Ming-Na Wen facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Ming-Na Wen
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Wen in 2023
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| Born | November 20, 1963 Coloane, Portuguese Macau
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| Other names | Ming-Na | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Citizenship | United States | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Education | Carnegie Mellon University (BFA) | ||||||||||||||||||||
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| Years active | 1985–present | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Spouse(s) |
Kirk Aanes
(m. 1990; div. 1993)Eric Michael Zee
(m. 1995) |
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| Children | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Chinese name | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 溫明娜 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 温明娜 | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Ming-Na Wen (Chinese: 溫明娜; born November 20, 1963) is a famous American actress and model. She is well-known for her many roles in movies and TV shows, and also for lending her voice to animated characters.
Ming-Na Wen became widely known for her role as June Woo in the movie The Joy Luck Club (1993). She also played Dr. Jing-Mei "Deb" Chen in the medical drama ER from 1995 to 2004. A huge part of her career is her voice work as Fa Mulan in Disney's animated movie Mulan (1998) and its sequel Mulan II. She even made a quick appearance in the live-action Mulan movie in 2020.
More recently, Wen is famous for playing Agent Melinda May in the Marvel TV series Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (2013–2020). She also joined the Star Wars universe as the bounty hunter Fennec Shand in shows like The Mandalorian (2019–2020), Star Wars: The Bad Batch (2021, 2024), and The Book of Boba Fett (2021–2022).
Other important roles include Chun-Li in the movie Street Fighter (1994), Detective Ellen Yin in The Batman (2004–2005), and Camile Wray in Stargate Universe (2009–2011).
Ming-Na Wen has won several awards, including an Annie Award for her voice work as Mulan and a Saturn Award for her role in The Book of Boba Fett. She was also honored as a Disney Legend in 2019 and received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2023.
Contents
Early Life and Education
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Ming-Na Wen was born on November 20, 1963, in Coloane, which is one of the main islands of Macau. Her mother, Lin Chan Wen, moved to Macau in the 1950s from Suzhou, China, to escape communism. Her father is of Malaysian Chinese descent. She has an older brother named Jonathan and a younger brother named Leong.
When Ming-Na was a baby, her parents divorced. She then moved with her mother and brother to Hong Kong, where she went to a Catholic school. Her mother worked three jobs to support the family. Later, her mother married Soo Lim Yee, who was Chinese American. When Ming-Na was four years old, her family moved to New York City. Her younger brother Leong was born there.
Five years later, Ming-Na's mother and stepfather moved the family to the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area. There, they bought and ran the Chinatown Inn restaurant, which is still open today. They lived in Mt. Lebanon, Pennsylvania, and Ming-Na attended Mount Lebanon High School. She studied theater at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh and graduated in 1986.
Acting Career Highlights
Starting Out: 1985–1997
Ming-Na Wen's first TV role was in the children's show Mister Rogers' Neighborhood in 1985. From 1988 to 1991, she played Lien Hughes on the soap opera As the World Turns.
After starring in The Joy Luck Club (1993), Wen got the role of Dr. Jing-Mei "Deb" Chen on the TV drama ER. She was a recurring character in the 1994–1995 season. She then returned in 1999 as a regular cast member and stayed on the show until 2004. Wen also played Chun-Li in the movie Street Fighter (1994) and was a co-star in the sitcom The Single Guy from 1995 to 1997.
Becoming a Star: 1998–2012
In 1998, Ming-Na Wen provided the voice for the main character in Disney's animated film Mulan. She also voiced Mulan in the sequel, Mulan II, and in the video game Kingdom Hearts II. For her work as Mulan, she won an Annie Award. She also voiced Aki Ross in the animated movie Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within and Detective Ellen Yin in The Batman animated series.
In 2005, she starred in the NBC drama Inconceivable, but the show was canceled quickly. She also appeared in the Fox series Vanished in 2006, which was also canceled. From 2009 to 2011, Wen was a regular cast member in the Stargate Universe TV series, playing Camile Wray. She also appeared in the Syfy series Eureka from 2011 to 2012.
Marvel and Star Wars: 2013–Present
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In 2013, Ming-Na Wen began starring as Agent Melinda May in the ABC superhero drama series Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.. This show became very popular and ran until 2020.
In 2014, she returned to voice Mulan for the Disney Channel series Sofia the First. Interestingly, Wen's daughter also had a role on the show as Princess Jun. In 2017, she voiced Hala the Accuser in the animated film Marvel Rising: Secret Warriors. She also voiced Mulan again in the movie Ralph Breaks the Internet in 2018.
A big step in her career was joining the Star Wars universe in 2019. She played the bounty hunter Fennec Shand in The Mandalorian. She continued this role by voicing Fennec Shand in Star Wars: The Bad Batch and playing her in the live-action series The Book of Boba Fett.
More recently, in 2022, Wen appeared on Young Sheldon as Dr. Lee. She also had a recurring role in the second season of HBO Max's Hacks.
Artistry and Legacy
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Ming-Na Wen's roles as Melinda May in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Fennec Shand in The Book of Boba Fett have been highly praised by critics. In December 2021, the BBC included her in their list of 100 Women of 2021. In 2023, she received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, a very special honor in Hollywood.
She is also very well known for her work with Disney. A writer for WDW Magazine called Wen an "incredibly talented Chinese actress" who has had a "remarkable career." He also noted that she has "broken through barriers for Asian performers," meaning she has helped open doors for other Asian actors in Hollywood. In 2019, she was named a Disney Legend at the D23 Expo for her amazing contributions to The Walt Disney Company.
Personal Life
In 1990, Ming-Na Wen married American writer Kirk Aanes, but they divorced three years later. On June 16, 1995, she married Eric Michael Zee. They have a daughter and a son together. Wen's first pregnancy was even written into the ER show, where her character decided to place her child for adoption.
Ming-Na Wen's daughter, Michaela Zee, has followed in her mother's footsteps in voice acting. She voices Princess Jun in the Disney Channel animated series Sofia the First.
Ming-Na Wen is trilingual, meaning she can speak three languages fluently: English, Cantonese, and Mandarin. She is also a Buddhist.
Images for kids
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Wen at the January 2009 premiere for Push
See also
In Spanish: Ming-Na Wen para niños
