Brenda Song talks Asian heritage and representation in media
Brenda Song talks Asian heritage, media representation
The Suite Life of Zack & Cody star took part in a conversation for AAPI Heritage Month.
Actress Brenda Song spoke to students at Goldstein Auditorium on Monday, reflecting on her Asian upbringing and the path that led to her acting career.
“I grew up in the Hmong community in northern California, and even when we moved to LA when I was five or six, my parents made it a point to always speak Hmong to us at home (and) we still went to Hmong New Year,” Song said. “So I think I was really lucky that my parents prioritized it.”
Growing up in Los Angeles, she faced challenges familiar to many in the Asian American community.
“There were times where, I’ll be honest, [I was] embarrassed of being different, bringing in different foods at school and speaking different languages … no one knew what Hmong was,” Song said. “I remember doing a cultural presentation in the second grade, and feeling uncomfortable because not only was I Asian-American, a minority already, but I was a Hmong minority as well.”
In Los Angeles, Song discovered her calling: acting. As she puts it, she “literally tripped and fell into acting.” At just three years old, Song was spotted at a mall by a model scout. They approached her mother with information on a potential model opportunity.
A couple weeks later, Song was sick and refused to take her medicine. “If you take the medicine I’ll take you to that modeling school,” her mother said. The rest is history, and as Song puts it: “I was obsessed.”
Song is best known for her role as London Tipton in The Suite Life of Zack and Cody. She also starred as Wendy Wu in Wendy Wu: Homecoming Warrior, where she played an Asian-American character who learned to tap into her roots.
“I don’t think people realize how ahead of the curve Disney Channel was when it came to representation, very early on they always gave voices and roles to people of color, ages, sizes, whatever it may be, and I’m so grateful to be a part of that,” Song said.
Now, she plays Ali Lee on Running Point, where she says Asian representation has come a long way.
“I feel so fortunate to see the progress, we’re moving in the right direction, still a long way to go. But it’s so lovely to be able to not just tell origin stories for us Asian-Americans, but also for us to just be,” Song said. “I feel like for so long you always have to explain as a minority character why we’re there. It’s like, why? Why can’t we just be? Why can’t we just tell stories?”
Song says her Asian heritage has made her a better actor, person and mother. Song gave birth twice in the same calendar year, to two boys with partner Macaulay Culkin.
“Embrace where you are and know that all you can do is do your best today and tomorrow,” Song said.