On September 4, Tony-winning performer Lea Salonga became the first Filipina to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, unveiled outside the Pantages Theatre in Los Angeles, California. The audience included fellow artists Ming-Na Wen, Brandy, and Darren Criss, along with Salonga’s family and friends. 

Throughout her career, Salonga has brought to life characters with distinctive beauty signatures of their own: Kim’s long, dark waves in Miss Saigon; Éponine’s tousled curls and later Fantine’s famously shorn hair in Les Misérables; Princess Jasmine’s sleek high ponytail in Aladdin; and Mulan’s straight, shoulder-length hair in Mulan. 

Salonga has a signature look too—her close-cropped pixie, which she has worn for over a decade through concerts, interviews, and red carpets. For the Walk of Fame ceremony, she kept it as is, styled with a soft side sweep and glossy finish.

A beauty look in shades of purple

For the rest of her beauty look, Salonga paired her sleek pixie with a luminous base, soft bronze-toned eyes framed by full, groomed brows, and a berry-toned lip in a satin finish, which anchored the whole look against her suit.

The purple tailored ensemble, designed by Filipino couturier Rajo Laurel, was “hand-embellished with Philippine seed pearls in a Yakan motif,” as Laurel described on his Instagram page. The pattern traces back to the Yakan people of Basilan in the southern Philippines, known for their intricate geometric textiles traditionally woven by hand.

A star for a star

Just as her characters took her to destinations both real and fictional—Kim to wartime Vietnam, Eponine and Fantine to revolutionary Paris, Jasmine to Agrabah, and Mulan to ancient China—Salonga said in her speech, “This career has taken me to places I never imagined I would go, introduced me to some extraordinary people, and allowed me to keep doing what I love.” 

She added that while her star has room for only one name—hers—many people helped her get there: family, teachers, directors, composers, and audiences, who, across nearly five decades, shaped the trajectory of her career.

Her hope is that this achievement inspires a new generation. “I hope someday a young Filipino kid comes to Hollywood, sees my name, and thinks, ‘Oh, maybe I can get there too.’”

Frequently Asked Questions

Lea Salonga became the first Filipina to receive a Hollywood Walk of Fame star, unveiled on September 4 outside the Pantages Theatre in Los Angeles. The Tony-winning performer, known for Miss Saigon, Les Misérables, Aladdin, and Mulan, was honored after nearly five decades in the industry.

Salonga kept her signature close-cropped pixie, styled with a soft side sweep and glossy finish, and paired it with a luminous base, soft bronze-toned eyes, groomed brows, and a berry-toned satin lip—a look designed to anchor against her purple tailored ensemble.

Filipino couturier Rajo Laurel designed Salonga’s purple tailored ensemble, hand-embellished with Philippine seed pearls in a Yakan motif—a geometric textile pattern traditionally woven by hand by the Yakan people of Basilan in the southern Philippines.

Salonga said her career “has taken me to places I never imagined,” crediting family, teachers, directors, composers, and audiences. She added hope that a young Filipino kid seeing her name in Hollywood might feel encouraged to pursue the same path.

Salonga is known for originating Kim in Miss Saigon and playing Éponine and later Fantine in Les Misérables on stage, as well as singing as Princess Jasmine in Aladdin and the title role in Mulan for Disney—each with a distinct hair and beauty signature.