Lucy Liu

Not to be confused with Lucy Li.

Lucy Liu
Liu in 2008
Born	Lucy Liu (1968-12-02) December 2, 1968 Queens, New York City, U.S.
Alma mater	University of Michigan New York Studio School
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1991–present
Children	1
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese	劉玉玲
Simplified Chinese	刘玉玲
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Liú Yùlíng
Website	www.lucyliu.net

Lucy Alexis Liu /ˈluː/ (born December 2, 1968) is an American actress. Born in New York City to Chinese immigrant parents, her accolades include a Critics' Choice Television Award as well as nominations for two Primetime Emmy Awards.

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 installments of the Kung Fu Panda franchise (2008–2016) and Silvermist in the Tinker Bell series (2008–2014). Her other voice credits include the PBS children's series Maya & Miguel (2004–2007), 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

Liu as a high school senior in 1986

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 born to Cecilia, who worked as a biochemist, and Tom Liu, a civil engineer who 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

At the age of 19, while traveling on the subway, Liu was discovered by an agent. She 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 starred on the 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.

Liu speaking at the USAID Human Trafficking Symposium in September 2009

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. 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.

Liu at the 2012 San Diego Comic-Con

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 a 2024 interview, Lucy Liu discussed her role in an upcoming film where she will star as a mother diagnosed with a terminal illness who has a troubled child. The film titled Rosemead (tentative title A Dying Mother's Plan), is expected to release in late 2024 or early 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.

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

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1992	Rhythm of Destiny	Donna
1993	Protozoa	Ari	Short
1995	Bang	Hooker
1996	Guy	Woman at Newsstand
	Jerry Maguire	Former Girlfriend
1997	Gridlock'd	Cee-Cee
	City of Industry	Cathi Rose
1998	Flypaper	Dot
	Love Kills	Kashi
1999	Payback	Pearl
	True Crime	Toy Shop Girl
	Molly	Brenda
	The Mating Habits of the Earthbound Human	The Female's Friend (Lydia)
	Play It to the Bone	Lia
2000	Shanghai Noon	Princess Pei Pei
	Charlie's Angels	Alex Munday
2001	Hotel	Kawika
2002	Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever	Agent Sever
	Cypher	Rita Foster
	Chicago	Kitty Baxter
2003	Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle	Alex Munday
	Kill Bill: Volume 1	O-Ren Ishii
2004	Kill Bill: Volume 2
	Mulan II	Mei (voice)	Video
2005	3 Needles	Jin Ping
	Domino	Taryn Mills
2006	Lucky Number Slevin	Lindsey
2007	Code Name: The Cleaner	Gina
	Rise: Blood Hunter	Sadie Blake
	Watching the Detectives	Violet
2008	The Year of Getting to Know Us	Anne
	Kung Fu Panda	Master Viper (voice)
	Tinker Bell	Silvermist (voice)	Video
2009	Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure
2010	Tinker Bell and the Great Fairy Rescue
	Nomads	Susan
2011	Detachment	Dr. Doris Parker
	The Trouble with Bliss	Andrea
	Kung Fu Panda 2	Master Viper (voice)
	Someday This Pain Will Be Useful to You	Rowena
2012	Secret of the Wings	Silvermist (voice)
	The Man with the Iron Fists	Madame Blossom
2013	The Tale of the Princess Kaguya	Lady Sagami (voice)
2014	The Pirate Fairy	Silvermist (voice)	Video
	Tinker Bell and the Legend of the NeverBeast
	Magic Wonderland	Princess Ocean (voice)
2016	Kung Fu Panda: Secrets of the Scroll	Master Viper (voice)	Short
	Kung Fu Panda 3
2018	Future World	The Queen
	Set It Up	Kirsten Stevens
2020	Stage Mother	Sienna
2022	Strange World	Callisto Mal (voice)
2023	Shazam! Fury of the Gods	Kalypso
2024	Presence	Rebecca Payne
	The Tiger's Apprentice	Nu Kua/Cynthia (voice)
	Old Guy	Anata
	Red One	Zoe Harlow

