American actress Lucy Liu was born on December 2, 1968 in New York City. She was a very studious kid, at the insistence of her parents; she eventually attended New York University for a year before moving to the University of Michigan. There, she auditioned for a production of Alice in Wonderland and got the lead role despite auditioning for another role. After her acting debut in 1989, she began picking up small roles in film and television, including guest roles in The X Files and Hercules: The Legendary Journeys.
In 1998, Liu joined the cast of the hit series Ally McBeal. Originally auditioning for the role of Nelle Porter (which went to Portia de Rossi), she was later given the role of Ling Woo, the feisty, if not !$#!#y, associate at Cage and Fish. Originally intended as a guest role, fans loved the character, and she was later promoted to a permanent cast member. This is widely considered as her breakthrough role, and cemented her reputation for “bad girl” roles. Her performance in the series earned her nominations from the Emmys and Screen Actors Guild Awards.
Liu also had numerous memorably film roles. In the film adaptation of Charlie’s Angels, she played feisty agent Alex Munday, a role that she’d later reprise in the sequel Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle. She played the Japanese villainess O-Ren Ishii in Quentin Tarantino’s hit Kill Bill Vol. 1. Other smaller, yet memorable, films include Chicago, Domino, Lucky Number Slevin, Payback and Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever.
Liu still appears as a guest on several television shows. These include Joey, Ugly Betty and Dirty Sexy Money. She also provided her voice to characters in The Simpsons, Futurama and the film Kung Fu Panda. She later appeared in the short-lived series Cashmere Mafia, where she plays a publishing mogul going through personal struggles in New York City. She then debuted on Broadway, appearing in the Tony Award-winning play God of Carnage.
- She works as an ambassador for UNICEF.
- Bill Murray Swore he would never work in another movie with Lucy Liu. The two reportedly fought alot while working on Charlie's Angels.
- Lucy is best friends with co-stars Drew Barrymore and Cameron Diaz, from Charlies Angels.
- She dated actor David Duchovny for awhile, who co-starred in The X-Files.
- Lucy has been nominated for five SAG awards. From 1999-2001 she was nominated for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series for Ally McBeal, winning in 1999. In 2000 she was also nominated for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series for the show. In 2003, she won Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Theatrical Motion Picture for Chicago.
-In 1999 Lucy was nominated for a Emmy award. The category was Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for Ally McBeal.
- She was honored with the Humanitarian of the Year Award at the 2006 VSDA (Video Software Dealers Association) convention that took place on July 11-13, 2006 at the Venetian Resort Hotel Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.
- In the 2004 MTV Movie Awards, She won the Best Villian award for her role in Kill Bill
2011: Tinker Bell and the Pixie Hollow Games (TV movie) - Silvermist (voice)
2011: The Man with the Iron Fists - Madame Blossom
2011: Someday This Pain Will Be Useful to You - Life Coach
2011: Tinker Bell and the Mysterious Winter Woods (video) - Silvermist (voice)
2011: Kung Fu Panda 2 - Viper (voice)
2011: East Fifth Bliss - Andrea
2011: Detachment - Dr. Parker
2010: Marry Me (TV mini-series) - Rae Ann Carter
2010: Kung Fu Panda Holiday Special (TV short) - Viper (voice)
2010: Nomads
2010: Tinker Bell and the Great Fairy Rescue (video) - Silvermist (voice)
2009: Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure - Silvermist (voice)
2008-2009: Dirty Sexy Money (TV series) - Nola Lyons
2009: Afro Samurai: Resurrection (TV movie) - Sio (voice: English version)
2008: Little Spirit: Christmas in New York (TV movie) (voice)
2008: Tinker Bell (video) - Silvermist (voice)
2008: Kung Fu Panda - Viper (voice)
2008: Cashmere Mafia (TV series) - Mia Mason
2008: The Year of Getting to Know Us - Anne
2007: Watching the Detectives - Violet
2007: Rise: Blood Hunter - Sadie Blake
2007: Ugly Betty (TV series) - Grace Chin
2007: Code Name: The Cleaner - Gina
2006: Lucky Number Slevin - Lindsey
2005: Domino - Taryn Mills
2005: 3 Needles - Jin Ping, the Blood Smuggler
2005: The Simpsons (TV series) - Madam Wu
2004-2005: Joey (TV series) - Lauren Beck
2004: Mulan II (video) - Mei (voice)
2004: Maya & Miguel (TV series) - Maggie Lee
2004: Game Over (TV series) - Raquel Smashenburn (voice)
2004: Jackie Chan Adventures (TV series) - Adult Jade
2003: Kill Bill: Vol. 1 - O-Ren Ishii
2003: Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle - Alex Munday
2002: Chicago - Kitty Baxter
2002: King of the Hill (TV series) - Tid Pao
2002: Cypher - Rita Foster
2002: Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever - Sever
1998-2002: Ally McBeal (TV series) - Ling Woo
2001: SSX Tricky (Video Game) - Elise Riggs (voice)
2001: Hotel - Kawika
2000: Charlie's Angels - Alex Munday
2000: Shanghai Noon - Princess Pei Pei
1999: Play It to the Bone - Lia
1999: The Mating Habits of the Earthbound Human - The Female's Friend (Lydia)
1999: Molly - Brenda
1999: True Crime - Toy Shop Girl
1999: Payback - Pearl
1999: Flypaper - Dot
1999: Love Kills - Kashi
1997: Guy - Woman at newsstand
1997: Michael Hayes (TV series) - Alice Woo
1997: Dellaventura (TV series) - Yuling Chong
1996-1997: Pearl (TV series) - Amy Lee/Amy Li
1997: City of Industry - Cathi Rose
1997: Riot (TV movie) - Boomer's Girlfriend (segment "Empty")
1997: NYPD Blue (TV series) - Amy Chu
1997: The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest (TV series) - Melana
1997: Gridlock'd - Cee-Cee
1996: Jerry Maguire - Former Girlfriend
1996: High Incident (TV series) - Officer Whin
1996: Nash Bridges (TV series) - Joy Powell
1996: The X-Files (TV series) - Kim Hsin
1995: ER (TV series) - Mei-Sun Leow
1995: Bang - Hooker
1995: Hercules: The Legendary Journeys (TV series) - Oi-Lan
1995: Home Improvement (TV series) - Woman #3
1994: Coach (TV series) - Nicole Wong
1994: Hotel Malibu (TV series) - Co-Worker
1993: L.A. Law (TV series) - Mai Lin
1993: Protozoa (short) - Ari
1992: Rhythm of Destiny - Donna
1991: Beverly Hills, 90210 (TV series) - Courtney
- Everything I buy is vintage and smells funny. Maybe that's why I don't have a boyfriend.
(when asked what scares her)
- A lot of things scare me. I think ignorance scares me most.
-I never get asked out for a date, but I can't blame them, they only know me from movies where I play a tough chick, men want a sweet girl.
-I enjoy making action movies. Now I understand why people want a gun, it gives you the feeling of power.