Irene Yah-Ling Sun

Sun was born on September 1, 1946, in Shanghai, China and raised in Taiwan; her family later moved to Manhattan, where she studied ballet.

[1] Sun made her stage debut as a dancer in Flower Drum Song, followed by The World of Suzie Wong.

She also helped assemble an extensive collection of memorabilia depicting how Asian Americans have been portrayed in popular culture along with her friend, the film editor, writer, and book dealer Yoshio Kishi.

The collection was acquired by the Asian/Pacific/American Studies Program and Institute of New York University in 2003,[3] and a portion was exhibited in 2005 as "Archivist of the 'Yellow Peril'",[4] at NYU (Feb 3 – Jul 31)[5] and MoCA (Aug 16 – Dec 31).

[6] In 2017, Sun appeared in a nonspeaking role (as "Grandma") in a short public service spot commissioned by DDB San Francisco for Energy Upgrade California, directed by Bradley G Munkowitz (GMUNK).

"Chinese Must Go" cap pistol, c.1879–1890; Yoshio Kishi / Irene Yah Ling Sun Collection, Fales Library , New York University