12 Celebrities That You Did Not Know Were Of Asian Descent

The Hollywood celeb world is often thought to be dominated by white celebs. Thankfully we've come a long way and now there is much greater diversity in the celeb world. We have celebs of different ethnicity thriving in the celeb world, showcasing their talents and attracting fans.

What you don't realize is that some celebs may seem white, or of other ethnic origins, they are actually of Asian descent as well. We can't be strangers to halfie kids, living in the society we live in. There're probably a few halfie kids at your school or workplace. It's very common. The same for the celeb ring.

Due to being a halfie kid, their ethnicity may not be clear from the first glance and people might either think they are white or racially ambiguous. Today we take a look at these 12 celebs of Asian decent that you probably didn't know about. Be warned, you will be surprised.

This former member of the boy band One Direction, who is now a solo artist, needs no introduction. Born in 1993, Zayn was born to his British Pakistani father and English mother in Bradford, England. His mother converted to Islam upon marriage and Zayn has raised a Muslim, which led to him being a target of many anti-Muslim slurs.

Zayn is never afraid to voice out his opinions and is proud of who he is. He once posted the #freePalestine tag on Twitter, resulting in an influx of death threats in 2014, but he never backed down and is still active in voicing out his opinions.

Teigen, born on 1985, in Utah, is a halfie kid that attracted millions of followers because of her exotic looks. Her mother is Thai, while her dad is of Norwegian decent. Teigen is a successful model, and a reality TV show personality, often appearing on different reality shows scuh as Keeping Up with the Kardashians.

Growing up, due to her surname not being English, people often mispronounced her surname as "Tea-gen", when the correct pronunciation in Norwegian should be "Tay-gen". She was called by her family as "Tay-gen". Since many mispronounced her name on so many occasions, she now sometimes refers to herself as "Tea-gen" for the majority of the audience.

She was "discovered" while working in a surf shop in Hawaii for having an "exotic look". Teigen is a racially ambiguous example of how you can't really tell someone's ethnicity because they are a halfie. Her ethnicity makes her a hot babe for many agencies to fight over.

You've seen him in many Ralph Lauren commercials. You'd think he is young. You'd think he is black. Well, you are wrong, on both things. Beckford was actually born in 1970, meaning he is turning 49 this year. He certainly doesn't look like it. What's more importantly, he actually has Chinese blood inside of him.

He is a mix with a few ethnicities running through his veins, including being Jamaican, Chinese and African. He lived in Jamaica for 7 years before being taken back to New York for the rest of his childhood. Now you know where Beckford got all his charming look from, he has a few different unique features from different ethnicity.

Upon first glance, this music legend may seem to be of Latino descent, but in fact, he has some Asian blood running inside him as well. His mother is Filipino with Spanish ancestry. Despite not having too much interaction with his origins, since he was born and raised in the US and his mother immigrated to the US when she was young, leaving much of the cultural heritage behind.

Mars was never really introduced to his Filipino side, making him unable to speak the language. Mars expresses his love for his Filipino side, being proud to be part-Filipino, but also admits that he is unaware of his heritage part from this side of the family.

We are no stranger to this English beauty. Campbell is one of the most recognizable figures in businesswomen society. She is strong, independent and more capable than most. What is lesser known about Campbell is that she is actually of Chinese descent from her paternal grandfather.

Campbell has never met her father. Her parents separated before she was born and hence, Campbell is not familiar with her Chinese heritage. It doesn't hinder her to be one of the most beautiful women alive. She is tough and has shown the world what she is made of.

The Prince Charming from Crazy Rich Asians is just irresistible. You know he is Asian, but at the same time you are not so sure because of his surname and he doesn't exactly look like a typical Asian. Well, that's because Golding is actually a halfie as well. His mother is Malaysian and his father is English.

Golding spent 5 years in Malaysia during his childhood before moving back to the UK. He is very well introduced to his Asian side. He is familiar with the culture and customs, always a well-behaved gentleman, having the best of both worlds.

You may have read her book "It", released in 2013, you may know her from the shows she presents. Chung lets off the vibe that she is completely western without a trace of Asian genes in her, but her last name gave it away. Chung is actually of Chinese descent, from her father's side, hence the last name, while her mother is of English descent.

Chung grew up in the UK and became a well-respected presenter and model for her professionalism and dedication to work. Her fashion style is often praised. She gives talks on self-empowerment and women's right and she is well-adorned for this.

Heussaff rose to fame after participating in Survivors Philippines: Celebrity Showdowns and has remained a powerful model in the Philippines and in France. Her mother is Filipino and her dad is French. Being a half gave her an advantage in the modeling industry as she possesses features of both Asian and European.

She began her modeling career in Paris, given her unique looks, it wasn't long until she made herself known in the modeling industry and finding a ground to stand on in the buzzing Paris. Besides modeling, she also does acting and participates in various reality shows. She has been in many European productions as well as Filipino productions.

From X-Men Origins: Wolverine to the voice of Big Hero 6, Henney is one of the sexy face and voice you see on commercials from time to time. Born and raised in Michigan, Henney has a Korean mother and an American father. His mother was born in Busan. Due to his family background, Henney decided to start his modeling career in Asia, going to Hong Kong and Taiwan, before finally debuted in South Korea. It didn't take long for this hot fuzz to rise and make his name known in Korea.

Now, Henney is still actively involved in modeling as well as acting. He has admitted that he spoke no Korean when he first came to Korea. Despite this, he still became one of the most popular TV stars in Korea in 2005, thanks to the drama My Lovely Sam Soon, in which he plays the role of a doctor.

When it comes to ethnicity, Rola is really a mix of everything. She is of Irish, Chinese, Japanese, Russian and Bangali decent. There is a bit of everything in her that makes her so exotic and unique. She was primarily raised in Bangladesh but she made her debut in Japan. Her unique look and styles quickly drew her attention in the field, leading to many agencies fighting over her.

Her tough childhood taught her to be strong and independent. Aside from her modeling work and being a TV show presenter, she is also an author. She has published 3 books, all with positive reviews. Rola is the all-in talented model that you'd look up to.

Surprised by how many celebrities actually have Asian blood in their genes even though they don't look like it? We live in a diverse society and halfie kids are becoming more and more common these days. Some take up more from their dad's side and some more so of the mum's side.

Regardless of their origins, these celebs are shinning in their own ways and continue to contribute to the field and to entertain us. If you are too of Asian origins, you should feel proud of your cultural background, even if you were not born and raised anywhere near Asia.