As actress Lily Collins is getting all the attention thanks to her lead role in Emily in Paris, fans of the new Netflix series created by Darren Star are curious to find out more about the actress behind Mindy Chen, the best on-screen friend played by Ashley Park.

Ashley Parks: 8 Facts About The Netflix Actress! 

1. Ashley Parks always wanted to be an American actress and singer: 

From a very young age, she developed her artistic vein, taking dance classes from the age of three, or piano from the age of five. Her participation in numerous works of the college and institute in Ann Arbor, Michigan, is where she spent most of her childhood. 

2. At 15 years of age, she was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia: 

The actress overcame it after being admitted to a hospital for almost a year. As a result of her illness, the Make-A-Wish Foundation paid a trip to New York with her family to fulfill her wishes and see up to four musicals. 

According to one interview, she said: “After all those shows, you get hooked.” It’s not until you can be tangibly close to something that you discover how accessible it is…. I realized that it was something that I could manifest for myself. That was a big problem.

This trip changed her life and she decided to focus her career from then on to acting and music. 

3. Education:

She studied Fine Arts at the University of Michigan, graduating in 2013 with a specialization in theater and dance. While studying, she began her work in theater, in the production of the play “Miss Saigon” in Kansas. Once graduated, she moved to New York, where she soon entered the world of Broadway, forming part of the cast of “Mamma Mia!”.

4. Ashley Park is a Korean-American:

She was born on June 6, 1991 in Glendale, California, the daughter of Korean immigrants who convinced her to work on Mean Girls as well as simultaneously practice for a role on KPOP (a series about the music genre). 

According to her, her father said: “‘If there’s going to be a show about Koreans coming to New York and you want to be a part of this story, you should try to find a way to do it,’

Because of this goal, the American actress and singer was rehearsing for Mean Girls during the day and then doing KPOP at night over 30 days. 

Park leaned towards her role in the industry as an Asian-American actress and what that could mean for fans. “I spent so much time growing up trying to convince myself and everyone else that I was white in an industry that I felt like I could get ahead, as if it made everyone forget that I was Asian… a lot of people it can impact and what that can mean for their lives, in a way, just by seeing someone or feeling moved by a certain performance”, the Emily in Paris star said Harper’s Bazaar.

She continued, “I think a lot of young people, especially people of color, would say, ‘Oh my God, I can be this kind of person,’ feel empowered, be funny, be vulnerable, and be all of these things. that we see beautifully painted with Mindy. Likewise, all of those things are beautifully painted with Park.

5. Broadway debut:

As a member of Mamma Mia!, the singer and actress made her Broadway debut at the Broadhurst Theater on February 17, 2014. 

“I had just finished school,” she stated to a magazine. “Being on a show like that, which had been running for so long and where everyone had a routine, was incredibly valuable. I learned what life is like as an active actor.

6. She appeared on Broadway’s Mean Girls:

The first Broadway show she saw was The Lion King, which she was able to see through the Make-A-Wish foundation. Therefore it was also fate that she entered broadway. 

At the end of 2017 she signed for the musical adaptation of the film “Mean Girls”, where she played Gretchen Wieners. This role catapulted her fame on the Broadway scene and earned her a Tony nomination for Best Supporting Actress in a Musical, among other nominations.

Speaking to Interview Magazine In May 2018, Park said: ‘Everyone knows Lacey Chabert as Gretchen. I would never want to do an imitation of that, “said the actress. “So every time I do a rerun on Broadway, I go back to the text and find out what the backbone of the character is. And what I realized is that no matter what Gretchen does, no matter what secrets she’s telling, she’s trying to be a good friend. She wants so much to be good.

Park continued to share how he related to Gretchen herself. “What I love about Gretchen is that she doesn’t want to be anything other than beta. She doesn’t want to be the leader, ”she said. I could relate to that. I love how on this show Gretchen is not the quirky Asian girl. She is the fragile aspirant, tender, danceable, she just wants to please her leader. She is just a teenager.

The musical opens the doors of television to her, with a recurring role in the Netflix series ‘Tales of the City’ and ‘Emily in Paris’.

7. She was also in another musical:

Her first leading role came in 2015 as Tuptim in the revival of the musical “The King and I”, for which she received a Grammy nomination. She also worked on “Sunday in the Park with George” or “KPOP”.

8. Ashley Park dreams of working with former President Obama: 

When asked who her “dream collaborator” would be, the actress simply replied, “Right now, Obama.” She continued: “Both Michelle and Barack. I’d do anything, really. Tom Hanks, Sandra Bullock. I’ve been thinking a lot about Sandra Bullock.

So while her dreams of working with Sandra Bullock, Tom Hanks (who are both voice actors), or Obama come true, Park continues to pursue growth in her role as Mindy in Emily in Paris and how being Korean-American is opening doors for other Asian actresses.