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1991	Beverly Hills, 90210	Courtney	Episode: "Pass, Not Pass"
1993	L.A. Law	Mei Lin	Episode: "Foreign Co-Respondent"
1994	Hotel Malibu	Co-Worker	Episode: "Do Not Disturb"
	Coach	Nicole Wong	Episode: "It Should Happen to You" & "Out of Control"
1995	Home Improvement	Woman #3	Episode: "Bachelor of the Year"
	Hercules: The Legendary Journeys	Oi-Lan	Episode: "The March to Freedom"
	ER	Mei-Sun Leow	Recurring cast (season 2)
1996	Nash Bridges	Joy Powell	Episode: "Genesis"
	The X-Files	Kim Hsin	Episode: "Hell Money"
	High Incident	Officer Whin	2 episodes
1996–1997	Pearl	Amy Li	Main cast
1997	The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest	Melana (voice)	2 episodes
	NYPD Blue	Amy Chu	Episode: "A Wrenching Experience"
	Riot	Tiffany	Episode: "Empty"
	Dellaventura	Yuling Chong	Episode: "Pilot"
	Michael Hayes	Alice Woo	Episode: "Slaves"
1998–2002	Ally McBeal	Ling Woo	Main cast (season 2–4), recurring cast (season 5)
2000	MADtv	Herself/Host	Episode: "Episode #6.6"
	Live & Kicking	Herself	Episode: "Episode #8.8"
	Saturday Night Live		Episode: "Lucy Liu/Jay-Z" Cut for Time Sketch: "How the Grinch Stole Christmas"
2001	Sex and the City		Episode: "Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda"
2001–2002	Futurama	Herself (voice)	2 episodes
2002	Rank	Herself	Episode: "25 Toughest Stars"
	VH-1 Behind the Movie		Episode: "Chicago"
	King of the Hill	Tid Pao (voice)	Episode: "Bad Girls, Bad Girls, Whatcha Gonna Do"
2003	Biography	Herself	Episode: "Bernie Mac: TV's Family Man"
	Bo' Selecta!		Episode: "Episode #2.5"
2004	Jackie Chan Adventures	Adult Jade Chan (voice)	Episode: "J2: Rise of the Dragons"
	Game Over	Raquel Smashenburn (voice)	Main cast
2004–2005	Joey	Lauren Beck	Recurring cast (season 1)
2004–2007	Maya & Miguel	Maggie Lee (voice)	Recurring cast (season 1–5)
2005	Clifford's Puppy Days	Teacup (voice)	Episode: "Adopt-a-Pup"
	The Simpsons	Madam Wu (voice)	Episode: "Goo Goo Gai Pan"
2006	Getaway	Herself/Celebrity Traveller	Episode: "Episode #15.38"
2007	Ugly Betty	Grace Chin	2 episodes
2008	Cashmere Mafia	Mia Mason	Main cast
	Ben & Izzy	Yasmine (voice)	Main cast
	Little Spirit: Christmas in New York	Leo's Mom (voice)	Television film
2008–2009	Dirty Sexy Money	Nola Lyons	Main cast (season 2)
2009	Afro Samurai: Resurrection	Sio (voice)	Television film
2010	Marry Me	Rae Carter	Episode: "Part 1 & 2"
	Ni Hao, Kai-Lan	Bear Queen (voice)	Episode: "Princess Kai-Lan"
	Kung Fu Panda Holiday	Master Viper (voice)	Television film
2011	Pixie Hollow Games	Silvermist (voice)	Television film
2011–2016	Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness	Master Viper (voice)	Main cast
2012	Southland	Officer Jessica Tang	Recurring cast (season 4)
2012–2019	Elementary	Dr. Joan Watson	Main cast
2013	Pixie Hollow Bake Off	Silvermist (voice)	Television film
2014	Huading Awards	Herself/Host	Main host
2015–2016	Jeopardy!	Herself/Video Clue Presenter	2 episodes
2016	Girls	Detective Mosedale	Episode: "Japan"
2017	Difficult People	Veronica Ford	Recurring cast (season 3)
	Sesame Street	Cinderella	Episode: "Cinderella's Slippery Slippers"
	Michael Jackson's Halloween	Conformity (voice)	Television film
2018	Animals	Yumi (voice)	Recurring cast (season 3)
2019	Why Women Kill	Simone	Main cast (season 1)
2020	A World of Calm	Herself/Narrator (voice)	Episode: "The Coral City"
2021	Star Wars: Visions	Bandit Leader (voice)	Episode: "The Duel"
	Scooby-Doo and Guess Who?	Herself (voice)	Episode: "The Tao of Scoob!"
	Curb Your Enthusiasm	Herself	Episode: "The Five-Foot Fence"
	Death to 2021	Snook Austin	Television special
2024	A Man in Full	Joyce Newman	Main cast
	Jentry Chau vs. The Underworld	Moonie Chau (voice)	In production

