Lea Salonga today became the first Filipina with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, honored for her groundbreaking Broadway career, highlighted by her Tony Award-winning performance in “Miss Saigon.” “This is surreal,” Salonga said as she accepted the honor during a ceremony in front o f the Pantages Theatre. “I have walked down this street many times. I’ve stepped on a lot of famous people, and now people get to step on me. Which feels strangely appropriate for show business. “ … I was a little girl in the Philippines who loved to sing and perform,” she said. “I started working when I was very young, and I certainly didn’t have some grand plan for how any of this was supposed to unfold. I just knew that I loved doing it. This career has taken me to places I never imagined I would go, introduced me to some extraordinary people, and allowed me to keep doing what I love.” She acknowledged her history-making achievement of becoming the first Filipina on the famous walk, saying she hopes it inspires others.     “I hope that someday a young Filipino kid comes to Hollywood, sees my name and thinks, ‘Oh, maybe I can get here too,’” she said. Brandy, Darren Criss and Ming-Na Wen were among those joining Salonga at the ceremony. Salonga and Brandy performed a duet of “A Whole New World” during “Disney Princess: The Ultimate Concert Celebration” Aug. 13 at Disney California Adventure. Salonga and Brad Kane were the first to record the Oscar-and Grammy-winning song in their respective roles as the singing voices of the main characters Aladdin and Jasmine in the 1992 animated film “Aladdin.” Criss has described Salonga as an inspiration to him as a fellow Filipino performer. The two have performed “A Whole New World” together at multiple events. Wen voiced Mulan’s dialogue and narration while Salonga supplied the singing voice of the Chinese folk heroine in the 1998 Disney animated film “Mulan.” The ceremony came two days before Salonga receives the Icon Award at the third annual Manila International Film Festival’s Gala at The Beverly Hilton. The star is the 2,855th since the completion of the Walk of Fame in 1961 with the initial 1,558 stars.     Born Maria Lea Carmen Imutan Salonga Feb. 22, 1971, in Manila, Salonga began performing in Philippine musical theatre as a child, making her professional debut at age 7. She won three consecutive Aliw Awards as best child performer from 1980-82. The Aliw Awards honor live entertainment performances in the Philippines. Following an extensive theater, recording, movie and television career in the Philippines, Salonga was cast in 1988 in the original London production of “Miss Saigon,” as a 17-year-old recently orphaned Vietnamese girl forced to work as a bar girl. Salonga’s performance as Kim brought her the best actress in a musical award at the Laurence Olivier Awards in 1990, the West End’s equivalent of the Tony Awards.. She reprised the role in the original Broadway production, winning the Tony Award for best actress in a musical in 1991, the first Asian woman to win a Tony. In 1993, Salonga became the first Asian actress to play Éponine in “Les Misérables” on Broadway. Her other Broadway credits include the 2006 revival of “Les Misérables” as Fantine; the 2018 revival of “Once on This Island”; “Here Lies Love”; “Allegiance”; the 2002 revival of “Flower Drum Song”; and “Stephen Sondheim’s Old Friends.” Salonga’s next film role will be as The Dreaded Manananggal, the most feared creature on the island, in the DreamWorks Animation fantasy adventure comedy, “Forgotten Island,” set for release Sept. 25.      Salonga was selected as a Disney Legend in 2011 for her work in “Aladdin” and “Mulan.”  Salonga’s honors in her native country include the Presidential Medal of Merit for her services to the arts, receiving the rank of Commander of the Order of Lakandula in recognition of using her talents to benefit Philippine society and foster cultural exchange and the Congressional Medal of Achievement for showing “the extent and depth of the Filipino musical talent” and “opening the way for other Filipino artists to break into the finest theaters in the world.” ...read more read less