Ma Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yo_yo_ma. 12-3-08American Classic Music. http://www.americanclassicalmusic.org/03/inductees/Ma2/yo_yo_ma.jpg. 12-3-08

• Slide #8- Amy TanAmyTan.com. http://www.amytan.net/ATBiography.aspx. 12-3-08Cuyahoga Library. http://www.cuyahogalibrary.org/uploadedImages/Support_Us/Foundation/tanFULL300.jpg. 12-3-08

Work Cited Cont.• Slide #9- Norah Jones

Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norah_Jones. 12-3-08Telegraph.co.uk. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/graphics/2007/05/16/bfjones.jpg. 12-3-08

• Slide #10- Michelle KwanWikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michelle_Kwan. 12-3-08Starpulse. http://images.starpulse.com/Photos/Previews/Michelle-Kwan-nc01.jpg. 12-3-08

• Slide #11- Tiger WoodsWikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiger_woods. 12-3-08Wisconsin Weather Network. http://www.wisconsinwx.com/TigerWoods.jpg. 12-3-08

• Slide #12- Hines WardWikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hines_Ward. 12-3-08Amazon Web Services. http://s3.amazonaws.com/coolspotters2_development/photos/1535/Hines_Ward_profile.jpg. 12-3-08

• Slide #13- Apolo Anton OhnoWikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apolo_Anton_Ohno. 12-3-08Ohno Zone. http://www.ohnozone.net/archives/040229f.jpg. 12-3-08