Olive Young (June 21, 1903 – October 5, 1940) was born in St. Joseph of Chinese ancestry and acted under a Chinese version of her name, Aili Yang. Olive was a film  actress and a major star in China during the late 1920’s and was the role model of many young Chinese women. She may have been the first female motion picture photographer and movie director in China. Later in life she became an American actress and a touring Blues signer. A cover-girl for Liangyou pictorial magazine, she was labeled a flapper, a career girl and part of the movement of modern independent women worldwide, which also included China’s “new-age woman” or “modern miss”.

Olive was born to a Chinese – American family. Her father worked as a doctor, using Chinese herbal medicines as cures for many diseases. When Olive was young she lived in Hong Kong for some years and later attended the Christian College in Excelsior Springs, Missouri.

After college she wanted a life of adventure so she traveled to China and while there she had her first opportunity to act with the China Sun Motion Picture Company. In 1926 she broke the taboo against kissing in Chinese movies, causing Chinese movie goers to gasp! She was to perform Rouge with them but ended up with the British American Tobacco Company where she acted in her first thee films.

She stayed for several years, beginning a career in silent picture movies. Finding success she returned to the United States in 1929 to pursue acting in Hollywood. She played the leading role in the movie, “Fools Luck”, and acted in several other movies. It is thought that none of Olive Young’s movies from China are known to survive but there is a partial clip of one of her movies. The only other film footage of her is in American movies.

Following her film career, she moved on to music, traveling and performing a mix of Blues and Chinese music.