Five Pioneering Chinese American Women of Los Angeles

On October 14, 1978, five Los Angeles Chinese American women pioneers were honored by the Chinese Historical Society of Southern California. They broke down barriers and achieved leadership in their professions in the early 20th Century.  At the Society’s annual dinner, California’s then Secretary of State March Fong Eu gave welcome remarks and the awards were presented by Superior Judge Delbert Wong. The five women are:

Caroline Chan - Education

Caroline Chan's father provided for her schooling at the University of Southern California and encouraged her to become a teacher. Ms. Chan earned a B.A. in English and credential to teach English at the high school level. But there were no opportunities for a Chinese woman in the Los Angeles public schools system in the 1920s. She was offered a job teaching English to Chinese women newly arrived in the United States.  Eventually she broke the glass ceiling and became the first teacher of Chinese ethnicity in the Los Angeles public schools system where she remained for thirty year. She was highly respected by her fellow teachers and beloved by her students.

Lily Lum Chan - Community Service

Lily Lum Chan was involved in the establishment of the Chinese Catholic Center, a lecturer in the Chinese Culture Society, a court interpreter and an advocate for Chinese women’s rights. Ms. Chan was the first woman elected to the Board of Directors of the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association, a position she held for several decades.

Grace Wong Chow in Business

Ms. Chow, along with her husband Emeroy started a small market in the Fresno area beginning in 1918 but lost it because of the Great Depression. They then started The Chow Tea Company. Mrs. Chow traveled throughout the country selling tea and ginger. In 1941, Mrs. Chow started selling insurance and became the first Chinese to sell one million dollars’ worth of insurance in one single year.  She continued this feat for six years and became the first woman to achieve life membership in the Million Dollar Round Table. Additionally, Mrs. Chow devoted much of her time and abilities to civic and community service.

Louise Leung Larson - Journalism

In 1926, Louise Leung Larson graduated magna cum laude from the University of Southern California with a major in English and Journalism. Mrs. Larson applied at the various newspaper offices in Los Angeles. The then Los Angeles Record bought one of the articles she wrote in her journalism classes and hired her on the spot. She was assigned to cover the Hall of Justice. Years later, she worked for the San Francisco News, the Chicago News, the Los Angeles Daily News, and the Santa Monica Evening Outlook. Among the many prominent stories she wrote are articles on Madame Chiang Kai-Shek’s tour throughout the United States to seek aid for China during the war with the Japanese.

Bessie Sue Loo - Motion Picture Industry

Bessie Sue Loo left Hanford, a farming community in central California, after graduating from high school. She enrolled at the University of California at Los Angeles in the 1930s. She became an actor, a casting director and an actor’s agent. She was the first woman of Chinese ethnicity to break the racial barrier in the film industry. For forty years she was the agent for most of the Asian talent in Hollywood. In addition, Mrs. Loo participated in organizations such as the China Relief in WWII, the Jewish Home for the Aged, the Committee to Preserve Chinese Culture and the Motion Picture Relief Fund. She was a president of The China Society of Southern California, and the Los Angeles Chinese Women’s Club. In 1978, Mrs. Loo became a member of California’s State Economic Development Commission.