Love, Queenie: Merle Oberon, Hollywood's First South Asian Star

"So, Merle Oberon was the first person of South Asian descent to be nominated for an Academy Award, though no-one knew that—she was passing as white at the time. She starred in the 1939 adaptation of Wuthering Heights , which is ironic, because the actor playing Heathcliff was white and she was South Asian. So it was a really interesting turn on what Emily Brontë wrote. What’s really beautiful about the book is the way it has been framed. In the beginning, the author sets up how meaningful she was for him in his life, what a difference she made to him, as someone who is also South Asian, to have this role model, although he didn’t know she was a role model. Once he discovered her, he realised how important it was to bring out a book on her. And it’s perfect timing, with the new Wuthering Heights coming out this year. The subject of my last biography , Sanora Babb, was married to James Wong Howe, the first Asian American to win an Academy Award, for Best Cinematography in 1956. But not the first to be nominated; Merle Oberon was nominated in 1936. Yet that wasn’t even recognised at the time. So it’s an important book to have out there, to see her struggle about not being ‘out’. She was very closeted about her background, which made the biography very difficult for him to research. He did an amazing job. Yes, and this was also true off-screen. There could be no mixed-race partnerships outside, if you had a contract with Hollywood, which is so ridiculous. But it was the reality for that time period in Hollywood. There’s not enough written about it."