Journalist, Author & Syndicated Columnist
“As a kid, many times we used to visit Puerto Rico to visit our grandparents for Christmas and New Year’s,” said “Star Trek: Discovery” actor Wilson Cruz. “But the trip that I remember the most was when we drove from Michigan to California in a U-Haul and a car.”
Six years after she won critical acclaim for her debut novel “If You Leave Me Now,” Crystal Hana Kim has published her second book “The Stone Home” (William Morrow). The novel centers on a homeless mother and daughter who, in the 1980s, are sent to live in a South Korean reformatory center designed to break down their will to survive.
Babs Olusanmokun is having an incredible year. After returning to the “Dune” franchise as Jamis in “Dune: Part Two,” the actor will next be seen in Guy Ritchie’s “The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare”, which opens in theaters on April 19. The Nigerian American actor is also a cast member of the “Star Trek: Strange New Worlds” series, portraying Dr. Joseph M’Benga.
“I have filmed most in New York. The good is that New York is really its own character and that can change the shape of a project in such a beautiful way,” said “This is Me…Now” actress Ashley Versher. “But as for the bad, I mean it’s New York, so wild things can happen at any moment of the day.”
“My parents escaped Vietnam on a boat after the war ended in 1975 and they came to the United States as refugees,” said coffee entrepreneur Sahra Nguyen. “I was born and raised in Boston … surrounded by lots of immigrant families from the Dominican Republic, Haiti and Puerto Rico. I attended the Boston public school system, which was as diverse as the city of Boston. Having a lot of exposure to diverse cultures at a young age helped shape my love for culture and community.”
“At eight years of age, it was an easy transition [to the U.S.],” said “Squid Game: The Challenge” winner Mai Whelan. “The hardest was learning English, because there are so many tenses. In Vietnamese, we have general, formal and no tenses.”
“I didn’t feel comfortable writing in Cree before, but as I’ve become more comfortable with writing songs and making music, now it feels like more of a natural fit,” said “Precious Diamonds” musician Adrian Sutherland. “I’m pleased with how the songs turned out.”
“It’s always interesting to me the weight that [some Asian Americans] carry around from not having grown up with people who look like them,” said “Quantum Leap” star Raymond Lee. “I was fortunate enough to grow up in Koreatown and Glendale, where our star quarterback was Asian and the smartest three students in our class were Asian.”
Voiceover actress Debi Derryberry is best known for voicing the cartoon character Jimmy Neutron. But she is also a musician. Her latest children’s album, “Gotta Go Green,” will be released on March 8.
“When you’re in a new country by yourself, there’s nothing greater for character development than putting yourself out there,” said P1Harmony leader Keeho. “Having traveled so much as a kid helped me adapt to new environments. Honestly, it was not difficult for me when I moved to Korea. There was some culture shock, but it was overall just fun for me.”