Lucy Liu

Lucy Liu is a Chinese American award-winning actress, director, and producer. She was born in Queens, New York to Chinese immigrants. Despite an interest in acting at a young age, Liu didn’t seriously consider it until college at the University of Michigan where she found success in theater. Her parents held degrees in civil engineering and biochemistry and as immigrants, were focused on “education and survival” and “being in the arts is neither of those things...”

Lucy Liu is a Chinese American award-winning actress, director, and producer. She was born in Queens, New York to Chinese immigrants. Despite an interest in acting at a young age, Liu didn’t seriously consider it until college at the University of Michigan where she found success in theater. Her parents held degrees in civil engineering and biochemistry and as immigrants, were focused on “education and survival” and “being in the arts is neither of those things...”

Liu had small roles in films and TV until 1997, when she was cast in Ally McBeal as Ling Woo. Her performance led to Primetime Emmy and Screen Actors Guild Awards. Liu has had a successful career while battling lack of diversity, rampant bias, and stereotypes in Hollywood, choosing roles that often broke from traditional stereotypes for Asian women. Some of her other notable work include starring as Alex Munday in two film adaptations of Charlie’s Angels, as the villain O-Ren Ishii in Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill, and more recently as Joan Watson in Elementary. In 2019, she received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.