Lucy Liu, born December 2, 1968, was a blessing given to Chinese
immigrants living in New York. As a person, Liu has been striving for
balance between her indulgence in her cultural heritage and her going
beyond the traditional Asian-American experience. Because of her Chinese
origins, she was once part of the “ethnic” parts but the stress
experienced from it molded her into the leading lady she is now.
In her senior year in the University of Michigan, she auditioned for an
Alice in Wonderland production and got the lead role. From this
experience, she decided to get into professional acting. She moved to
Los Angeles and juggled her time between auditions and day jobs.
Finally, she got a guest appearance in Beverly Hills 90210 in 1990. This
appearance led to more walk-on parts in ER, The X Files, and NYPD Blue.
Liu made her first big screen debut appearance as Jerry Maguire’s
ex-girlfriend in the movie. Then, she got her first big break on Ally
McBeal, where she was first cast as the growling lawyer Ling Woo before
signing on as a regular cast. Her stint at Ally McBeal lead to bigger
roles in the following years as a cast of Payback, Play It to the Bone,
Shanghai Noon, and the ever-famous Charlie’s Angels.
When not filming, Liu is busy indulging in her off-screen hobbies of
Kali-Eskrima-Silat, rock-climbing, horse-riding, and accordion playing.
