The Untold Truth Of Chloe Bennet

Chloe Bennet portrayed the fan-favorite heroine Skye AKA Daisy AKA Quake on "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." and emerged as a genuine star. Although "S.H.I.E.L.D." officially wrapped in August of 2020 and has been left in the rearview mirror as Marvel moved on to Disney+ properties, it doesn't seem as though Bennet will be out of work anytime soon. Throughout the years, she has popped up in a number of films and TV shows, and she's even signed on to play a live-action version of Blossom Utonium in The CW's highly-anticipated "Powerpuff Girls" remake.

While the up-and-coming actress has amassed quite the following over the past decade, there's still quite a bit that most fans probably don't know about her. There's her forgotten music career in China, her huge family, her friendship with a certain comedy rapper, and even the reason behind her name. Here is the untold truth of the "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." breakout star, Chloe Bennet.

It's a sad truth that Hollywood doesn't exactly have the best track record with equal representation. While the movie business is slowly moving in a more positive and diverse direction, practices like whitewashing and casting racial stereotypes are still major issues plaguing the industry today. Chloe Bennet, who has a Caucasian mother and a Chinese father, knows of these struggles firsthand.

When speaking to NPR in 2017, Chloe shared some of her worst experiences being a non-White actress in Hollywood. "I had a casting director tell me, you're not quite white enough for the role, but you're not quite Asian enough for that best friend role." These kind of discriminatory examples are what ultimately caused her to change her last name from Wang to Bennet (which is her father's first name).

While changing her name opened her up to a good bit of personal guilt (as well as some external criticism), it was undeniably an effective move. "Oh, the first audition I went on after I changed my name, I got booked ... So that's a pretty clear little snippet of how Hollywood works." Hopefully the entertainment industry continues to become more inclusive so that future actresses don't have to relive Bennet's unfortunate hardships.

2012 was the year Chloe Bennet's acting career really took off — she landed the part of Hailey the assistant on ABC's "Nashville," and later booked the highly-coveted role of Skye on "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." Speaking to the Chicago Tribune in 2013, Bennet reminisced on her pre-fame days in Hollywood. "For basically two years, I took acting classes and found my own stride in LA. Last year was really when things took off ... It has been the fastest and craziest year ever."

Although it now seems impossible to see Bennet as anyone other than the Quake we all know and love, it wasn't always such a sure thing. In fact, the young up-and-comer had originally auditioned for an entirely different S.H.I.E.L.D. agent altogether — the brainy Jemma Simmons (who was ultimately played by British actress Elizabeth Henstridge). Bennet recalled to EW that her audition tape for Simmons was "the worst thing I've ever seen," but fortunately, the producers never saw it, giving her the chance at reading for Skye. She told china.org.cn that she had to audition "seven times over the span of two months," but she eventually got the part. The rest, as they say, is history.

Although she's likely most recognized for her on-camera work with "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.," Chloe Bennet's voice might ring bells for audiences of a certain age. She's lent her vocal talents out to a number of animated kids' projects over the years, including Disney Junior's "Jake and the Never Land Pirates" and "Tinker Bell and the Legend of the NeverBeast." She also reprised a cartoon version of Daisy Johnson in Disney's popular "Marvel Rising" animated franchise.

Perhaps it was this extensive voice work experience that made her an ideal candidate when DreamWorks Animation was casting the lead for their 2019 hit animated movie, "Abominable." Bennet landed the part of Yi, a young Chinese girl who, after discovering an adorable Yeti on her roof, embarks on a journey across China to help return him to his family on Mount Everest. The heartwarming tale brought in $179-million at the worldwide box office, making it the highest-grossing film in Bennet's filmography to date. However, it probably meant more to her than just money.

In an interview with The Beat, Bennet praised the film for breaking the stereotypical mold of most animated movies. "This is the first Asian-American animation leads since 'Mulan,' and the fourth female lead of any DreamWorks movie. It's a big moment for a woman of color, and I just think it's a really good film." With an astounding 95% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, it's safe to say that most people agree with the "Abominable" leading lady.

The COVID-19 pandemic of 2020 hit the world hard, and everyone was affected –- even celebrities. A-list actors like Tom Hanks, Idris Elba, and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson all tested positive for coronavirus at one point over the past two years, and while they were fortunate enough to pull through safely, there were many others that sadly didn't.

As it turns out, Chloe Bennet is also a COVID survivor. In a series of Instagram stories posted on New Year's Eve (via The Hollywood Reporter), the actress confirmed that she had indeed tested positive for the virus, despite the fact that she "always wore a mask, social distanced and took all the necessary precautions." She went on to warn people to take the threat seriously. "I'm young healthy and diligent about my health and this virus knocked me the f**k down and continues to do so ... If it can happen to me, it can happen to you."

2020 will forever be remembered as the year of the COVID-19 pandemic, and while the sense of overwhelming despair and hopelessness hung thick throughout the worldwide landscape, people found a way to endure. For some, one of the few silver linings in the week came in the form of new binge-worthy TV series, putting new value on streaming services like Netflix, Disney+, and Amazon Prime.

While there were several "quarantine hits" during the time of social distancing, few captivated audiences as much as Netflix' Emmy-nominated drama, "The Queen's Gambit." The series, which starred "New Mutants" actress Anya Taylor-Joy as an orphaned chess prodigy in the Cold War era, reportedly shattered Netflix's record for limited series views, reaching (per TechCrunch) "62 million households for the first 28 days of release." Needless to say, the show had a lot of fans.

Apparently, one of the show's earliest die-hard fans was actually none other than Chloe Bennet. When speaking to Tyler Coates of The Hollywood Reporter, Bennet claimed that she simply couldn't stop watching the chess drama, binging all seven episodes the day it was released on Netflix. "I thought it was one of the best things I've ever watched. And no one was talking about it yet!" She went on to praise the show, admitting that it inspired her despite her not having any experience with chess. "I have, like, seven chessboards now!"