Ming-Na

Ming-Na: I'm very interested in Asian-American stories, because there's just not enough of them. We're part of America, we're not foreigners. My parents' restaurant has been in Pittsburgh for three generations.

(on why she changed her name) Ming-Na: I had the Yees on one side and Zees on the other, and I was the only Wen. Wen was my real father's last name and it didn't fit anymore. For whatever psychological reason, I was holding onto that name, and I wanted to get rid of it. It didn't feel right to keep it for professional reasons. So now I'm like Ann-Margret, because she's got the hyphen, too. I'm the Asian Ann-Margret.

Ming-Na: My mother reads faces. When I was born she told me that because I have this particular nose and the way my eyes and eyebrows are shaped, she always knew I was going to get in to the arts. So when I was growing up and had an interest in anything besides the arts she would try to encourage me to do the other thing, but deep in her heart she always knew that this was my destiny.