Lucy Liu: Difference between revisions

| name = Lucy Liu

| birthname = Lucy Alexis Liu

| birthdate = {{bda|1968|12|2}}

}}

 

 

==Early life==

Lucy Liu was born and was raised with her brother, John Liu, in [[Jackson Heights, Queens]], [[New York]] by [[Taiwanese People|Taiwanese]] immigrant parents.<ref>http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/features/lucy-liu--an-agent-of-change-855072.html</ref><ref name="Liu5">{{cite news | last =Roberts| first =Sheila| coauthors=| title =Lucy Liu Interview, CodeName The Cleaner| pages=| publisher =Movies Online| date =2006-12-21 | url =http://www.moviesonline.ca/movienews_10807.html| accessdate =2006-12-21 }}</ref> Liu has said that she grew up in a "diverse" neighborhood.<ref name="Liu5" /> Her family spoke [[Mandarin (linguistics)|Mandarin]] at home and she did not learn [[English language|English]] until she was five years old.<ref name="Liu4">{{cite news | last =Radish| first =Christina| coauthors=| title =Lucy Liu and Shawn Ashmore Talk about "3 Needles"| pages=| publisher =MediaBlvd Magazine| date =2006-12-06 | url =http://www.mediablvd.com/magazine/the_news/celebrity/lucy_liu_and_shawn_ashmore_talk_about_%273_needles%27_20061206319.html| accessdate =2006-12-21 }}</ref> Her father, Tom, was a [[civil engineer]] and her mother, Cecilia, a [[biochemist]],<ref>[http://www.filmreference.com/film/75/Lucy-Liu.html Lucy Liu Biography (1968-)<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> but they sacrificed those careers in Taiwan to come to the United States. Liu, at her parents' insistence, devoted her spare time to studying. She attended the Joseph Pulitzer Middle School (I.S.145) and she graduated from New York City's prestigious [[Stuyvesant High School]] in 1986.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9906E5D7133FF930A25753C1A9659C8B63 |title=The Perks and Pitfalls Of a Ruthless-Killer Role; Lucy Liu Boosts the Body Count in New Film |first=Lola |last=Ogunnaike |date=2003-10-13 |publisher=[[The New York Times]] |accessdate=2007-11-01}}</ref> She attended [[New York University]] for one year, before transferring to the [[University of Michigan]] where she joined the [[Chi Omega]] sorority and graduated with a [[Bachelor of Science]] degree in Asian Languages and Cultures.<ref name="Liu5" /> At one point, Liu worked as a [[Waiting staff|waitress]] in Michigan.<ref name="Liu5" />

 

Liu began acting in 1989, after auditioning for a role in the University of Michigan's production of ''[[Alice's Adventures in Wonderland|Alice in Wonderland]]'' during her senior year. Liu was cast in the lead role, although she had originally only tried out for a supporting part.<ref name="Liu5" /> Liu had small roles in films and TV (including ''[[The X-Files]]'' in "[[Hell Money]]" and ''[[Hercules: The Legendary Journeys]]'' in "[[The March to Freedom]]") before landing 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 not meant to be regular but the enthusiastic audience response to the actress' 'feisty' Ling Woo secured Liu as a permanent cast member. It also earned her an [[Emmy Award|Emmy]] nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series, as well as a [[Screen Actors Guild]] Award nomination for Best Actress in a Comedy Series.<ref name="Liu5" /> Liu cemented her reputation playing bad girls by portraying "Pearl" the sadistic [[dominatrix]]/[[hitman|hitwoman]] for the Chinese mafia in the film ''[[Payback (film)|Payback]]'' (1999).

