Lea Salonga celebrated her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Friday, marking a joyful moment in her storied career and becoming the first Filipina to be recognized with the honor.
The Broadway legend famously 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 Éponine, and later Fantine, in the Broadway production of Les Misérables. Her powerful vocals would become synonymous with the unforgettable magic-carpet ride in 1992’s Aladdin when she performed “A Whole New World” for the classic film. In 1998, Salonga featured as the singing voice of the heroic title character in Disney’s Mulan.
“When I began my career, I didn’t see very many people who looked like me doing the things I dreamed of doing on the world’s biggest stages and screens. There wasn’t an obvious road,” Salonga said during her acceptance speech in front of the Pantages Theatre. “I 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.”
Salonga said that over the years, she has “watched that world begin to change — not enough, not completely, but it has changed.” She continued, “There 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.”
Singer and actress Brandy, who recently dueted “A Whole New World” with Salonga for Disney Princess: The Ultimate Concert Celebration, was among the guest speakers at Friday’s ceremony.
“Lea Salonga’s voice has never been only a voice. It has been a doorway, a mirror, a home,” said Brandy. “There 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.”
“Her history is filled with firsts, but first is not the deepest word in her story. The deepest word is after,” Brandy continued. “Who could dream after her? Who could enter after her? Who could walk through because she left the doorway open?”
More recently, Salonga made her Broadway producing debut and starred as Aurora Aquino with the all-Filipino cast in 2023’s Here Lies Love — her first time playing a Filipino character on the Broadway stage. The award-winning actress also starred alongside alongside Bernadette Peters in Stephen Sondheim’s Old Friends from 2023 to 2024, bringing the production to Los Angeles after a successful run in London’s West End.
When speaking to those gathered on Friday, Salonga looked toward the future and said, “I hope that someday a young Filipino kid comes to Hollywood, sees my name and thinks, ‘Oh, maybe I can get here too.’”
