Onoto Watanna

Born in Montreal on August 21, 1875, Winnifred Eaton wrote under several names, most famously Onoto Watanna. She was of Chinese and British heritage, and scholars now describe her as one of the first North American writers of Asian descent to publish fiction in English.

She built a remarkably varied career as a novelist, journalist, playwright, and screenwriter. After early success with bestselling romantic fiction, she later worked in film, including for Universal and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, and also spent important years in Alberta before returning to writing and theatre projects.

Her public literary persona was complicated and is often discussed today alongside questions of race, identity, and performance. That complexity, along with the sheer range of her work, has helped bring renewed attention to her career and lasting influence.