Kelly Marie Tran on Beauty, Courage, and the Power of Asian Representation

The actor gets her turn as the newest Disney princess in the animated feature “Raya and the Last Dragon.”

Kelly Marie Tran on Beauty, Courage, and the Power of Asian Representation

When Kelly Marie Tran was cast as the first Southeast Asian Disney princess in the upcoming film Raya and the Last Dragon, she embarked on a magical journey…from a homemade fort. 

“I did maybe two sessions at Disney before lockdown began, and after that, it was all from home,” she tells Glamour. “My boyfriend built this sort of makeshift fort, so I [recorded my role] in this fort in my pajamas. Very, very profesh!” On the other hand, Tran's fellow actors were also in a similar situation. “People were doing it from their closets. I heard Daniel Dae Kim has an amazing one by the way. It’s hilarious.”

Tran, 32, is smiling a lot these days, after a rather turbulent few years in the public eye. As the first woman of color lead in a Star Wars film, she was the subject of so much online harassment at the time that she deleted her Instagram and retreated from the spotlight. In an essay in The New York Times in 2018, she said, “Their words seemed to confirm what growing up as a woman and a person of color already taught me: that I belonged in margins and spaces, valid only as a minor character in their lives and stories.”

But a lot has changed in the years since, and Tran says she owes some of her newfound strength from playing Raya, a fearless warrior who seeks to save the magical land of Kumandra from evil forces. “I learned a lot from her,” she says. “Acting is so weird like that. I think if you do it right, you’re changed.” One of those lessons, she says, is recognizing that as human beings, we're going to get hurt—that's just life: “But how we live in the world is an act of bravery, especially if you’ve been hurt before. I’d like to take that with me forever.”

It's also not lost on Tran that as she reemerges in Hollywood, the Asian American community is facing a horrific rise in hate crimes. “I'm sitting here feeling all the emotions,” she says. “It feels really strange that Raya is coming out in this specific time with everything happening. If there’s anything you take from it, it’s that you should be proud of where you come from, even if we live in a world that tells you that you shouldn’t. When I was younger, I internalized a lot of that racism and felt like it was my fault. Now I know that is just not true at all.”

And so, as Tran steps back into the spotlight with a new outlook and confidence, she opens up about her journey to self-love and acceptance, and the women who inspire her most in our latest round of Glamour's Big Beauty Questions.  

Glamour: What’s one beauty trend you’re obsessed with right now?

Kelly Marie Tran: Not wearing makeup during COVID. I legit don’t wear makeup unless I’m working. I do put on moisturizer. I really like Laurel, which is a small, plant-based brand I’ve been using. I also like the brand 100% Pure. I try to use as many natural things as possible because I have intense allergies.

What’s one beauty rule you think is B.S.?

I think this is changing in our current world, which I’m really grateful for, but there was a time where there was a very narrow perception of what beauty was. Beauty was equated to very thin, very white bodies, and that’s something that I think is B.S. Every type of body is beautiful, and we’re in a world today where we’re sort of changing what beauty means, but we definitely have a lot of work to do.

What’s the best beauty advice your mom ever gave you?

My mom is huge on sunscreen and never putting your face in the sun, which is something to this day I am pretty religious about. I’ve been using Beautycounter’s sunscreen and it’s really good.

Beautycounter Countersun Defense, Face SPF25

Fill in the blank: I love my hair…

When it air-dries. I’ve been doing this thing during COVID where I don’t style my hair at all, and it’s so healthy. So I like my hair the most when it’s healthy and doing its own thing.

What city or country gives you the greatest beauty inspiration?

I really loved being in Korea. The street fashion is just wild. There's so many cool shapes and fabrics. And you have to stock up on those face masks when you’re there! My mom does that whenever she goes to Vietnam.

You can use only three beauty products for the rest of your life. What are they?

Absolutely sunscreen. Anything 25 or 30 SPF minimum. Then I really love coconut oil as a moisturizer. Costco has it in bulk. It just rejuvenates my skin. And Colgate toothpaste. If I can only have three items, I want to make sure I can brush my teeth!

Kirkland Signature Organic Coconut Oil

Colgate Optic White Toothpaste

What color are you loving on your nails right now?

I’m really into neutrals. I’m using one that’s kind of a mauve color at the moment.

What’s your favorite way to take a moment for yourself?

I like journaling. It really helps my mental state. Taking 15 to 20 minutes out of my day to journal helps me exude confidence and feel better about everything happening in the world.

Would you rather get a facial or a massage?

I love both, but I’d probably choose massage. I’ve been hiking a lot and working out more, just for my mental health during COVID, so I would love to get a massage right now.

Screw, marry and kill: mascara, lipstick, and highlighter.

I’m going to kill highlighter because I don’t even know what it is. Screw mascara. And marry lipstick. My favorite is L’Oréal Infallible in Cowboy. I love that shade.

L’Oréal Infallible Liquid Lipstick

And finally, who are the women inspiring you the most right now?

Janet Mock, Amanda Nguyen, Toni Collette, Frances McDormand, and Viola Davis. These are women who are really confident in themselves and who might have grown up in a world that told them they may not fit into a very specific, very narrow type of beauty. But they [are beautiful]. They’re all incredible, courageous, brave women, and I want to be more like that.

Jessica Radloff is the Glamour West Coast editor. You can follow her on Instagram @jessicaradloff14. 

This story originally appeared on: Glamour - Author:Jessica Radloff