Examples of yellowface mainly include the portrayal of East Asians in American film and theater, though this can also encompass other Western media. It used to be the norm in Hollywood that East Asian characters were played by white actors, often using makeup to approximate East Asian facial characteristics, a practice known as yellowface.
Actor Mickey Rooney did yellowface in the 1961 film Breakfast at Tiffany's.
The Vermilion Pencil is a 1922 American silent drama film directed by Norman Dawn, and produced and distributed by Robertson–Cole. It is based on the eponymous 1908 novel by Homer Lea. The film stars Japanese actor Sessue Hayakawa in multiple roles, and white actors Ann May, Bessie Love, and Sidney Franklin, all in Asian roles. It is now a lost film.
Lobby card
Omar Whitehead (seated) as Ma Shue, with Sessue Hayakawa as Li Chan
Sessue Hayakawa as Li Chan with Bessie Love as Hyacinth
Thomas Jefferson as Ho Ling