Dana Lee

Dana Lee was born in a village outside of Guanzhou (Canton) China. His family immigrated to the U.S. when he was seven and settled in Houston, Texas. As one of a handful of Chinese-Americans living in segregated Houston, Dana was exposed to both the White and Black communities from an early age. His father had a grocery store in the fifth ward, a Black neighborhood, and their home was located in Denver Harbor, a poor White section of town. Growing up shy all of his childhood, Dana took acting classes at Stephen F. Austin High School to overcome it. He immediately fell in love with acting and eventually became an all-city actor. To this day, Dana has never forgotten what his high school acting coach, Mr. Jerry Long, told him: "A good actor can transcend race, ethnicity, and color." Immediately after graduating from high school, Dana made a beeline to Los Angeles. But, because of his parent's disapproval of acting, it was not until many years later that he went headlong into the "biz." I