Eternals star Gemma Chan said in a new interview that she once felt she had to hide her Asian roots in order to “blend in.”
Speaking to Porter magazine, the 38-year-old actress, who was born to Chinese immigrants, recalled growing up in a mostly-white neighborhood in Kent, England. Chan said she felt “like I was kind of between two cultures” when she was younger because she was regularly complimented on her “good English.”
In addition, she also grappled with wanting to “blend into the background,”especially when her grandmother started to haggle loudly during family shopping trips. “No one could out-haggle her, though,” Chan remarked.
The actress admitted her desire to fit into a particular mold lessened over the years and said, “One of the nicest things about getting older has been reconnecting and feeling like I can embrace and celebrate the Asian side of my heritage.”
“I’ve met so many incredible people, so many more Asians than I knew when I was growing up, in my line of work,” she continued, adding how proud she is to share her culture through movies that “define our own narratives”
“[It]ensures that we have our stories told and ensures that we have a place in popular culture and consciousnesses,” the Crazy Rich Asians star explained. “With the absence of that, stereotypes and prejudices grow.”
Chan also revealed how her family reacted to her global fame, saying, “I do know they’re incredibly proud. And more than anything, they’re relieved that both my sister [Helen] and I are okay.”
The actress then shared her Chinese name, saying her parents named her Chén Jìng and her sister Chén Ning.
“[The combination of Níngjìng] means tranquility, or quiet,” Chan said with a laugh. “So my parents called us ‘peace and quiet!'”
Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.
Related Posts
Music notes: Selena Gomez, Charlie Puth and more
April 24, 2024
Selena Gomez spoke about her cosmetics brand Rare Beauty while at the annual TIME100 Summit in New…
Fans think Beyoncé may perform at Stagecoach Festival
April 24, 2024
Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images for iHeartRadioStagecoach Festival will be taking place April…
Lauv releases new song and video for “Potential,” his first song “about a boy”
April 24, 2024
Daniel PrakopcykLauv's first new song and video of 2024, "Potential," shows him coming to terms…
“It hurt”: Ben Stiller talks the negative and positive effects of ‘Zoolander 2’ tanking
April 24, 2024
Pablo Cuadra/FilmMagicIn the forthcoming May 7 episode of David Duchovny’s Fail Better podcast, Ben…
Tina Fey, Steve Carell to reunite for Netflix comedy series ‘Four Seasons’
April 24, 2024
Sylvain Gaboury/Patrick McMullan via Getty ImagesDate Night co-stars Tina Fey and Steve Carell will…
Nick Jonas’ new movie, ‘The Good Half,’ to get nationwide sneak preview screenings this summer
April 24, 2024
Utopia/Fathom EventsIn 2023, Nick Jonas' movie The Good Half premiered at the Tribeca Festival. Now…
Taylor Swift’s ‘TTPD’ is now first album to hit 1 billion Spotify streams in one week
April 24, 2024
Beth GarrabrantIt's hard to keep up with all the records that Taylor Swift's The Tortured Poets…
Disney+ drops trailer to Ron Howard-directed documentary ‘Jim Henson Idea Man’
April 24, 2024
Disney+On Wednesday, Disney+ released the official trailer for the upcoming Jim Henson Idea Man,…