In the vibrant city of Los Angeles, the Gold House hosted its fifth annual Gold Gala on Saturday night, drawing a crowd of over 650 guests. This event has become a highly anticipated celebration of Asian Pacific culture, shining a spotlight on pioneers and leaders from diverse fields such as entertainment, fashion, and technology.
This year’s gala honored an impressive lineup of individuals for their remarkable contributions. Charles Melton was recognized with the Gold Artistic Achievement award, while Eileen Gu received the Gold Impact honor. Jet Li was celebrated as a Gold Legend, Priyanka Chopra Jonas was named Gold Vanguard, and Revathi Advaithi was acknowledged with the Forbes Gold award. Simu Liu was recognized as a Gold Mogul, further highlighting the evening’s prestigious accolades.
In addition to these honors, the Gold100 Onstage Honorees were also celebrated for their achievements. Among them were Brett Blton and Jen Lee for Gold100 Sports & Gaming, EJAE for Gold100 Entertainment & Media, and Rei Matsunuma and Rehito Hatoyama for Gold100 Fashion & Lifestyle. Tejasvi Manoj received recognition for Gold100 Social Impact, and Theresia Gouw was honored for her contributions to Gold100 Business & Technology.
The excitement of the evening was palpable as “On The Red Carpet” attended the 2026 Gold Gala and engaged with numerous stars to capture their thoughts on the occasion. Ming-Na Wen, renowned for voicing Mulan in Disney’s 1998 classic, expressed her enthusiasm, stating, “This event is a celebration of AAPI talent and entrepreneurs, and it is also an acknowledgment of all the hard work.”
On The Red Carpet attended the 2026 Gold Gala, and had the chance to speak with many stars about the occasion. Here’s what they had to say!
Ming-Na Wen, who voiced Mulan in the original Disney movie from 1998, said the event “is a celebration of AAPI talent and entrepreneurs, and it is also an acknowledgement of all the hard work.”
Actor Kal Penn echoed the same sentiment. “I stand on the shoulders of so many Asian American artists whose names were not household names, but if they hadn’t broken barriers in their own right, I certainly wouldn’t have had the opportunities that I had.”
“You know, I’ve worked with Gold House for many years now. I’m on the board here, and they are part and parcel of the wave of progress that we’ve been able to make,” Daniel Dae Kim explained.
The Gold Gala brings talent from all ages together, including the young live-action “Lilo & Stitch” star Maia Kealoha, who told us, “it feels so amazing being around all these inspirational people and people that I look up to.”
Sydney Agudong, who plays her older sister, Nani, in the film said, “It’s incredible. It’s an honor. I mean, I’m honestly in shock that they were honoring us tonight, so I was very stoked.”
“Kpop Demon Hunters” star EJAE told us that “seeing, you know, fellow Asian Americans or Asian artists here, it really brings a different energy.”
And maybe that energy comes from the food! “The Boys” star Karen Fukuhara described the night as “a big night of celebration, good food, always good food, I feel like we know how to eat.”
AAPI representation has come a long way, Tia Carrere reflected. “It’s beautiful now to be in a place like this, where, not only is it accepted, we are elevated. We are elevating each other.”
The event highlights the 2026 Gold100 List of the 100 most impactful Asian Pacific “culture makers.” In addition, the event “celebrates cross-industry excellence through the nation’s most-recognized Asian Pacific award-the Gold100-along with special multicultural Gold Gala awards.”
This year’s Gold Gala theme was “A New Gold World: a call to build shared abundance in an era increasingly defined by contraction.”
Both “Mulan” (1998) and “Lilo & Stitch” is streaming now on Disney+.
The Walt Disney Company is the parent company of Walt Disney Studios, Disney+ and this ABC station.
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