A White-passing Actress In Wuthering Heights: Merle Oberon & The Construct of Race 🎬

You can watch the Fandango interview with Emerald Fennel, Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi, here:    • Margot Robbie, Jacob Elordi, & the Cast of...   You can watch the 1939 Wuthering Heights adaptation, with Merle Oberon and Lawrence Olivier, here:    • Wuthering Heights (1939)   Emerald Fennell’s 2026 film adaptation is described as “A passionate and tumultuous love story set against the backdrop of the Yorkshire moors, exploring the intense and destructive relationship between Heathcliff and Catherine Earnshaw.” The film stars Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi as the lead couple, Catherine Earnshaw Linton and Heathcliff respectively. While the film has been criticized for various reasons, it is the casting (or miscasting) of Jacob Elordi as Heathcliff that forms the basis of this discussion. Due to the text and subtext, there are many theories regarding Heathcliff’s race. While there is no confirmation regarding Heathcliff’s exact racial identity, the nature of Heathcliff’s appearance is decidedly, non-white. In 2026, there is a plethora of talented actors of colour who could embody the role of Heathcliff to portray the isolation and racial discrimination experienced by character (that forms the basis of Emily Bronte’s novel). In this way, the 2026 version seems like a missed opportunity. In light of this, I discuss the life of Merle Oberon – a Hollywood actress of the 1930s and 1940s, who “passed” as white in order to work as a leading actress in American and British films. In an interesting irony, Merle Oberon is best known for her portrayal of Cathy in the 1939 film adaptation of Wuthering Heights. I discuss the US immigration Act, and The Hays Code and the impact and legacy of discrimination against performers of colour. Hope you guys enjoy the vid. #wutheringheights #merleoberon #jacobelordi CHAPTERS PART 1 – Merle Oberon’s Secret - 05:44 PART 2 – Anti-Hindu Sentiment, The Hays Code & Hollywood - 09:32 PART3 – Emerlad Fennell’s Vision - 15:54 SOURCES 1. Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte 2. Love Queenie: Merle Oberon, Hollywood’s first South Asian Star by Mayukh Sen 3. Oh Heathcliff? Why Must Thou Be White Again? | by Rameesa A. | Medium 4. Why is Jacob Elordi&s casting in Wuthering Heights so controversial? - UnHerd 5. Black History | The Brontë Parsonage Museum 6. An Exclusive First Look at the Wild and Wonderful Costumes of ‘Wuthering Heights’ | Vogue 7. How Many Wuthering Heights Movies Are There? A Definitive Guide - Dark Skies 8. Hays Code | Hollywood History, Films, Years, Rules, Era, & Definition | Britannica 9. The Hays Code: History, Rules, and Why It Ended | Backstage 10. https://immigrationhistory.org/item/1... 11. https://www.britannica.com/art/Hays-Code 12. In California, A Long and Pivotal History of Interracial Marriage | ACoM 13. On May 05, 1943: To Prevent Interracial Marriage, California Requires That Marriage Licenses Indicate Race 14. The Pain of Passing On Mayukh Sen's 'Love, Queenie: Merle Oberon, Hollywood’s First South Asian Star' BY Sumaiya Aftab Ahmed and The Metropolitan Review 15. Shazad Latif – IMDb 16. 'Immigration Act of 1917' Turns 100: America's Long History of Immigration Prejudice | Live Science 17. The Censors: Short-Haired Women and Long-Haired Men (and a Note on Hegemony) - Filmmaker MagazineFilmmaker Magazine 18. The young Anglo-Indians retracing their European roots 19. Yellowface, Whitewashing, and the History of White People Playing Asian Characters | Teen Vogue 20. Actress Merle Oberon's Hidden South Asian Heritage - Business Insider 21. ‘Wuthering Heights’ Film Adaptation Controversy, Explained by Connor Murray Forbes Online (September 2025)