Rosalie Chiang
Rosalie Chiang made her feature debut in Disney/Pixar’s Turning Red, being Pixar’s first Asian lead and first female lead of color. Directed by Domee Shi and co-starring Sandra Oh, this acclaimed animated feature was nominated for an Oscar for Best Animated Feature Film in 2023. For her performance she was nominated for several awards, including by the Hollywood Critics Association for Best Voice or Motion-Capture Performance. Following the release of Turning Red, Chiang was a presenter in the Critics Choice’s Celebration of Asian Pacific Cinema & Television, as well as the Unforgettable Gala in 2022. In spring 2023 Chiang will guest star in the Disney+ series American Born Chinese, an adaptation of Gene Luen Yang’s Eisner Award winning graphic novel of the same title. She has also written and illustrated two children’s poetry books, of which A is for Albatross: Birds A to Z won the Skipping Stone Honor Book Award in 2017 as the youngest winner in its 25-year history. Chiang is born to Singapore and Taiwan parents and is currently based in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Sandra Oh
Sandra Oh had a groundbreaking year being the first Asian American Host of the Golden Globe Awards in addition to sweeping wins as the lead actress in BBC America’s spy drama, “Killing Eve,” at the Critics’ Choice, Golden Globes, and Screen Actors Guild Awards.
The daughter of Korean immigrants, Oh started her performance career as a child. She attended the National Theatre School of Canada, and at age 19 had her breakthrough role in the television biopic “The Diary of Evelyn Lau” (1993). Her performance garnered a Gemini nomination and the 1994 Cannes FIPA d’Or for Best Actress. In 1996, Oh moved to Los Angeles to join the cast of HBO’s comedy “Arli$$”. Roles in films like “Under the Tuscan Sun” (2003) and “Sideways” (2004) followed.
Sandra then landed the role of Dr. Cristina Yang in the hit TV series “Grey’s Anatomy” (2005), which garnered her numerous award nominations over the course of her 10 years on the show. And just this year, she hosted an episode of “Saturday Night Live.
Domee Shi
Domee Shigraduated from the Bachelor of Applied Arts Animation program at Sheridan College in 2011, and began shortly after as a story intern at Pixar Animation Studios. She was soon hired as a story artist on the Academy Award®-winning feature film “Inside Out”, and from there she worked on “The Good Dinosaur,” “Incredibles 2” and the Academy Award®-winning “Toy Story 4.”
In 2015 she began pitching ideas for short films, and soon was green lit to write and direct “Bao” which won the Academy Award® for Best Animated Short Film in 2019. In her role as a Creative VP, Shi is involved in key creative decision-making at the studio and consults on films in both development and production. Shi most recently made her feature film directorial debut on “Turning Red,” which released in 2022.
Shi was born in Chongqing, China and resided in Toronto, Canada most of her life. She currently lives in Oakland, California and notes that her love of animation is only rivalled by her love of cats.
Julia Cho
Julia Cho is a screenwriter (Turning Red) and award-winning playwright who was born and raised in Southern California and Arizona. After receiving an MFA from NYU and a fellowship at The Juilliard School, Julia launched herself into the New York theater scene. She soon landed residencies at the Sundance Lab and New Dramatists and productions at theaters in NYC and across the country. Published plays include “The Language Archive” (Susan Smith Blackburn Award), “Aubergine” and “Office Hour.” For her body of work, she received the 2020 Windham-Campbell Literary Prize for Drama which wrote: “Alternately lyrical and sharp, rigorous and whimsical, Cho’s plays demand that we listen.”
Julia has also cultivated a career as a writer and producer for a broad range of television shows from cult sci-fi (“Fringe”) to character-driven drama (“Big Love,” “Halt and Catch Fire”). She also adapted the critically-acclaimed novel The Madonnas of Echo Park for HBO and Starz, which showcased her ability to transform eloquent fiction into dynamic and propulsive narrative.
Driven by keen curiosity and a passion for language, Julia strives to create work that expands our worlds and sparks our deepest empathies. She’s currently developing a series for FX and is a Senior Creative at Pixar Animation Studios.