 

Liu played Alex Munday in the ''[[Charlie's Angels (film)|Charlie's Angels]]'' film, alongside established Hollywood stars [[Drew Barrymore]] and [[Cameron Diaz]]. The film opened in November 2000 and was a hit, earning more than $125 million in the U.S., and a worldwide total of more than $264 million. The sequel, ''[[Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle]]'', opened in June 2003 and was a box-office hit again, earning more than $100 million in the U.S., and a worldwide total of more than $259 million. In between the two films, Liu starred with [[Antonio Banderas]] in ''[[Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever]]'', a critical and [[box office]] failure.

 

Liu next played [[List of Kill Bill characters#O-Ren Ishii/Cottonmouth|O-Ren Ishii]], one of the major villains in [[Quentin Tarantino]]'s 2003 film, ''[[Kill Bill]]''. She won an [[MTV Movie Awards|MTV Movie Award]] for "Best Movie Villain" for the part. Subsequently, Liu appeared on several episodes of ''[[Joey (TV series)|Joey]]'' with [[Matt LeBlanc]], who played her love interest in the ''Charlie's Angels'' movies. She also had smaller roles as Kitty Baxter in the film ''[[Chicago (2002 film)|Chicago]]'', and as a psychologist opposite [[Keira Knightley]] in the thriller ''[[Domino (film)|Domino]]''. In 2006, she played leading lady and love interest to [[Josh Hartnett]] in the crime thriller ''[[Lucky Number Slevin]]''. Other appearances include a cameo on the animated shows ''[[Futurama]]'' (as herself and/or robot duplicates thereof in the episodes "[[I Dated a Robot]]" and "[[Love and Rocket]]" and ''[[The Simpsons]]'' (on the season sixteen episode "[[Goo Goo Gai Pan]]"), a guest host on an episode of the NBC sketch show ''[[Saturday Night Live]]'' in 2000 (musical guest" Jay-Z), and the voice of [[SSX TAe kayo

 

Liu has guest starred as lawyer Grace Chin on ''[[Ugly Betty]]'' in the episodes [[Derailed (Ugly Betty)|"Derailed"]] and "[[Icing on the Cake]]". In a 2001 episode of ''[[Sex and the City]]'' entitled "Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda" she guest starred as herself, playing a new client of character Samantha Jones, who does public relations. She stars in the ''[[Sex and the City]]'' inspired TV show, ''[[Cashmere Mafia]]'' on [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]]. In 2007, [[Empire (magazine)|Empire magazine]] named her among the "100 Sexiest Movie Stars".<ref name=empire>[http://www.empireonline.com/100sexiest/default.asp?star=96 EimpireOnline.com EmpireOnline.com, 100 Sexiest Movie Stars.]</ref>

| rowspan="2"| 1998 || ''[[Love Kills (film)|Love Kills]]'' || Kashi ||

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|rowspan="5"| 1999 || ''[[Payback (film)|Payback]]'' || Pearl ||

| ''[[Charlie's Angels (film)|Charlie's Angels]]'' || Alex Munday || [[MTV Movie Award|MTV Movie Award for Best On-Screen Team]] <small>(shared with [[Cameron Diaz]] and [[Drew Barrymore]])</small><br>[[Blockbuster Entertainment Award|Blockbuster Entertainment Award for Favorite Action Team]] <small>(shared with [[Cameron Diaz]] and [[Drew Barrymore]])</small><br>Nominated – [[Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress]]<br>Nominated – [[MTV Movie Award|MTV Movie Award for Best Dressed]]

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|rowspan="3"| 2002 || ''[[Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever]]'' || Agent Sever ||

| ''[[Chicago (2002 film)|Chicago]]'' || Kitty Baxter || [[Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Cast]]<br>[[Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture]]<br>Nominated – [[Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Cast]]<br>Nominated – [[Teen Choice Awards|Teen Choice Awards for Choice Movie Hissy Fit]]

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| ''[[Kill Bill|Kill Bill: Vol. 1]]'' || O-Ren Ishii || [[MTV Movie Award|MTV Movie Award for Best Villain]]<br>Nominated – [[Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress]]

| ''[[Nomads (2010 film)|Nomads]]'' || unknown || ''Post-production''

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