Ming Na Wen

Ming Na Wen’s first marriage to film writer Kirk Aanes ended in a divorce.

She met her second husband Eric Michael Zee when he drove her to the premiere of the film ‘The Joy Luck Club’ in 1993. She permanently shifted to Los Angeles when she started dating him and eventually got married in 1995. She then stopped using her last name `Wen’ (at that time).

She now says that her name is ‘Ann-Margret’ though her screen name still remains Ming Na Wen and she popularly remains so.

Ming Na Wen was born on November 20, 1963 in Coloane (Island of Macau). Her parents separated when she was still a toddler and she moved with her mother Lin Chan and brother Jonathan to live in Hong Kong.

After the separation, Ming Na’s mother picked up a job as a nurse and got remarried to a U.S. businessman Soo Lim Yee.

After her marriage, the family moved to Harlem in New York. Her step-father joined his family-run ‘Chinatown Inn’ restaurant in Pittsburg (Pennsylvania) after they shifted from New York, five years later. Ming Na helped in the restaurant when she was a teenager.

She participated in her first Easter play when in third grade, which made her realize that acting was what she wanted to pursue as a career. She had played the role of a ‘klutz bunny’.

She went to high school at the Mt. Lebanon suburb in Pennsylvania. As a misfit in school owing to her origins, she opted to be called Doris or Maggie.

Ming Na Wen got her first break in television through the kid’s series ‘Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood’ (1985). She played the character Lien Hughes in the hit soap opera ‘As the World Turns’ from the year 1988 to 1991.

Eventually she became a world famous voice actor with many animated movies to her credit, especially `Mulan’ (1998) and `Mulan II’ (2005). In ‘The Batman’ animation series (2004-05), she was the voice of the character of Detective Ellen Yin, and in ‘Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within’ (2001) her voice is well known as that of Aki Ross.

She also gave a voice-over for a video game ‘Kingdom Hearts II’ and for Jade, a small character in ‘Spawn’ – a HBO animated run.

She played the lead character in the short-lived drama series `Inconceivable’ (2005) aired on NBC channel and the Fox series ‘Vanished’ (2006), where she had acted in the role of a FBI agent. Both the series stopped airing after a few episodes. In `George Lopez’ (2006) a comedy serial, she took on a minor role as a college professor.

From the year 2000 till now, Ming Na has been a part of many popular series and movies. In October 2007, she appeared in the series ‘Two and a Half Men’ (as Charlie Sheen’s love interest) in four episodes.

Ming Na Wen is a popular voice in a number of animated movies, TV series, and video games. She is especially famous for lending her voice to ‘Mulan’ and ‘Mulan II.’

She is a multi-talented personality, combining her educational knowledge and acting expertise to her credit. She currently plays the important role of Agent Matilda in the long running ABC’s hit action drama series ‘Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D’. The series started airing on September 24, 2013.

She played a guest role in the Disney channel’s show ‘Sofia the First’. Michaela Zee, her daughter, has a recurring role as a princess in the same show.