Video games

Year	Title	Voice role
2001	SSX Tricky	Elise Riggs
2003	Charlie's Angels	Alex Munday
2012	Sleeping Dogs	Vivienne Lu
2023	The Pirate Queen: A Forgotten Legend	Cheng Shih

Documentary

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2004	My Date with Drew	Herself
2009	Redlight	Narrator	Producer
2019	QT8: The First Eight	Herself
2022	If You Have

Director

Year	Title	Notes
2011	Meena	Short film
2014–2019	Elementary	7 seasons
2015	Graceland	Episode: "Master of Weak Ties"
2018	Luke Cage	Episode: "Soul Brother #1"
2019	Law & Order: Special Victims Unit	Episode: "Dearly Beloved"
	Why Women Kill	Episode: "Marriages Don't Break Up on Account of Murder - It's Just A Symptom That Something Else Is Wrong"
2020	New Amsterdam	Episode: "Hiding Behind My Smile"
2023	American Born Chinese	Episode: "Hot Stuff"

Art exhibitions

Year	Title	Location	Notes
1993	Unraveling	As Liu Yu-ling, Cast Iron Gallery, SoHo, New York, US	Collection of multimedia art pieces, photographs
2006	Antenna	Emotion Picture Gallery, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada	Incorporating paint and drawing into photographs. Seven pieces of which two new. March 5 to June 30.
2007	—	Art Basel Miami, Casa Tua in South Beach Miami, US as part of Montblanc's Cutting Edge Art Collection	Painting Escape, a black and white abstraction
2008	je suis. envois-moi	As Yu Ling, Six Friedrich Lisa Ungar, Munich, Germany	Six oil paintings, four prints and ten sculptures. Revenue was donated to UNICEF. May 8 to 31
2010	—	As Yu Ling. Painting included in the Bloomsbury Auctions 20th Century Art and Editions sale in New York, US	Painting
2011	Seventy Two	Salon Vert, London, UK	Personal canvases – hand-stitched and stuck with funny little found objects, pieces of rubbish
2013	Totem	The Popular Institute gallery, Manchester, UK	Series of work on linen, explores the fragility of the human form
2019	Unhomed Belongings	National Museum of Singapore	First museum exhibit, included works by Shubigi Rao
2023	what was	The New York Studio School, New York City, US	Collection of multimedia art pieces, acrylic on canvas, books and found objects

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Nominated work	Result
1997	Screen Actors Guild Award	Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series	Ally McBeal	Nominated
1998				Won
1999				Nominated
	NAACP Image Award	Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series
	Primetime Emmy Award	Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series
	Screen Actors Guild Award	Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series
2000		Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series
	Blockbuster Entertainment Award	Favorite Supporting Actress – Action	Shanghai Noon	Won
2001		Favorite Team	Charlie's Angels
	MTV Movie Award	Best On-Screen Duo
		Best Dressed		Nominated
	Saturn Award	Best Supporting Actress
2003	Broadcast Film Critics Association Award	Best Cast	Chicago	Won
	Phoenix Film Critics Society Award	Best Cast		Nominated
	Screen Actors Guild Award	Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture		Won
	Teen Choice Award	Choice Hissy Fit		Nominated
	MTV Movie Award	Best Dance Sequence	Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle
2004		Best Villain	Kill Bill: Volume 1	Won
	Saturn Award	Best Supporting Actress		Nominated
2011	NAACP Image Award	Outstanding Actress in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special	Marry Me
2012	New York Women in Film & Television Muse Award	Best Actress	Elementary	Won
2013	Prism Awards	Female Performance in a Drama Series Multi-Episode		Nominated
	Seoul International Drama Awards	Best Actress		Won
	Teen Choice Awards	Choice TV Actress: Action
	Critics' Choice Television Award	Best Guest Performer in a Drama Series	Southland
	NAACP Image Award	Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series		Nominated
2015	People's Choice Awards	Favorite TV Crime Drama Actress	Elementary
2016
2017
2024	Golden Raspberry Award	Worst Supporting Actress	Shazam! Fury of the Gods
	Primetime Emmy Award	Outstanding Emerging Media Program	The Pirate Queen with Lucy Liu

See also

• Chinese Americans in New York City

External links

• Official website
• Lucy Liu at IMDb 
• Lucy Liu at Emmys.com