LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - MAY 09: Priyanka Chopra Jonas accepts the Global Vanguard award onstage during the Gold House 5th Annual Gold Gala at The Music Center on May 09, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Tommaso Boddi/Getty Images for Gold House)

Getty Images for Gold House

On Saturday night at the historic Music Center in Los Angeles, Gold House, the non-profit ecosystem platform and network for global Asian Pacific communities, hosted its fifth annual Gold Gala to honor Asian Pacific leaders and multicultural leaders across all industries – business, entertainment, tech, pop culture, media, non-profits. With over 650 in attendance, the Gold Gala celebrated its 2026 Gold100 List – the 100 most impactful Asian Pacific leaders over the past year – and its Special Honorees.

This year, the award-winning actress and producer Priyanka Chopra Jonas received the inaugural Global Vanguard Honor, presented by Founder and CEO of 5 Junction Records and A-Series Investments and Management Anjula Acharia, Head of Film, Streaming, and Theatrical at Amazon MGM Studios Courtenay Valenti, and Academy Award-winning director of KPop Demon Hunters, Maggie Kang. Chopra Jonas has been recognized for her 25-year career bridging Hindi cinema and Hollywood and for working tirelessly to amplify emerging and underrepresented voices through her production company, Purple Pebble Pictures. She admits she couldn’t have imagined this kind of event and recognition when she first started working in Hollywood over 10 years ago, and feels honored that there are organizations and events like this in the industry.

“The most amazing thing about it is when I see the younger generation – the next generation –, and I see how proud they are of their heritage and culture,” Chopra Jonas says on the gold carpet. “When I was a teenager, I was told to make [my culture] invisible, and that growth makes me so happy that my daughter is going to have young role models to look up to that I didn't have. That was always the fight, and here we are. We're continuing to do it. There's a lot of work still to be done, but that gives me so much hope.”

Legendary martial artist, actor, and philanthropist Jet Li received the Gold Legend Honor Award, presented by his daughter Jane Li; CEO of the Bruce Lee Foundation and daughter of Bruce Lee, Shannon Lee; Hollywood and Hong Kong action star/actress Maggie Q; and Jet Li’s The Expendables co-star Terry Crews. Li has been inspiring generations of Asian Pacific talent, bringing wushu to the global stage and building a long-lasting legacy through his films and One Foundation charity. The 63-year-old actor is humble, downplaying his iconic work as he is praised. Alongside his daughters, Jane and Jada, on the gold carpet, he is just happy to share his experiences and lessons with the world after all these years. In 2004, the actor and his daughters survived the Indian Ocean tsunami while on vacation in the Maldives. After that, he started One Foundation, which focuses on disaster relief, children's welfare, training of public welfare professionals, and funding grassroots charities. He wrote a book, Beyond Life and Death: The Way of True Freedom, about his life, sharing spiritual insights and guidance on finding meaning beyond fame and fortune.

“[When I first started in the industry], I learned martial arts for 10 years, and I thought that was good enough,” Li explains. “Then I [started to make movies. But after [the 2004 Indian Ocean] tsunami, the three of us almost died. After that, I [started a] charity. Now, I want to share more of Chinese culture with the world. Everybody knows how to be healthy, but [it’s very important for the near future] to train your mind to become happy. People know how to train their bodies, but you can train your mind to be happy and be more free. Technology will improve in the future, but [it will put a lot of pressure on humans]. There’s a lot of pressure on the young generation. I really want to help.”

Eileen Gu, the most decorated Olympic freestyle skier in history, received the Gold Impact Honor, presented by Marriott International EVP & Chief Customer Officer Peggy Roe and Olympic champion and WNBA star Candace Parker. Gu was excited and honored to be recognized by her peers in the API community and Gold House.

“It’s such a special organization,” Gu says. “Places and spaces like this that create celebration for people within the community and people within the diaspora have an internally uniting effect. It brings people within the diaspora together. That’s really special. It feels very meaningful. I’m here to celebrate every other individual honoree, too.”

Charles Melton received the inaugural Gold Artistic Achievement Honor, presented by BEEF showrunner Lee Sung Jin and Academy Award-winning actress Da’Vine Joy Randolph. Melton was honored for his acclaimed work in 2023’s May December and BEEF Season 2, and became one of the most sought-after Asian Pacific talents in Hollywood.

