Xenia Andriamihaja was an actress who appeared in several films throughout the 1980s, and even more popular was her role as Chun Li in the Kung Mangarap Ka’s movie. She is a Filipino and Japanese national who is married to an American man. Andriamihaja was born in Manila, Philippines, and she is described as being “a petite girl with dark hair who had a slight European accent”. From an early age, she became disinterested in martial arts and sports, but she did find success in dancing, singing and playing the harmonica. She was studying music when she was cast as Chun Li in the famous Kung Mangarap Ka movie.
The character Xenia Andriamihaja in the Kung Mangarap Ka movie is of the Asian persuasion, and she is portrayed as being Indian in actual life, despite her British nationality. This would mean that she would have been expected to have Asian features, such as light skin and blue eyes, however, her real nationality was not revealed. As it was, the character was created with an artistically-developed physique which could be Asian, but was not necessarily, and was therefore a character created entirely by Andriamihaja’s ethnicity.
Xenia Andriamihaja was a beloved character in the Kung Mangarap movie and went on to appear in a number of other popular films including the TV series Kung Fu Panda. She continued to receive accolades for her performances throughout the 1980s and beyond, and even received a knighthood in the year 2021 for her services to dance in the film. However, it seems that Xenia Andriamihaja has found her niche in the entertainment industry, as her own distinctive career spanned five decades, making her one of the oldest and most successful performers in the UK. It is easy to see why she should have been awarded the CBE, as her contributions to dance, cinema and television to demonstrate that ethnicity and gender are not barriers to success in the profession.