Lynn Chen () is a

Taiwanese-American Taiwanese Americans () are Americans who carry full or partial ancestry from Taiwan. This includes American-born citizens who descend from migrants from Taiwan. As of the 2010 U.S. Census, 49% of Taiwanese Americans lived in the state of Califo ...

actress and singer. She is best known for playing Vivian Shing in the film '' Saving Face'', a role for which she won the "Outstanding Newcomer Award" at the 2006 Asian Excellence Awards. She writes the popular food blog The Actor's Diet. Chen was named a 2013 "New Change Agent" by ''

Marie Claire ''Marie Claire'' is a French international monthly magazine first published in France in 1937, followed by the United Kingdom in 1941. Since then various editions are published in many countries and languages. The feature editions focus on wo ...

''.

Early life

Chen was born in

Queens Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...

, New York and raised in

Cresskill, New Jersey Cresskill is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States census, the borough's population was 8,573,Kunqu Kunqu (), also known as Kunju (), K'un-ch'ü, Kun opera or Kunqu Opera, is one of the oldest extant forms of Chinese opera. Kunqu is one of the oldest traditional operas of the Han nationality, and is also a treasure of Chinese traditional cult ...

Society, Inc. She has one brother; he is also in the music field. Her parents came to America from

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

in the late 1960s. Chen attended

Wesleyan University Wesleyan University ( ) is a Private university, private liberal arts college, liberal arts university in Middletown, Connecticut. Founded in 1831 as a Men's colleges in the United States, men's college under the auspices of the Methodist Epis ...

, where she studied Women's Studies and Music.

Career

Chen has appeared in Alice Wu's film '' Saving Face'' as Vivian Shing opposite

Michelle Krusiec Michelle Jacqueline Krusiec (born Ya-Huei Yang; ; October 2, 1974) is an American actress, writer and producer. Early life Krusiec was born in 1974 in Taiwan. She was adopted at age five and raised in America by her father's elder sister, who ha ...

(playing Wilhemina Pang, Shing's love interest) and

Joan Chen Joan Chen (born April 26, 1961) is a Chinese-American actress and film director. In China, she performed in the 1979 film and came to the attention of American audiences for her performance in the 1987 film ''The Last Emperor''. She is also ...

. For her role in that film, she won the "Outstanding Newcomer Award" at the 2006 Asian Excellence Awards.

Television

In 2014, Chen appeared on the episode "Proof of Concept" of

Mike Judge Michael Craig Judge (born October 17, 1962) is an American actor, animator, writer, producer, director and musician. He is the creator of the animated television series ''Beavis and Butt-Head'' (1993–1997, 2011, 2022–present), and the co-cre ...

's HBO show, ''

Silicon Valley Silicon Valley is a region in Northern California that serves as a global center for high technology and innovation. Located in the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area, it corresponds roughly to the geographical areas San Mateo County ...

'' as Grace Melcher. Before ''Saving Face'', Chen appeared on TV shows such as ''

All My Children ''All My Children'' (often shortened to ''AMC'') is an American television soap opera that aired on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from January 5, 1970, to September 23, 2011, and on The Online Network (TOLN) from April 29 to September 2, 20 ...

'' (as reoccurring character Regina), ''

Law & Order ''Law & Order'' is an American police procedural and legal drama television series created by Dick Wolf and produced by Wolf Entertainment, launching the '' Law & Order'' franchise. ''Law & Order'' aired its entire run on NBC, premiering on ...

'' (as Jenny Wu), '' Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'' (as Helen Chen), and a 2002 episode of ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serves a ...

'' hosted by

Jon Stewart Jon Stewart (born Jonathan Stuart Leibowitz; November 28, 1962) is an American comedian, political commentator, and television host. He hosted ''The Daily Show'', a satirical news program on Comedy Central, from 1999 to 2015 and now hosts ''Th ...

as a Vietnamese Girl. She has also appeared on the TV Shows '' Law & Order: Trial by Jury'' (as Lin – Kressel's Assistant), ''

Numb3rs ''Numbers'' (stylized as ''NUMB3RS'') is an American crime drama television series that was broadcast on CBS from January 23, 2005, to March 12, 2010, for six seasons and 118 episodes. The series was created by Nicolas Falacci and Cheryl Heuton ...

'' (as Bree Eng), '' NCIS: Los Angeles'' (as Nurse Lisa), and the pilot for the show ''

The Singles Table ''The Singles Table'' is an American comedy series created by Bill Martin and Mike Schiff that was intended to air on NBC during the 2006-07 television season. It is notable as being one of few series that was canceled before airing a single epi ...

'' (as Lexi Park). In 2016 she played a nurse in the pilot episode of '' The Walking Dead'' spinoff series '' Fear the Walking Dead''.

Feature films

Chen has also appeared in feature films such as

Neil LaBute Neil N. LaBute (born March 19, 1963) is an American playwright, film director, screenwriter, and actor. He is best-known for a play that he wrote and later adapted for film, ''In the Company of Men'' (1997), which won awards from the Sundance Fi ...

