Chris Kay and
On Tuesday, April 2nd, Apex held its 32nd Inspiration Awards Gala, where we uplifted the need for mental health programming and well-being support for Asian American youth. It was a night of community, celebration and connection where we heard stories from our youth and mentors, and honored Constance Wu as we all came together to DREAM OUT LOUD!
Thanks to the generosity of our incredible supporters and friends, we raised $1.3 million from the evening’s paddle raise, for a total of $3 million at this year’s Gala! These funds will help provide mental health and well-being programs to all 2,500 of our youth, including critical services for 300 high-needs youth and support for 100 family members.
Constance Wu is a vibrant and acclaimed actress, illuminating the path for aspiring Asian American youth to dream bigger through her dynamic performances and groundbreaking achievements. From her captivating memoir, Making A Scene, which unveils a journey of resilience and self-discovery, to her notable roles in films like Crazy Rich Asians, for which she earned Golden Globe® and Critics Choice® nominations, Constance serves as a trailblazer breaking barriers in Hollywood. As the star of ABC’s Fresh off the Boat, she made history by anchoring the first American Network TV show centered around an Asian American family in over two decades and earned a spot in the TIME 100 Most Influential People of 2017. Constance’s unwavering commitment to diverse storytelling and her production venture, Tempo Wubato Pictures, further solidify her as an inspiring force, encouraging the next generation of Asian American talent to envision and pursue limitless possibilities.
BD Wong won all five New York theater awards, including the Tony, for his performance in M. Butterfly (his Broadway debut) and has since appeared in numerous Broadway, Off- Broadway, and regional productions. His many films include Heart of Stone, Bird Box, three Jurassic World films, Focus, Mulan (1 & 2), Seven Years in Tibet, Father of the Bride (1 & 2), and Jurassic Park. On television, he has appeared on The Girls on the Bus, Awkwafina is Nora from Queens, Mr. Robot (which earned him a Emmy nomination), American Horror Story: Apocalypse, Gotham, Madam Secretary, CSI: New Orleans, Law & Order: SVU, Oz, and All-American Girl. As a vocal advocate for diversity and inclusion in the entertainment industry and LGBTQ+ rights, his influence extends far beyond his performances.
The annual Apex for Youth gala is the premier Asian American gala in the United States.
Last year, we held our 31st Anniversary Inspiration Awards Gala with over 600 guests in attendance, raising a record-breaking $3.2 million as we honored author and poet, Ocean Vuong, and proprietor of Gracious Hospitality Management, Simon Kim.
Click here to view our gala honorees from previous years.
Join us at our 32nd Inspiration Awards Gala to celebrate our youth and encourage them to DREAM OUT LOUD.
Raymond Chan
Aya Kanai
Melody Lee
Rachel Aschalew
Luke P. Brown
Allister Chan
Eva Chen
Julia Chiang
Christine Chou
Jessie Ding
JiaJia Fei
Esther Lee
Karen Lee
Robert Lee
Maurice Ng
Maxine Ng Dalio
Jennifer Prosek
Scout LeBedis
Katie Barth-Jones
Annabelle Matchet
A vibrant and acclaimed actress, Constance Wu is steadily building her body of work of dynamic roles alongside some of the industry’s most respected creators.
Constance recently penned a memoir titled Making A Scene. The book is an essay collection that recounts Constance’s experiences growing up in suburban Virginia, scraping by as a struggling actress, falling in love again and again, confronting her identity and influence, and navigating the pressures and pleasures of existing in today’s world.
Onscreen, Constance will next be seen in The Friend alongside Naomi Watts, Bill Murray, Ann Dowd, and Noma Dumezweni. She was recently seen in Will Speck and Josh Gordon’s Lyle, Lyle Crocodile alongside Shawn Mendes and Javier Bardem. The film is based on the bestselling children’s book of the same name by Bernard Waber.
Constance recently launched Tempo Wubato Pictures, a production venture alongside Justine Jones who was tapped as the Vice President of Development. Under this banner, Constance struck a first-look deal with eOne where she and Justine are actively developing and producing scripted series for the studio.
Most notably, Constance starred in Warner Brother’s romantic comedy hit, Crazy Rich Asians, directed by Jon M. Chu. For this role, Constance received a Golden Globe® nomination in the category of Best Actress in a Motion Picture in a Musical or Comedy and a Critics Choice® nomination in the category of Best Actress in a Comedy. The film itself received many accolades including a Golden Globe® nomination in the category of Best Motion Picture in a Musical or Comedy, SAG Award nomination in the category of Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture and Critics’ Choice Award nomination in the categories of Best Acting Ensemble and Best Comedy, coupled with box office success which made it the most successful studio romantic comedy in nearly a decade. Crazy Rich Asians also made Hollywood history as the first studio movie in over 25 years to star an Asian American woman.
Additional film credits include Christopher Makoto Yogi’s I Was A Simple Man; Lorene Scafaria’s, Hustlers, which was recorded as the highest box office opening for STX; Eric Darnell’s Crow: The Legend; Jenée LaMarque’s The Feels; Christopher Leone’s Parallels; Zal Batmanglij’s Sound of My Voice; Matt Tauber’s The Architect; and Hilary Brougher’s Stephanie Daley.
On television, Constance was last seen in Amazon Studios’ conspiracy thriller series The Terminal List alongside Chris Pratt and Taylor Kitsch. Based on the bestselling novel of the same name by Jack Carr, the series followed James Reece (Pratt) who’s entire platoon of Navy SEALs is ambushed during a high-stakes covert mission. Constance portrayed the role of ‘Katie Buranek’ a risk-seeking war correspondent who uses her byline to speak truth to power. She finds an unlikely ally in James as she seeks to bring the truth about the conspiracy he’s fighting against to light in mainstream media. Prior, Constance was in the thought-provoking Amazon anthology series, Solos, alongside Morgan Freeman, Anne Hathaway, Helen Mirren, Uzo Aduba, Nicole Beharie, Anthony Mackie and Dan Stevens. The series explored the deeper meaning of human connection, as portrayed through the lens of the individual, each from a different perspective and moment in time.
Constance broke out on screen in her starring role as ‘Jessica Huang’ in ABC’s comedy series Fresh off the Boat. The six-season run of the critically-acclaimed series was is loosely based off of the life of chef Eddie Huang. For this role, Constance was nominated for a Critics’ Choice Television Award in the category of Best Actress in a Comedy Series and was honored as part of the TIME 100 Most Influential People of 2017. Fresh off the Boat also made Hollywood history as the first American Network TV show to center an Asian American family in over 20 years. As of 2018, it also marked another milestone as the first Asian- American led TV show ever to reach syndication.