Film news: Lea Salonga earns Hollywood Walk of Fame star, a first for the Philippines

“Long before Hollywood, long before Broadway, there was Manila.”

The crowd was all ears as Lea Salonga delivered an acceptance speech after officially receiving her star on the prestigious Hollywood Walk of Fame. 

It was a historic Friday, September 4, on Hollywood Boulevard in Los Angeles, as Lea became the first Filipino to own a Walk of Fame star, joining the likes of Meryl Streep, Sandra Bullock, Tom Cruise, and the late Marilyn Monroe. 

The unveiling and acceptance ceremony in front of the Hollywood Pantages Theatre saw Lea’s fans, fellow artists, and the Filipino diaspora from across the United States come together in support of the Broadway legend. 

At seven 

But the star of the day was in disbelief at the recognition.  

“To see my name here, to know that it will be here forever is something I’m still trying to wrap my head around,” Lea told the audience at the opening of her speech. 

“Because long before Hollywood, long before Broadway, there was Manila.”

Lea said she would have had no idea what the recognition meant half a century ago, when she was working on her first-ever theatrical project in the Philippines. 

“If you had told seven-year-old Lea Salonga, making her stage debut in a production of The King and I in the Philippines, that nearly 50 years later she would be standing on Hollywood Boulevard, in front of this iconic theatre, surrounded by so many wonderful friends, family and colleagues, receiving a star on the Walk of Fame, she would have said ‘Ha? What’s that?’” Lea said, humouring the audience with her depiction of a Filipino accent. 

Laughter from the crowd followed. 

“I got the accent just right,” Lea said. 

According to the singer, at such a young age, she already had a love for music and performing on stage.  

“I certainly did not have some grand plan for how any of this was supposed to unfold. I just knew that I loved doing it,” said the Filipina Disney princess, who was behind the singing voice of  Princess Jasmine in 1992 Aladdin and Fa Mulan in the animated Mulan franchise. 

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Names on Lea’s star

Refusing to take all the credit for her successful career, Lea said her Walk of Fame star would have had a lot of names on it apart from hers only if it were bigger. 

“My family, first and foremost. 

“My mother, who was there from the very beginning, using her hard-earned money to record my first album. She loaded pressed vinyls into our family car and went door-to-door back home, selling copies.”

“None of this happens without her,” Lea said.  

She also included her brother, who she characterised as her “first duet partner… favourite accompanist and the finest musician I know.”

Lea turned emotional when she mentioned her 18-year-old son, a budding actor and visual artist. 

“He is an inspiration, the bravest person I’ve ever met. My proudest production, today and always,” she said, fighting back tears. 

Outside the family tree, Lea said her star would also have the names of the people who had loved, supported, and honed her into becoming the Lea that she is today. She mentioned her fans, teachers, as well as the production crews, directors, composers and lyricists, and the actors whom she had the privilege to work with. 

Setting inspiration 

Lea wrapped up her speech by urging wider Filipino and Asian representation in Broadway and Hollywood, while acknowledging that these industries have become more welcoming over the years. 

“When I began my career, I didn’t see very many people who look like me, doing the things I dreamed of doing on the world’s biggest stages and screens,” Lea said. 

“And over the years, I have watched that world begin to change – not enough, not completely – but it has changed.”

She added: “There are so many extraordinary Filipino and Asian artists working today, telling our stories, playing roles we once could have never imagined being offered, and creating new opportunities for future generations. That means an enormous amount to me.” 

Lea said she looks forward to the day when a young Filipino kid comes to Hollywood, sees her name on the Walk of Fame, and believes they can get there too. 

‘Fitting and lasting’

Friday’s late-morning ceremony was hosted by Emmy Award-winning sports and entertainment journalist Sibley Scoles, and attended by Lea’s fellow talents and industry executives. 

Filipino-American actor Darren Chriss was among the artists who delivered remarks saluting Lea during the event. 

“In the grand scheme of what you have given the world, this star almost seems like a small gesture, but it is nonetheless a fitting and lasting commemoration of the singular talent that you contributed, one that millions of other Broadway and Disney Filipino fans – and everybody else who know what’s up – will celebrate and cherish as they walk down this Hollywood Boulevard and see your name,”  said Criss. 

This is not the first time Lea has made history in Hollywood. In 1991, she became the first Asian actress to win a Tony Award for her role as Kim in the Broadway show Miss Saigon. She received the accolade at only 20 years old.

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