Gemma Chan and Olivia Munn honored for their inspiration in the Asian-American community

Inclusion in Hollywood and diverse representation on the big screen still may have its problems, but Gemma Chan and Olivia Munn are using their voices to close the gap.

The "Crazy Rich Asians" star and "X-Men" actress were honored on Wednesday night at the 27th Annual Apex for Youth Inspiration Awards Gala. Both women were celebrated with special awards for their contribution to Asian-American community as positive role models. Credit Karma founder, Kenneth Lim, also received the honor.

Gemma Chan's breakout year, with her role in the box-office smash "Crazy Rich Asians," has quickly led her to the forefront of modern Hollywood. The actress also joined the cast of Captain Marvel, the first female-led superhero project by Disney.

"I feel very fortunate to have had the last year that I've had and to be part of these projects which have shifted the needle in terms of representation. I think it's important that we keep pushing forward. To me, this isn't just a passing trend. It's about the fact that audiences really want authenticity in storytelling. Our storytelling is richer and stronger when it's coming from a greater number of viewpoints," Gemma told AOL about inclusion in Hollywood.

Family culture and Asian representation remained the theme of the night. Munn dove deep into her family roots and talked candidly about the relationship with her "blunt" mother upon taking the stage to accept her award.

“The thing about my mom is that she’s always been very blunt and that’s something I’ve always loved because there’s no hidden meaning, it’s always getting to the truth of things. My mom was always scary to us as kids — she was the disciplinarian — and my sister is a badass lawyer and super scary in our family, too. She’s like, ‘You know, your sister and I were talking," Munn explained. "We were wondering, when did you become so fearless?’ I was like, ‘What do you mean, mom? You’re pretty scary yourself.’ She’s like, ‘No, no, I know how to scare people — but I don’t think I would have done what you did. I’m so proud that you’re fearless. No matter what I taught you, that’s something that you had in yourself.’”

Notable attendees of the night included Michael Moore, Phillip Lim and Prabal Gurung.