Actor Simu Liu was presented with the Gold Mogul Honor by directors Destin Daniel Cretton and James Wan for his success as an actor, producer, author, and advocate for Asian representation in Hollywood.

Revathi Advaithi, CEO of Flex, was presented with the Forbes Gold Honor Award by General Partner of Gold House Ventures Eric Feng and CEO of BXPE Viral Patel, for her extraordinary rise from shop-floor supervisor to CEO of a $26 billion global business. Flex is a manufacturing partner that helps brands design, build, and manage products by delivering advanced manufacturing, supply chain, and lifecycle solutions, products, technology, and services across 30 countries. They are known for producing power and cooling technology and scalable IT infrastructure for clients. Advaithi has also been recognized for championing diversity and women in STEM.

During her speech, Advaithi recalls that after her father's death, her mother worked tirelessly to ensure she and her sisters received an education. Because of that, she graduated from an engineering college in India and moved to Oklahoma to begin her career. She shares, “Like many immigrant people, my journey was a leap of faith. It was rooted in the simple idea that access created opportunity.”

Gold100 representatives from each category spoke during the ceremony to honor their respective fields – Theresia Gouw (Business and Technology), EJAE (Entertainment and Media), Rei Matsunuma and Rehito Hatoyama of HUMAN MADE (Fashion and Lifestyle), Tejasvi Manoj (New Gold Social Impact), and Paralympic sled hockey gold medalists Jen Lee and Brett Bolton (Sports and Gaming).

Even after almost a year since Netflix’s KPop Demon Hunters came out, Academy Award-winner EJAE is still shocked at everything that has happened. She is touched to be recognized by the industry and by her peers with this event. She shares from the gold carpet, “When I look back, I cry every time because it’s such crazy memories. It was a transformative year. Metamorphosis is definitely the word to use. I surprised myself. I’m proud of the girls and everybody from the project. Representation is really important. Supporting one another is so important. I feel like we did it.”

Kang, who was honored on the Gold100 list and presented the Global Vanguard Honor to Chopra Jonas, admits she’s excited to be at the Gold Gala. She laughs, “I was talking to my agent in the middle of award season, and I said I just want to go to Gold House’s Gold Gala. That’s all I want to do, and I’m here. This is great.”

Actor-comedian Bowen Yang, who has been consistently honored by Gold House for his impact in the entertainment industry (he was on the Gold100, formerly A100, in 2020), is excited to finally make it to the Gold Gala that celebrates everyone’s accomplishments. With the gala being in its fifth year, Yang says it’s now officially a tradition, and he hopes it means the API community can count on each other and pay it forward. He says, “We’re celebrating all these accomplishments, but our biggest project is to build a safety net for each other, in case we fail. There's no such thing as pure accomplishment all the time. But I think building out that network of people who can rely on each other when things are hard is kind of the most amazing collective project that we can have. That's what this gala is about.”

Gold House worked closely with OpenTable to have Gold Gala Executive Chef Justin Pichetrungsi and his team behind Anajak Thai in Sherman Oaks, California, present a three-course meal at the event. Gold House CEO and co-founder Bing Chen wanted to have the “most visible and aspirational cultural celebration – period.” It united those of Asian and Pacific Island descent to celebrate under one roof. Gold House pulled all the stops to ensure this year's celebration of Asian Pacifics was “done right,” through honoring special recipients and the food.

“This was not about one ethnicity,” Chen emphasizes from the gold carpet. “It wasn't about one community and so forth. It was just about reimagining what visibility actually looked like. So all the way down to the food – We don't have some boring, overcooked filet mignon. This is a Michelin-star meal today, from Anajak Thai, and all the way to the fashion of fully expressing your ancestral heritage. We feel so honored to be called the ‘Asia Pacific Met Gala,’ and soon it's just going to be the Gold Gala.”

Chen says the original vision of Gold House five years ago was dictated by its 500 co-founders – people from the API community like Michelle Yeoh, Twitch co-founder Justin Kan, YouTube co-founders Steve Chen and Jawed Karim, and others – to find a way to mainstream Asian Pacific culture. Their goals have changed over time, working with unicorn startups, businesses, and entertainment films/shows.

“So now, it’s about how we take these creative and corporate gifts and bring everyone closer together for it,” Chen reveals. “It’s no longer just about representation, but actually a deeper connection.”

For more information on Gold House and its Gold Gala honorees, click here.