Lea Salonga's Star Turn: From Kim to a Hollywood Walk of Fame Moment

Lea Salonga: A Star's Journey

When I first met Lea Salonga, it was clear she was not just another performer. She's a woman who has lived her life with passion, purpose, and an unshakeable commitment to the arts. As we sat down for our Zoom conversation, she exuded warmth and strength, but also revealed how much the world had changed since she first stepped onto a stage as a young girl in Manila.

"Most of my work is in musical theater," she said, with that signature gentle laugh. "So even though musical theater does reach Los Angeles and Hollywood, it's not something that I thought would actually happen."

And yet here she is, about to make history as the first Filipina to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame—a recognition that might have seemed out of reach in her youth.

The Making of a Legend

Salonga's career began at age seven with her debut in Manila, but it was her performance as Kim in the original West End production of Miss Saigon that thrust her into international stardom. She recalled how she auditioned for the role with a powerful performance of "On My Own" from Les Misérables, followed by "The Greatest Love of All."

"I was told, 'You're in the show, but we don't know what role we're going to give you,'" she recalled. "Never mind that at this point the only songs I was learning were the ones sung by Kim. But I was like, 'Whatever.' I was pre-med in college. I had a life."

That decision would set her on a path toward becoming one of the most celebrated musical theater performers of her generation. She became the first Asian actress to win a Tony Award and the second-youngest to win for best performance by a leading actress in a musical.

The Sound of Dreams

Her voice carried across continents, most notably as the singing voice of Princess Jasmine in Disney's Aladdin. But Salonga's journey didn't stop there. She continued to perform on Broadway, release albums, and appear on stage in Manila—always staying true to her roots.

More recently, she's taken on new challenges: appearing in DreamWorks Animation's Forgotten Island, a Philippines-set fantasy adventure that draws from Philippine myth and folklore. "It centers on my culture," she said. "We get to share our mythological creatures with the bigger world. I don't think it's something that I ever thought I would have seen."

Family, Advocacy, and Love

What makes Salonga's story even more compelling is how she's evolved from a performer to a fierce advocate for LGBTQ+ rights—especially after her son Nic Chien came out as trans in 2025.

"We felt that it was important for all of this to be made very public," she said. "There have been young people that have slid into his DMs and have said, 'Thank you for what you are doing. Thank you for what you and your mom are doing because I think this is also who I am, and it's giving me strength and inspiration.'"

She shared how her son once read one of these letters aloud in their kitchen while they were both performing together. "He was realizing how much of an impact he was making just by being who he is," she said.

Confronting Fear and Fighting Back

As someone who has lived through decades of change, Salonga's perspective on current political rhetoric toward the LGBTQ+ community is both sharp and deeply personal. "It makes me angry and upset," she said. "It makes me intensely afraid, and not just for my own child, but for a lot of other young people who just want to live, who just want to exist and make a living for themselves and fall in love."

She's not afraid to speak her truth, especially when the conversation diverts attention from more pressing issues. "They're basically trying to say, 'Look over there,' because chances are if somebody's telling you to look somewhere else, you start looking into their backyards," she observed.

The Legacy Continues

Today, Lea Salonga is not just a legend in musical theater. She's an advocate, a mother, and a force for change. As she prepares to be honored on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, we're reminded that art, identity, and love are the most powerful tools we have to transform our world.

Her journey from Manila to Broadway, from stage to screen, and now to activism is proof that when you're true to yourself, the world will eventually listen.