Career
A second generation Korean American, Lee faced gender discrimination and anti-Asian bias early in her career, and spent the 1980s moving between local broadcasters. However, she reached a turning point in 1995, when she joined Cable News Network. She first worked as a correspondent in Tokyo and Hong Kong, and later became the network"s first female anchor of Korean descent.
Following her success at Cable News Network, Lee returned to the United States in 1999, where she hosted the talk show Pure Oxygen on The Oxygen Network, and also worked for other major broadcasters including American Broadcasting Company and National Broadcasting Company. In 2004, Lee returned to the Asia-Pacific region as an anchor for The Asia Wall Street Journal, Consumer News and Business Channel"s Asian financial news program, and then co-anchored Consumer News and Business Channel Tonight with Teymoor Nabili until December 2005. Though she initially worried that as she aged, her career opportunities would decrease, she stated that her popular reception had improved due to her "experience and flexibility".
In 2007, inspired by the economic and social changes she had seen in her five years away from Asia, she launched The May Lee Show, an English-language talk show modelled on The Oprah Winfrey Show and aimed specifically at Asian women.
STAR television placed great importance on the promotion of the new show, giving it a prime time slot right after the semi-final of American Idol, before moving it to the Sunday 8 P.M. slot two weeks later. Lee was appointed the Los Angeles-based correspondent for CCTV-America in December 2014.
