Famous actress Anna May Wong will become the first Asian American to appear on U.S. currency

Anna May Wong, a movie icon of the silent era, has become a different kind of star. Starting Monday, her image will appear on the new quarter, making her the first Asian American to appear on a U.S. dollar.

Anna May Wong’s image on currency is the fifth new face in the American Women’s Quarter program, which highlights pioneering women of the era. The other four quarters put into production this year include poet Maya Angelou, first American woman in space Sally Ride, Cherokee Nation leader Wilma Mankiller and feminist Nina Otero-Warren, the latter two and Anna May Wong were selected based on public opinion.

Anna May Wong died in 1961 at the age of 56. She had a 40-year career in film, theater and radio. Born in Los Angeles, Anna May Wong began acting at the age of 14 and three years later had her first leading role in a film in The Toll of the Sea, released in 1922. She was also the first Chinese American Hollywood star and the first Asian American actress to achieve international fame.

In 1960, a year before her death, she received her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.