19 Mixed-Race Celebrities Who You Might Not Have Realized Have AAPI Heritage
Hailee’s maternal grandfather was half Filipino and half Black. “I’ve since been to the Philippines a couple of times…It’s so wonderful to be in a place where you share some of the same DNA with the people that you’re surrounded by,” she told Kelly Clarkson in 2020 as she reflected on discovering more about her background.
As well as being part-Hawaiian, Nicole is of Filipino descent — something that came as a surprise to TikTok users last year when she posted a video about her Filipino heritage. She shared in 2017, “Filipino pride! … I’m just really proud to be able to represent my people in Hawaii and the Philippines. … I feel like some of the best voices in the world are Filipino voices. I got my voice from my Hawaiian side, too — my grandmother.”
Vanessa is Filipino on her mother’s side. She has previously talked about facing assumptions that she’s Latine, particularly due to the fact that she has portrayed Latine characters on-screen, despite being of Filipino heritage.
Olivia — who is partly of Chinese descent — has talked openly about rejecting stereotypical roles. She said in 2021: “Typically, as an Asian American, as an Asian American woman, the rules are: to be the submissive wife, or to be the out of control wife, to just constantly, be supporting other people’s storylines, but creating this and perpetuating the stereotype that we are either submissive or crazy. For me, it has meant that I don’t work as much as I would want to, because, in order to work, I’d have to take a lot more of those offers. So it takes a long time of just saying no to a lot of stuff.”
Another celebrity who has turned down roles to avoid feeling “defined” by her ethnicity is Jessica Henwick, who has Chinese, Singaporean, and Zambian heritage. She told Interview magazine in 2017, “I want to continue to broaden expectations of what an Asian can be but also pursue ones that would have spoken to me as a young Asian.”
Olivia, who is half Filipino and half white, has been open about how grateful she is to be able to represent her Filipino heritage. She shared in a 2018 interview of her background, “My great-grandfather immigrated here from the Philippines when he was just a teenager. He’s my grandma’s dad, and my grandpa is also Filipino as well. My dad grew up in a house where they were always making Filipino food, his grandpa always spoke Tagalog. All of those traditions have trickled down to our generation. Every Thanksgiving we have lumpia, and things like that.”
Jhené’s paternal grandfather was of Japanese American descent. She has long talked about her mixed-race heritage, writing of her grandfather in 2021: “i can’t help but think about the discrimination he faced daily having a black wife and 6 bi racial children (and 20+ mixed race grand and great grandchildren)…i owe it to him to continue to fight for justice and equality for my communities as well.”
Former Fifth Harmony singer Dinah, who is of Tongan, Samoan, Fijian, and Danish descent, told Teen Vogue in 2023: “I feel like I’ve always been in this race trying to figure it out by myself as a Polynesian woman in the mainstream world…I’m not shying away from who I am anymore. And I want it to be known that I’m coming out strong. This is who I am. I’m a Polynesian girl, and I’m not afraid to hide it, and I’m not afraid to speak my voice.”
H.E.R. is of Filipino descent on her mom’s side, and Black on her dad’s side. She has talked openly about embracing both cultures, having been raised in a household that proudly championed each.
Keanu, who has Chinese, English, Irish, Native Hawaiian, and Portuguese heritage, previously told NBC News: “My relationship to my Asian identity, it’s always been good and healthy. And I love it.” When asked about being labeled a person of color, he replied, “I don’t know if I agree with that statement. But I don’t not agree.”
12. Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson
Dwayne is of Samoan and Black heritage. Of his mixed-race identity, he once tweeted, “I identify as exactly what I am – both. Equally proud. Black/Samoan.”
Chloe, who is half Chinese and half white, once revealed that she’d changed her name from Wang in order to book roles in Hollywood. “Changing my last name doesn’t change the fact that my BLOOD is half Chinese, that I lived in China, speak Mandarin or that I was culturally raised both American and Chinese. It means I had to pay my rent, and Hollywood is racist and wouldn’t cast me with a last name that made them uncomfortable,” she wrote in a now-deleted Instagram comment in 2017.
Jason’s Native Hawaiian background has not only been proudly discussed by the star in interviews, but it has also influenced some of his acting roles, like Aquaman.
Janel is half Chinese and half Caucasian, and was born in Hawaii. She previously said, “I remember growing up and wanting to be an actress and watching these movies and asking my mom if I had to look like all those other girls in order to be an actress. ‘Cause there were no movies with strong Asian American leads that I could watch and say, ‘Oh, I identify with this person. You know, I could relate to her. I wanna be her’ … Now it’s like, ‘This is the family that we’re looking for. We’re looking for a multi-ethnic family.’ And that’s amazing.”
Karreuche, who is half Vietnamese and half Black, has been open about somewhat struggling with her mixed-race identity during her childhood. “I was always somewhere in the middle. In elementary school, I identified more with my Asian side. I had a lot of Korean friends and then once middle school hit, it was a little more diverse. It was still a weird place to be, because around the Asians, I was brown-skinned. Around Black girls, I wasn’t Black enough, you know?” she shared in a 2018 interview.
Rapper Saweetie, who is of Filipino and Black descent, previously said of her upbringing: “I definitely felt out of place at times because the cultures that I was raised around were completely night and day. But I feel like those types of internal struggles help me understand people better, and I now know that not one set of people is the same. Like, my mom is of Filipino descent and my dad is of Black descent, so it allows me to be sensitive to other people’s cultures.”
Mitski, who is half Japanese and half Caucasian American, previously opened up about “discovering” that she was an Asian American when she moved to the US during childhood. “I didn’t identify as that before I came here. People started calling me that, and I started being treated in a specific way,” she said in 2017.
KJ, who is of Samoan and European descent, previously said of his mixed heritage: “I’m half Samoan, but nobody knows it because I’m white and I have [dyed] red hair. My dad is a chief in Samoa. I almost identify more as a Samoan than I do as a New Zealander, just because I grew up with so much Samoan family, and the Samoan culture is really close to me. I feel ashamed of myself for not pursuing it more.”
