Lucy Liu

Lucy Alexis Liu (; born December 2, 1968) is an American actress, producer, and artist. Widely regarded as a trailblazer for Asian American representation in Hollywood, she is the recipient of numerous accolades, including two Critics' Choice Awards, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, and nominations for two Primetime Emmy Awards. A prominent sex symbol in the late 1990s and early 2000s, she has been recognized for shifting Western mainstream beauty standards. In 2019, Liu became the second Asian American woman to be honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Liu had her breakthrough role as Ling Woo in the Fox legal comedy-drama series ''Ally McBeal'' (1998–2002). She received further recognition for starring in the action comedy film ''Charlie's Angels'' (2000) and its sequel '' Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle'' (2003), and the martial arts action film '' Kill Bill: Volume 1'' (2003) and its sequel '' Kill Bill: Volume 2'' (2004). She also starred in the films '' Payback'' (1999), ''Shanghai Noon'' (2000), ''Chicago'' (2002), '' Lucky Number Slevin'' (2006), '' Watching the Detectives'' (2007), ''The Man with the Iron Fists'' (2012), ''Set It Up'' (2018), ''Shazam! Fury of the Gods'' (2023), and '' Presence'' (2024).

Liu starred as Dr. Joan Watson in the CBS crime drama series '' Elementary'' (2012–2019). She also voiced Master Viper in the first three films of the ''Kung Fu Panda'' franchise (2008–2016) and Silvermist in the ''Tinker Bell'' series (2008–2015). Her other voice credits include the children's series '' Maya & Miguel'' (2004–2007) on PBS Kids, the animated films ''Mulan II'' (2004) and '' Strange World'' (2022), as well as the English and Mandarin-dubbed versions of the animated films '' The Tale of the Princess Kaguya'' (2013) and '' Magic Wonderland'' (2014).

Early life

Lucy Liu was born in the Jackson Heights neighborhood of the New York City borough of Queens. In high school, she adopted a middle name, Alexis. She is the youngest of three children. Her mother, Cecilia, worked as a biochemist, and her father, Tom Liu, was a civil engineer who also sold digital clock pens. Liu's parents originally came from Beijing and Shanghai and immigrated to Taiwan as adults before meeting in New York. She has an older brother, John, and an older sister, Jenny. Her parents had many jobs while Lucy and her siblings were growing up.

Liu has stated that she grew up in a diverse neighborhood. She learned to speak Mandarin at home and began studying English when she was five. She studied the martial art ''kali-eskrima-silat'' as a hobby when she was young. Liu attended Joseph Pulitzer Middle School (I.S.145), and graduated from Stuyvesant High School. She later enrolled at New York University and transferred to the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where she was a member of the Chi Omega sorority and studied Asian languages and cultures.

Career

Liu became interested in acting as a child, after hearing about someone her own age who had been in a television commercial. At the age of 19 she was discovered by an agent while traveling on the subway, and appeared in one commercial as a result. As a member of the Basement Arts student-run theater group, she auditioned in 1989 for the University of Michigan's production of ''Alice in Wonderland'' during her senior year of college. Although she had originally tried out for only a supporting role, Liu was cast in the lead. While in line to audition for the musical ''Miss Saigon'' in 1990, she told ''The New York Times'', "There aren't many Asian roles, and it's very difficult to get your foot in the door." In May 1992, Liu made her New York stage debut in ''Fairy Bones'', directed by Tina Chen.

Liu had small roles in films and TV, marking her debut. In 1992, she made her big-screen debut in the Hong Kong film '' Rhythm of Destiny'', which starred Danny Lee and Aaron Kwok. In 1993, she appeared in an episode of ''L.A. Law'' as a Chinese widow giving her evidence in Mandarin. Liu co-starred on the Rhea Perlman sitcom ''Pearl'', which lasted one season. Shortly after the end of ''Pearl's'' run in 1997, Liu was cast in a role on ''Ally McBeal''. Liu originally auditioned for the role of Nelle Porter (played by Portia de Rossi), and the character Ling Woo was later created specifically for her. Liu's part on the series was originally temporary, but high audience ratings secured Liu as a permanent cast member. Additionally, she earned a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series and a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series.

In 2000, Liu starred in ''Charlie's Angels'' along with Drew Barrymore and Cameron Diaz. In 2001, Liu was the spokeswoman for the Lee National Denim Day fundraiser, which raises money for breast cancer research and education. In 2004 Liu was appointed an ambassador for U.S. Fund for UNICEF. She traveled to Pakistan and Lesotho, among several other countries. In 2002, Liu played Rita Foster in Vincenzo Natali's ''Brainstorm''. She appeared as O-Ren Ishii in Quentin Tarantino's 2003 film, '' Kill Bill''. While in negotiations for ''Kill Bill'' with Tarantino the two joined to help produce the Hungarian sports documentary '' Freedom's Fury''. She won an MTV Award for Best Movie Villain for her part in ''Kill Bill''. Subsequently, Liu appeared on several episodes of ''Joey'' with Matt LeBlanc, who played her love interest in the ''Charlie's Angels'' films. She also had minor roles as Kitty Baxter in the film ''Chicago'' and as a psychologist opposite Keira Knightley in the thriller ''Domino''. In '' Lucky Number Slevin'', she played the leading love interest to Josh Hartnett. '' 3 Needles'' was released on December 1, 2006, Liu portrayed Jin Ping, an HIV-positive Chinese woman.

