{"id":606622,"date":"2026-09-05T10:36:11","date_gmt":"2026-09-05T10:36:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/606622\/"},"modified":"2026-09-05T10:36:11","modified_gmt":"2026-09-05T10:36:11","slug":"lea-salonga-first-filipina-to-receive-a-star-on-hollywood-walk-of-fame","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/606622\/","title":{"rendered":"Lea Salonga First Filipina to Receive a Star on Hollywood Walk of Fame"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tLea Salonga\u00a0celebrated her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame<\/a> on Friday, marking a joyful moment in her storied career and becoming the first Filipina <\/a>to be recognized with the honor.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe Broadway legend\u00a0famously won a Tony Award at 20 in 1991 for her heartfelt portrayal of Kim in Miss Saigon, becoming the first Asian actress to be recognized by the honor. She later took on the tragic role of \u00c9ponine, and later Fantine, in the Broadway production of Les Mis\u00e9rables. Her powerful vocals would become synonymous with the unforgettable magic-carpet ride in 1992\u2019s Aladdin when she performed \u201cA Whole New World\u201d for the classic film. In 1998, Salonga featured as the singing voice of the heroic\u00a0title character\u00a0in\u00a0Disney\u2019s\u00a0Mulan. <\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cWhen I began my career, I didn\u2019t see very many people who looked like me doing the things I dreamed of doing on the world\u2019s biggest stages and screens. There wasn\u2019t an obvious road,\u201d Salonga said during her acceptance speech in front of the Pantages Theatre. \u201cI was incredibly fortunate that there were people who opened doors for me. Who took chances on me and who saw what I might be capable of.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tSalonga said that over the years, she has \u201cwatched that world begin to change \u2014 not enough, not completely, but it has changed.\u201d She continued, \u201cThere are so many extraordinary Filipino and Asian artists working today, telling our stories, playing roles we once never could have imagined being offered, and creating new opportunities for future generations. That means an enormous amount to me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tSinger and\u00a0actress\u00a0Brandy, who recently dueted \u201cA Whole New World\u201d with Salonga for\u00a0Disney Princess: The Ultimate Concert Celebration, was among the guest speakers at Friday\u2019s ceremony.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cLea Salonga\u2019s voice has never been only a voice. It has been a doorway, a mirror, a home,\u201d said Brandy. \u201cThere are singers who reach notes. Lea reaches hearts and souls. Through Jasmine and Mulan, she did more than give princesses their songs. She gave children who had been waiting outside the fairy tale a way inside.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\tEditor\u2019s picks<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cHer history is filled with firsts, but\u00a0first\u00a0is not the deepest word in her story. The deepest word is\u00a0after,\u201d Brandy continued. \u201cWho could dream after her? Who could enter after her? Who could walk through because she left the doorway open?\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\tTrending Stories<\/p>\n

\n\tMore recently, Salonga made her Broadway producing debut and starred as Aurora Aquino with the all-Filipino cast in 2023\u2019s Here Lies Love<\/a> \u2014 her first time playing a Filipino character on the Broadway stage. The award-winning actress also starred alongside alongside\u00a0Bernadette Peters\u00a0in\u00a0Stephen Sondheim\u2019s Old Friends from 2023 to 2024, bringing the production to Los Angeles after a successful run in London\u2019s West End.<\/p>\n

\n\tWhen speaking to those gathered on Friday, Salonga looked toward the future and said, \u201cI hope that someday a young Filipino kid comes to Hollywood, sees my name and thinks, \u2018Oh, maybe I can get here too.’\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Lea Salonga\u00a0celebrated her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Friday, marking a joyful moment in her…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":606623,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[458,146,23572,85,46],"class_list":["post-606622","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-celebrities","tag-celebrities","tag-entertainment","tag-hollywood-walk-of-fame","tag-il","tag-israel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/606622","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=606622"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/606622\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/606623"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=606622"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=606622"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=606622"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}