Lucy Liu

Lucy Alexis Liu Yu Ling (New York, December 2, 1968) is an American actress, producer and artist who has worked in both television and film. She has received two Screen Actors Guild Awards, a Television Critics Award, and a Seoul International Drama Award. She has also been nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series and has received nominations for three People's Choice Awards and two Saturn Awards.

Liu has played Ling Woo in the television series Ally McBeal (1998-2002), Alex Munday in two Charlie's Angels films (2000 and 2003) and Dr. Joan Watson in the crime drama series, Elementary (2012-2019). His film work includes Payback (1999), Shanghai Noon (2000), Chicago (2002), Kill Bill (2003), Lucky Number Slevin (2006), The Man with the Iron Fists (2012) and Set It Up (2018). She voiced Mistress Viper in the Kung Fu Panda franchise (2008-2016) and Silvermist in the Tinker Bell franchise (2008-2015). Her other voice credits include Mulan II (2004), as well as the English and Mandarin dubbed versions of Magic Wonderland (2014) and The Princess's Tale Kaguya(2013).

Early years

Liu was born on December 2, 1968 in Jackson Heights, Queens, New York. In high school, she adopted a middle name, Alexis. She is the youngest of three children of Cecilia, who worked as a biochemist, and Tom Liu, a trained civil engineer who sold digital watch pens. Liu's parents originally came from 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 worked many jobs while Lucy and her brothers grew up.

Liu has stated that he grew up in a very diverse neighborhood. He learned to speak Mandarin at home and began studying English when he was 5 years old. He studied the martial art kali-eskrima-silat as a hobby when he was young. Liu attended Joseph Pulitzer High School (I.S.145) and graduated from the 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 Ji Omega sorority. Liu earned a bachelor's degree in Asian languages and cultures.

Personal life

In 2015 she had a child through surrogacy.

Career

1990-1999

At the age of 19, while riding the subway, Liu was discovered by an officer. She did a commercial.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. university. Although she had originally tested only for a supporting role, Liu was cast in the lead role. While waiting 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 a foot in the door." 34;. In May 1992, Liu made her New York stage debut in Fairy Bones, directed by Tina Chen.

Liu had small roles in films and television, marking his debut. In 1992, she made her big screen debut in the Hong Kong film, Rhythm of Destiny, starring Danny Lee and Aaron Kwok. In 1993, she appeared in an episode of L.A. Lawas a Chinese widow giving her testimony in Mandarin.

Shortly after the end of Pearl in 1997, Liu was cast in a role in 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 participation in the series was originally temporary, but high audience ratings secured Liu as a permanent member of the cast. 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 an Actress in a Comedy Series.

2000–06

In 2002, Liu played Rita Foster in Vincenzo Natali's Cypher. She appeared as O-Ren Ishii in Quentin Tarantino's 2003 film, Kill Bill. While in negotiations for Kill Bill with Tarantino, the two teamed up to help produce the Hungarian sports documentary, Freedom's Fury. It won an MTV award as Best Movie Villain for her role in Kill Bill. Liu later appeared in 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 alongside Keira Knightley in the thriller, Domino. In Lucky Number Slevin, she played Josh Hartnett's main love interest. 3 Needles was released on December 1, 2006, Liu played Jin Ping, an HIV-positive Chinese woman.

2007-present

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 #41 on 'The 50 Sexiest Vampires'); and Watching the Detectives, an independent romantic comedy film, co-starring Cillian Murphy. She made her debut as a producer and also starred in a remake of Charlie Chan, which had been planned as early as 2000.

In 2007, Empire named Liu number 96 on its "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 lawyer who went up against Nick George (Peter Krause). Liu voiced Silvermist in Disney Fairies, the franchise based on Tinker Bell 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 in the second replacement cast opposite Jeff Daniels., Janet McTeer and Dylan Baker.

In March 2012, she was cast as Joan Watson for Elementary. Elementary is an American adaptation of Sherlock Holmes, and the role Liu was offered is traditionally played by men. She has received praise for her role as Watson, including three consecutive People's Award nominations. 39;s Choice Awards for Favorite TV Crime Actress. She has also played police officer Jessica Tang on Southland, a television show that focuses on the lives of police officers and detectives in Los Angeles, as a recurring guest actress during the fourth season. She received the Television Critics Award for best guest actress in a drama for this role.

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 she was named Harvard's 2016 Artist of the Year. She received the Harvard Foundation Arts Medal at the Harvard Foundation's annual awards ceremony, during the Festival of Cultural Rhythms at Sanders Theatre. She is also part of the cast of the post-apocalyptic thriller, Future World, directed by James Franco and Bruce Thierry Cheung.

In April 2021, Liu was cast as the villainess Kalypso in the upcoming superhero film, Shazam! Fury of the Gods(2023).

Filmography

Cinema

Television

Video games

• 2001 SSX Tricky - Elise Riggs (voz)
• 2012 Sleeping Dogs - Vivienne Lu (voz)

Prizes

Screen Actors Guild Award