Liu had previously presented her artwork under her Chinese name, Yu Ling. Liu, who is an artist in several media, has had several gallery shows showcasing her collage, paintings, and photography. She began doing collage mixed media when she was 16 years old, and became a photographer and painter.Live with Regis and Kelly. First aired on January 21, 2008. Liu attended the New York Studio School for drawing, painting, and sculpture from 2004 to 2006. In September 2006, Liu held an art show and donated her share of the profits to UNICEF. She also had another show in 2008 in Munich. Her painting, "Escape", was incorporated into Montblanc's Cutting Edge Art Collection and was shown during Art Basel Miami 2008, which showed works by contemporary American artists. Liu has stated that she donated her share of the profits from the NYC Milk Gallery gallery show to UNICEF. In London, a portion of the proceeds from her book ''Seventy Two'' went to UNICEF.

Early in 2006, Liu received an "Asian Excellence Award" for ''Visibility''. She also hosted an MTV documentary, ''Traffic'', for the MTV EXIT campaign in 2007. In 2008, she produced and narrated the short film ''The Road to Traffik'', about the Cambodian author and human rights advocate Somaly Mam. The film was directed by Kerry Girvin and co-produced by photographer Norman Jean Roy. This led to a partnership with producers on the documentary film '' Redlight''.

In 2007, Liu appeared in '' Code Name: The Cleaner''; '' Rise: Blood Hunter'', a supernatural thriller co-starring Michael Chiklis in which Liu plays an undead reporter (for which she was ranked number 41 on "Top 50 Sexiest Vampires"); and '' Watching the Detectives'', an independent romantic comedy co-starring Cillian Murphy. She also planned to make her producing debut and star in a remake of ''Charlie Chan'', which had been planned as early as 2000. In 2007 ''Empire'' named Liu number 96 of their "100 Sexiest Movie Stars". The producers of '' Dirty Sexy Money'' created a role for Liu as a series regular. Liu played Nola Lyons, a powerful attorney who faced Nick George ( Peter Krause). Liu voiced Silvermist in ''Disney Fairies'' and Viper in ''Kung Fu Panda''.

In March 2010, Liu made her Broadway debut in the Tony Award–winning play '' God of Carnage'' as Annette on the second replacement cast alongside Jeff Daniels, Janet McTeer, and Dylan Baker. Liu is a supporter of marriage equality for same-sex marriage, and became a spokeswoman for the Human Rights Campaign in 2011. She has teamed up with Heinz to combat the widespread global health threat of iron deficiency anemia and vitamin and mineral malnutrition among infants and children in the developing world.

In March 2012, she was cast as Joan Watson for '' Elementary''. ''Elementary'' is an American Sherlock Holmes adaptation, and the role Liu was offered is traditionally played by men. She has gained praise for her role as Watson, including three consecutive nominations for the People's Choice Awards for Favorite TV Crime Drama Actress. She also has played police officer Jessica Tang on '' Southland'', a television show focusing on the lives of police officers and detectives in Los Angeles, as a recurring guest actor during the fourth season. She received the Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Drama Guest Actress for this role. Liu's other directorial credits include 6 episodes of '' Elementary'', an episode of ''Graceland'', the episode "Dearly Beloved" of '' Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'', and the second-season premiere of ''Luke Cage''.

In August 2011, Liu became a narrator for the musical group The Bullitts. In 2013, Liu was invited to become a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Liu was named Harvard's 2016 Artist of the Year. She was awarded the Harvard Foundation's arts medal at the annual Harvard Foundation Award ceremony, during the Cultural Rhythms Festival in Sanders Theatre. She is also part of the cast in the post-apocalyptic thriller '' Future World'', directed by James Franco and Bruce Thierry Cheung. Her first national museum exhibition was held at the National Museum of Singapore in early 2019 and was titled "Unhomed Belongings."

In April 2021, Liu was cast as the villainess Kalypso in the superhero film ''Shazam! Fury of the Gods''. In 2022, she voiced the role of Callisto Mal in the Walt Disney Animation Studios film '' Strange World''. In 2024, she starred in Steven Soderbergh's psychological thriller film '' Presence'' and Jake Kasdan's Christmas action comedy film '' Red One''.

In 2025, Liu will star and produce in '' Rosemead'' as a mother diagnosed with a terminal illness who has a troubled child. It will have its world premiere at the Tribeca Festival in June 2025.

Personal life

Liu has been vegetarian since childhood. Liu has studied various religions, mainly Buddhism and Taoism, and briefly Kabbalah. She has stated, "I'm into all things spiritual—anything to do with meditation or chants or any of that stuff. I studied Chinese philosophy in school. There's something in the metaphysical that I find very fascinating." She has been a member of the Chinese-American organization Committee of 100 since 2004.

Family

She has a son, Rockwell, who was born in 2015 via gestational surrogate. She has stated that surrogacy was the right option for her because, "I was working and I didn't know when I was going to be able to stop." She has decided to raise him as a single parent. She was involved in Tylenol's #HowWeFamily Mother's Day Campaign, which celebrated non-traditional families.

Health

In 1991, Liu had surgery after a breast cancer scare. She said: "The doctor sort of felt and said it was cancer and it needs to come out. I went into shell-shock. It was pretty traumatizing." The lump was removed two days after the doctor's examination and was found to be benign.

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

Documentary

Director

Art exhibitions

Awards and nominations

See also

* Chinese Americans in New York City

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Liu, Lucy
1968 births
Living people
People from Jackson Heights, Queens
Actresses from Queens, New York
Painters from New York City
American actresses of Chinese descent
American artists of Chinese descent
American Buddhists
American film actresses
American stage actresses
American television actresses
American video game actresses
American voice actresses

Members of the Committee of 100
Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture Screen Actors Guild Award winners
New York University alumni
Stuyvesant High School alumni
University of Michigan College of Literature, Science, and the Arts alumni
20th-century American actresses
21st-century American actresses
21st-century American painters
21st-century American women painters
American collage artists
American women collage artists