's ''

Lakeview Terrace ''Lakeview Terrace'' is a 2008 American crime thriller film directed by Neil LaBute, written by David Loughery and Howard Korder, co-produced by James Lassiter and Will Smith, and starring Samuel L. Jackson, Patrick Wilson and Kerry Washington. ...

'' (2008) opposite

Samuel L. Jackson Samuel Leroy Jackson (born December 21, 1948) is an American actor and producer. One of the most widely recognized actors of his generation, the films in which he has appeared have collectively grossed over $27 billion worldwide, making him ...

(as Eden), David Langlitz's ''

Mentor Mentorship is the influence, guidance, or direction given by a mentor. A mentor is someone who teaches or gives help and advice to a less experienced and often younger person. In an organizational setting, a mentor influences the personal and p ...

'' (2006) opposite

Rutger Hauer Rutger Oelsen Hauer (; 23 January 1944 – 19 July 2019) was a Dutch actor. In 1999, he was named by the Dutch public as the Best Dutch Actor of the Century. Hauer's career began in 1969 with the title role in the Dutch television series ' ...

(as Susan),

Quentin Lee Quentin Lee (; born 1971) is a Hong Kong-born Canadian-American film writer, director, and producer. He is most notable for the television series ''Comedy InvAsian'' and feature films ''The People I've Slept With'' (2009), ''Ethan Mao'' (2004), ...

's ''

The People I've Slept With ''The People I've Slept With'' is a 2009 American sex comedy film directed by Quentin Lee. Plot Angela Yang ( Karin Anna Cheung) is a young woman who enjoys sex and has had a number of partners. As mementos, she photographs her lovers and gives ...

'' (2009) (as Juliet, the sister of

Karin Anna Cheung Karin Anna Cheung (born November 2, 1974) is an American actress, singer, songwriter, and artist. Early life and education Cheung was born on November 2, 1974 in Los Angeles, California. In 1998, she graduated from California State Universit ...

's character), Richard Wong's ''Yes, We're Open'' (2012) (as Sylvia, the wife of

Parry Shen Parry Shen (born June 26, 1973) is an American actor, author, screenwriter, and producer. Shen's first major acting role was in '' Better Luck Tomorrow'' as Ben Manibag, the film's leading character. He also starred in another Asian American film, ...

's character),

Dave Boyle Dave Boyle (born 1982) is an American director, writer, editor, and actor. He has written and directed several movies that utilize primarily Asian or Asian-American casts, including the feature films ''Big Dreams Little Tokyo'' (2006), ''White ...

's ''

White on Rice ''White on Rice'' is a 2009 comedy film directed by Dave Boyle and starring Hiroshi Watanabe, Nae Yuuki, Mio Takada, James Kyson Lee, and Lynn Chen. The film had its world premiere at the 27th annual San Francisco Asian American Film Festival on 1 ...

'' (2009) (as Ramona),

's '' Surrogate Valentine'' (2011) and ''Daylight Savings'' (2012) (as Rachel), Tom Huang's ''Why Am I Doing This?'' (2009) (as Katie), Kedar Korde's ''Xs & Oxs'' (2007) (as Gwen), Jennifer Sharp's ''I'm Through with White Girls (The Inevitable Undoing of Jay Brooks'' (2007) (as Candace), and Mark Levin's ''

Little Manhattan ''Little Manhattan'' is a 2005 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by Mark Levin and written by Jennifer Flackett, starring Josh Hutcherson and Charlotte Ray Rosenberg. It is set in Manhattan, and follows a ten-year-old boy as he exper ...

'' (2005). She wrote and directed the 2020 film ''I Will Make You Mine'', which was the third in the ''Surrogate Valentine'' trilogy and was a selection of the 2020 South By Southwest Film Festival.

Web series and online content

She currently appears on a web series entitled ''Nice Girls Crew'' directed by

Tanuj Chopra Tanuj Chopra is an American film-maker. His debut feature film '' Punching at the Sun'' (2006) was screened at the Sundance Film Festival and was also nominated for the Humanitas Prize. He has directed Netflix web series Delhi Crime 2 whose fi ...

(

Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival (formerly Utah/US Film Festival, then US Film and Video Festival) is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with more than 46,66 ...

Humanitas Prize Winner ''Punching at the Sun'') and written by Chopra and Christine Kwon. The web series also stars her '' Saving Face'' co-star

as well as

Sheetal Sheth Sheetal Sheth (born June 24, 1976 ) is an American actress, author, producer, and activist. She starred opposite Albert Brooks in his film ''Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World''. She debuted to rave reviews in the films ''ABCD'' and '' Ame ...

. She also appears on an episode of Andrea Lwin's web series, ''Slanted'' (as Samantha). Chen has also written and produced a short film entitled ''Via Text'' (2011), which was directed by her husband Abe Forman-Greenwald.Via Text, Cast/Crew,

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

References

External links

*
Lynn Chen's food blog

Lynn Chen- Eat, Act, Love

Lynn Chen & Lisa Lee: Thick Dumpling Skin
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chen, Lynn Actresses from New Jersey American actresses of Chinese descent American actresses of Taiwanese descent American television actresses American voice actresses Living people People from Cresskill, New Jersey People from Queens, New York Wesleyan University alumni 21st-century American singers 21st-century American women singers Year of birth missing (living people)