Race in America: Kelly Marie Tran

Kelly Marie Tran broke barriers by playing the first Disney princess of Southeast Asian descent in this year’s animated film “Raya and the Last Dragon”. Tran is also known for playing mechanic Rose Tico in the most recent “Star Wars” trilogy. On May 20 at 2:30pm ET, Washington Post reporter Michelle Ye Hee Lee spoke with Tran about her varied roles and the power of representation as we continue our conversations marking Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month.

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Highlights

Actress Kelly Marie Tran is the voice of Disney’s first princess of Southeast Asian descent. Tran says as the first, it’s her goal to not be the last. “I think my whole career is going to be about opening doors for people who have historically not been able to exist in this very exclusive space.” (Video: Washington Post Live)

Kelly Marie Tran, star of Disney’s "Raya and the Last Dragon,” talks about how her parents gave her an American first name. Tran, whose Vietnamese name is Loan, shared, “They (her parents) did what I think I probably would have done in their same place which was give me a name that was easily pronounced. What I didn't understand was that even that act, and what an act of love that is to want your child to feel accepted, what I didn’t realize is I don't even know who I am outside of this system. Because at first, already something was changed to make me fit into that system and that is a problem.” (Video: Washington Post Live)

Actress Kelly Marie Tran says her message to young Asian Americans is to find safe spaces in community. “Community is for me the thing that combats any sort of negativity or any sort of isolation.” (Video: Washington Post Live)

Kelly Marie Tran

Provided by Disney.

Kelly Marie Tran has quickly become known as a captivating on-screen presence. The highly sought after actress made The Hollywood Reporter’s “Next Gen Class of 2017” list and was named one of ABC News’ “Actors to Watch” in 2018.

Most recently, Kelly Marie Tran has made history by voicing Disney’s first South-East Asian Princess with her role as Raya in Raya and the Last Dragon. The film released to critical acclaim in March 2021. Additionally, Tran has stepped into the role as executive producer on two exciting projects. Firstly, on SXSW’s Grand Jury Prize-Winning Documentary Feature Lily Topples The World. The film follows the life of an American-Chinese adoptee who becomes a global artistic force with over 1 billion YouTube views. Secondly, Tran will EP on Summertime, director Carlos López Estrada’s spoken-word poetry feature film that premiered at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival.

Last year, Tran voiced Dawn in DreamWorks' The Croods: A New Age, the sequel to the Oscar-nominated animated feature about a caveman family. After its release, the film earned praise from fans and critics alike for its heart and humor. Tran also starred in Hulu’s Anthology drama series Monsterland, based on the collection of stories from Nathan Ballingrud. The series premiered on Hulu in October 2020.

In 2019, Tran reprised her role as Rose Tico in Star Wars: Episode IX. The film was a smash hit and grossed over $1 billion at the world wide box office.

In 2018, Tran starred opposite Elizabeth Olsen in Facebook Watch’s critically acclaimed original series, Sorry for Your Loss. Created and written by Kit Steinkellner (Z: The Beginning of Everything), the show explores the life of young widow as she deals with the grief of losing her husband while reconnecting with relationships from her past. Rounding out the cast are Jovan Adepo, Mamaoudou Athie and Janet McTeer. The show returned for its second and final season in 2019.

In 2017, Tran made her big screen debut in Star Wars: Episode VIII: The Last Jedi as Resistance mechanic worker, Rose Tico. Her performance and character were widely praised, and made headlines across the globe as Tran became the first Asian- American woman cast in a lead role for the franchise. Episode VIII earned over $1.3 billion worldwide, becoming the highest-grossing film of 2017.

Tran’s past credits include the Netflix Original XOXO; TruTV’s Adam Ruins Everything; NBC’s About a Boy and Lifetime’s Fall Into Me among others.

She currently resides in Los Angeles.