Lucy Liu

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Lucy Liu

Birth name	Lucy Alexis Liu
Born	December 2, 1968 (age 37) New York City, United States
Other name(s)	劉玉玲 (Liú Yùlíng)

This is a Chinese name; the family name is 劉 (Liu)

Lucy Alexis Liu (Chinese: 劉玉玲 Liú Yùlíng, born December 2, 1968) is an Emmy Award-nominated American actress, best known for starring in the television series Ally McBeal (1996-2000) and for her role as O-Ren Ishii (assassin Cottonmouth) in director Quentin Tarantino's "Kill Bill" films. During and after her tenure on Ally, she went on to have a successful movie career.

1 Biography
2 Trivia
3 Filmography
4 Other
5 External links

[edit] Biography

[edit] Early life

Liu was born in New York City, and was raised with her older brother, John Ya Liu (Liú Yá Lì), and older sister, Jenny Liu, in Jackson Heights, Queens, New York by Chinese immigrant parents. Her father worked as a civil engineer and her mother as a biochemist in China, but they sacrificed to come to the United States. At one time her father peddled watches in Atlantic City while Lucy worked in a pajama factory at age eleven. In an interview with the London Daily Telegraph she said: "It was totally illegal. I actually blocked it out until a few years ago when I said, Oh my God, I was a child sweatshop worker. I didn't want to do it, but what choice did I have." Her family subsisted on boiled rice and cucumber in their cockroach-infested Queens apartment. Liu, at her parents' insistence, devoted her spare time to studying, and she attended New York City's famous Stuyvesant High School. Then she attended New York University for one year, transferred to University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, and graduated with a degree in Chinese Language and Culture.

[edit] Career

Liu began acting in 1989 after auditioning for a role in University of Michigan's production of "Alice in Wonderland" during her senior year. Liu won the lead role although she tried out for a supporting role.

Liu had small roles in films and TV (for example in X-Files) before landing a break on Ally McBeal. Liu's role 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 nomination.

She became famous with her turn as Alex in the Charlie's Angels movie, starring with established Hollywood stars Drew Barrymore and Cameron Diaz. Charlie's Angels became a hit, earning more than $125 million in the U.S., and a worldwide total of more than $258 million. The sequel, Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle, opened to poor reviews but was a box-office hit again, earning more than $252 million.

Liu starred with Antonio Banderas in Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever, a critical and box-office failure.

She won an MTV Movie Award for "Best Movie Villain".

Liu recently appeared on several episodes of Joey with Matt LeBlanc, who played her love interest in the Charlie's Angels movies. She also had successful small roles as Kitty Baxter in the smash hit Chicago, and as a psychologist opposite Keira Knightley in the thriller Domino. Most recently she played leading lady and love interest to Josh Hartnett in the popular crime thriller Lucky Number Slevin. Other appearances include a cameo on the animated show Futurama and recently, The Simpsons. Liu is currently in talks to recreate the Charlie Chan series for modern audiences.

In April 2006, the documentary Freedom's Fury premiered, with Liu as executive producer. The film dramatizes the 1956 Hungarian Revolution, climaxing with the infamous water polo showdown between Hungary and the Soviet Union at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics, known as the 'Blood in the Water Match.'

[edit] Personal life

In 2004, she announced her engagement to her boyfriend, New York playwright Zach Helm. Their relationship ended in 2005.

In a Jane interview, she implied her bisexuality, while refusing to label herself as such, by saying, "I think people sometimes get the wrong impression when they're like, 'Oh, well, so-and-so was straight and then she was gay, and now she's straight again,' you know? But it's like, how many times do I have to kiss a woman before I'm gay? Everybody wants to label people. Sometimes you just fall in love with somebody, and you're really not thinking about what gender or whatever they happen to be. I think that if I happen to fall in love with a woman, everyone's going to make a big deal out of it. But if I happen to fall in love with a man, nobody cares."[1][2]

With her parents' work ethic, Liu continued, "I'm always multitasking, doing 10 things at once." She is fluent in Mandarin and Italian, studies French and Japanese, rock climbs, practices martial arts, skis, plays the accordion, and makes collages, having done several gallery exhibitions.

In 2005, Liu was appointed a U.S. Fund for UNICEF Ambassador.

Early in 2006, Liu received an "Asian Excellence Award" for Visibility, since she is the most well-known and visible Asian American in the media today.

In 2001, Liu was the spokesperson for the Lee National Denim Day fundraiser which raises millions of dollars for breast cancer research and education.

[edit] Trivia

Liu originally auditioned for the role of 'Nelle Porter' (played by Portia de Rossi) on "Ally McBeal". The character "Ling Woo" was later created for her in the TV series.
Liu has a tattoo of a tiger on her lower back.
Liu is mentioned in the OutKast song Hey Ya!.
Liu plays the characters of her own head and Fry's girlbot in Futurama.
Liu starred in Film4's "Film4 is free" advertising campaign as an airplane pilot.
Throughout his album Pimps Don't Pay Taxes, rapper J-Zone makes several references to Liu, with whom he was infatuated at the time.
Liu and Bill Murray have refused to work with each other after a tense relationship on the set of Charlie's Angels.
Liu is the first (and only) Asian-American woman to host Saturday Night Live.
Liu bought into a Mexican restaurant franchise with actor Timothy Hutton.