Who's the Hottest Young Asian American Actress?

Who is the hottest young Asian American actress?

Just to make thing's more challenging, we'll focus only on Asian American actresses under age 30. I've assembled here a list of some names and photos to help you.  Feel free to make your own picks or suggest more actresses that I might have overlooked in the comments section below.

So that nobody gets confused, we'll leave Asian-born stars like Bai Ling , Gong Li , Ziyi Zhang , Maggie Cheung , Michelle Yeoh and Isabella Leong off the list.

Although top veteran actresses like Sandra Oh, Lucy Liu, Kelly Hu, Tia Carrere, Michelle Krusiek, Grace Park, Linda Park, Ming Na, Joan Chen, and Yunjin Kim are still successfully working in Hollywood movies and on television, we're going to leave them off this list as well.

Instead, we'll take a closer look at some of the new faces that are among the hottest young Asian American actresses working in Hollywood today.

BRENDA SONG

The 21-year-old actress was born in Carmichael, California.  Her mother is Thai-American and her father is Hmong.

She has appeared as London Tipton on Disney Channel's "The Suite Life of Zach and Cody" and "The Suite Life on Deck."

Song also starred in "Wendy Wu: Homecoming Warrior" and will reprise her role in the upcoming "Wendy Wu: Homecoming Warrior 2."

JAMIE CHUNG

Born in San Francisco, California, the 26-year-old Chung is of Korean heritage.

She was working at "Tremors", a sports bar in Riverside, California, as a waitress when she was discovered at an MTV audition.

She has since appeared on the soap opera "Days of our Lives," the college comedy series "Greek," and starred as "Samurai Girl."  Her recent movie "Dragonball Evolution" came out on her 26th birthday, April 10th.

JULIA LING

A native of Southern California, the 26-year-old Ling made her network television debut on "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," playing opposite Sarah Michelle Gellar.

Since then, Ling has appeared in numerous independent films and on several Network TV shows, including "ER" and "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip."   She currently co-stars on NBC's hit comedy series "Chuck" as Anna Wu.

DEVON AOKI

Born in New York but raised in California, the 26-year-old is the daughter of Benihana Steakhouse magnate 'Rocky Aoki' and Pamela Hilburger, a jewelry designer.

Aoki is of Japanese, German, and English ancestry.  She started modeling when she was 13.

As an actress, she has appeared in the movies "2 Fast 2 Furious," "D.E.B.S.," "Sin City" and "War."

KRISTIN KREUK

Granted Kreuk was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, but the 26-year-old actresses career took off when she was cast as Lana Lang in the hit WB TV series "Smallville."  

The daughter of a Dutch father and a mother of Chinese descent, she has since starred as Chun Li in the martial arts action flick "Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun Li."

MAGGIE Q

Born as Maggie Denise Quigley to a Polish-Irish American father and a Vietnamese mother, she was raised in Hawaii.

She pursued modeling careers in Japan, Taiwan, and Hong Kong, before beginning her film career.

The multi-ethnic actress has since appeared in "Mission Impossible III," "Live Free, Die Hard," and co-starred in the ping pong comedy "Balls of Fury."

Although she just turned 30 in May, the actress continues to book high-profile roles.  She will next appear in the Zach Galifianakis movie "Rogue's Gallery" and the martial arts flick "King of Fighters" based on the video game.

I made an exception to include Maggie Q here even though she just turned 30.  I've also included the multi-ethnic Aoki and Kreuk.

Here are some more readers' suggestions:

Although Moon Bloodgood is over age 30, the stunning multi-racial actress has made a big splash in Hollywood in recent years.

Born of Korean, Irish, and Dutch ancestry, Bloodgood grew up in Southern California.

She was named one of People Magazine's 100 Most Beautiful People in the world 2009.

Bloodgood can be seen in the recent action flicks "Terminator Salvation" and "Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun Li."

A reader also suggested Cassandra Hepburn, who was born of French, Chinese, Spanish and Filipino descent.

The 32-year-old actress / model recently appeared alongside Matthew McConaughey in the comedy movie "Surfer, Dude" and was featured in the Quentin Tarantino produced action drama "Hell Ride" starring Michael Madsen and Larry Bishop.

Korean American actress Smith Cho, appeared in the movies "Bad Boys 2" and "Blades of Glory" as well as numerous TV shows.

She also had a lead role in Jimmy Tsai's Asian American comedy "Ping Pong Playa" and was cast as Zoe Chae in the 2008 NBC series "Knight Rider."

Another young actress rising up in Hollywood is Filipina Kim Hidalgo, who appears in “Ball Don’t Lie,” a feature film with an impressive ensemble cast including Nick Cannon, Rosanna Arquette, rapper Ludacris and even 2009 Oscar nominee Melissa Leo.

Hidalgo grew up in Walnut Creek, California.  She also made a recent appearance on the TV show "The New Adventures of Old Christine."  

The multi-racial Vanessa Hudgens, was born in Salinas, California.  Her father is an American of Irish and Native American descent, and her mother, who grew up in Manila, is of Filipino, Spanish, and Chinese descent.

The 20-year-old actress is best known for playing Gabriella Montez in the "High School Musical" film series.

A gifted musician, she also released an album "V" in 2006.  She can be seen in the upcoming movie "Bandslam", and is set to star in "Beastly," a fantasy romance.

So who do you think is the hottest young Asian American actress working in Hollywood?

You can list your top choices and suggest other names that I may have overlooked in the comments section below.

(Source: Examiner )