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Ruthie Ann Miles becomes second actress of Asian descent to win a Tony award

June 9, 2015

Ruthie Ann Miles poses with the award for best performance by an actress in a featured role in a musical for “The King & I” in the press room at the 69th annual Tony Awards at Radio City Music Hall on Sunday, June 7, 2015, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)

By The Korea Times Los Angeles staff

Ruthie Ann Miles took home the Best Featured Actress in a Musical award for her role of Lady Thiang in the Broadway revival of “The King and I,” at the 69^th ceremony of the Tony Awards held in New York Sunday.

Miles is the second actress of Asian descent to win a Tony award after Lea Selonga, who won best actress for her performance in “Miss Saigon” in 1991, as she was born in 1983 from a Korean mother. She was introduced at a young age to the world of musicals, and made her Broadway debut with her award winning role.

After the ceremony, she addressed the subject of the lack of opportunity for Asian actors stating that:

“We have a lot of amazing, talented people who just don’t have a platform (…) there’s no place to practice which is on stage. There aren’t enough roles. There aren’t enough opportunities.”

Other notable winners of the award ceremony includes Kelli O’hara as Best Lead Actress in a Musical for her role of Anne Leonowens in “The King and I”, and the play “The curious incident of the dog in the night-time” who grabbed 5 awards.