Museum of Chinese in America

Ming Chu describes her experiences as a young performer in New York City. At the age of 15 she began dancing at a club and eventually got the opportunity to tour Europe. While in Europe she performed through WWII for troupes and was in several films. She discusses growing up and how her father died when she was two and her mother died when she was a young adult. She was raised in Florida but lived in NYC to train at Carnegie Hall in dance. She shares her motivations for entering show business and how when she was modeling on the side before her big break in Europe, a statue of her was made that later became well-known. After performing in Europe for many years with the stage name Princess Ming Chu, she returned to the US and worked in NYC, Hollywood and all over the country singing and dancing in night clubs and in theatre. She comments how throughout her life, she met several famous people including Walt Disney and Orson Welles. Ming Chu also spends time reflecting upon her personal life and discussing some of the generational differences between performing when she was young and performance now. Additionally, she says moving to NYC after returning from Europe was the first time she was exposed to a Chinese American community. She continues to discuss generational differences in regards to politics, religion and being Asian American in the United States. She performed into her 60s and she comments that she was usually the only Chinese American act in her shows. Over time people lost interest in the club scenes and she discusses how difficult it is to get into show business today.