Lea Salonga received the 2,855th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Friday, becoming the first Filipina honored. Ming-Na Wen, who voiced Mulan’s speaking role while Salonga sang, spoke at the ceremony outside the Pantages Theatre.
Thirty-four years after she sang “A Whole New World,” Lea Salonga got her name on the sidewalk.
The Broadway star received the 2,855th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Friday, September 4, in a late-morning ceremony outside the Pantages Theatre. She is the first Filipina to be honored in the category of Live Performance.
Hundreds of fans turned out. When the star was unveiled, Salonga dropped to her knees to touch her own name.
“Oh my God, it’s real,” she said.
What Salonga said at the ceremony
She opened her speech with a joke that got the crowd.
“I have walked down this street many times. I’ve stepped on a lot of famous people, and now people get to step on me, which feels strangely appropriate for show business,” Salonga said. “I love a full circle moment.”
She closed on something different.
“I hope that someday a young Filipino kid comes to Hollywood, sees my name and thinks, ‘Oh, maybe I can get here too.’”
Both halves of Mulan showed up
Ming-Na Wen spoke at the ceremony. Wen voiced the speaking role of Mulan in Disney’s 1998 film. Salonga sang for the same character.
One heroine, two performers, split between dialogue and song. Nearly three decades later, one stood at a podium honoring the other.
Wen praised Salonga’s “big, bright, gorgeous smile that lights up a room, radiating with so much love and warmth,” working references to “Reflection” and “Be a Man” into her remarks. She also noted that Salonga becoming the first Asian woman to win an acting Tony was part of what convinced her a career in Western entertainment was possible.
Brandy was there too
Another Disney princess spoke.
Brandy, who played Cinderella in the 1997 television film, recently performed “A Whole New World” as a duet with Salonga for Disney Princess: The Ultimate Concert Celebration.
“Lea Salonga’s voice has never been only a voice,” Brandy said. “It has been a doorway, a mirror, a home. There are singers who reach notes. Lea reaches hearts and souls.”
Darren Criss and H.E.R., both Filipino American artists, also attended, as did Dolly De Leon, the first Filipina nominated for a Golden Globe. Television host Sibley Scoles emceed.
Her Disney work is only part of it; Salonga is a theater legend
For a generation raised on the animated films, Salonga is Jasmine and Mulan. Her Broadway résumé is arguably the bigger accomplishment.
She won the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical in 1991 for playing Kim in Miss Saigon, at 20 years old, becoming the first Asian actress to win in that category. She also took the Olivier, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle, and Theatre World awards for the role.
She was the first Asian performer to play Éponine in Les Misérables on Broadway, and returned to the show as Fantine in the 2006 revival. In January of this year she took on Madame Thénardier in Les Misérables: The World Tour Spectacular.
She played the goddess Erzulie in the 2018 Broadway revival of Once on This Island, and most recently starred in Old Friends opposite Bernadette Peters, after headlining productions in Los Angeles and London.
Her career now spans 45 years.
The three Filipino honorees before her were all men
Three celebrities of Filipino heritage have previously received stars: singer Bruno Mars, rapper Apl.de.ap, and comedian Rob Schneider. Salonga is the first Filipina.
She was named to the Walk of Fame Class of 2026, nominated by the Manila International Film Festival, which is a member of the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce.
What comes next for Salonga
The star was the first of three honors in a single week.
On Sunday, September 6, Salonga receives the Icon Award at the Manila International Film Festival’s Closing Night Awards Gala at The Beverly Hilton. The festival is also screening a retrospective, including Olivia Lamasan’s Sana Maulit Muli, in which she starred opposite Aga Muhlach.
Later this month, she appears as the lead villain in DreamWorks Animation’s Forgotten Island, arriving in theaters at the end of September. Dolly De Leon is also in the voice cast.
Salonga has spent four and a half decades being the voice audiences recognized without always knowing whose it was. The star outside the Pantages puts the name where people can find it.
Article compiled with the help of the Pirates & Princesses newsroom.
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Hat Tips:
Hollywood Walk of Fame and the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce (August 2026), the official announcement, the star number, the Live Performance category, the MIFF nomination, and Salonga’s stage credits
KTLA (September 4, 2026), the report that surfaced this coverage
Rolling Stone (September 4, 2026), Salonga’s remarks about young Filipino kids and the full Brandy quote
Philippine Daily Inquirer and Philstar (September 4 and 5, 2026), the full ceremony quotes, the guest list, Ming-Na Wen’s remarks, and the previous Filipino Walk of Fame honorees
Fox 11 Los Angeles (September 4, 2026), the attendee list and the Manila International Film Festival Icon Award details