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Who Is Lucy Liu?
Lucy Liu is a distinguished actress who made her mainstream film debut in the critically acclaimed movie Jerry Maguire (1996), where she portrayed one of the many former girlfriends of Tom Cruise’s character. Her breakthrough role came with the hit television comedy Ally McBeal, which garnered her an Emmy Award nomination in 1999. Liu has since co-starred in several notable films, including Charlie’s Angels, Kill Bill, Chicago, and Half the Sky. In addition to her acting prowess, she is a talented visual artist. In 2012, Liu achieved renewed success with her role as Dr. Joan Watson in the modern adaptation of Sherlock Holmes, titled Elementary.
Early Career
Born on December 2, 1968, in Queens, New York, Lucy Alexis Liu is the daughter of Chinese immigrants. She attended the prestigious Stuyvesant High School in New York City and initially enrolled at New York University before transferring to the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. There, she studied Asian languages and culture, ultimately graduating with a bachelor’s degree in 1990.
During her senior year, Liu auditioned for a supporting role in a university production of Alice in Wonderland and unexpectedly secured the lead role of Alice, traditionally depicted as a blonde, blue-eyed character. This opportunity marked the official start of her acting career. Liu’s earliest screen appearance was in a minor role on the teen drama Beverly Hills, 90210 during the 1991-1992 season, where she played a waitress at the gang’s favorite hangout, the Peach Pit.
Over the following years, Liu appeared in several popular television shows, including Coach, The X-Files, and ER, and became part of the cast of the short-lived sitcom Pearl (1996-1997), starring Rhea Perlman. She made her mark in independent cinema with more substantial roles in films such as Guy (1996), Gridlock’d (1997), and City of Industry (1997), alongside Harvey Keitel.
Movies and TV Shows
Breakthrough Role on Ally McBeal
In 1998, Lucy Liu secured her breakthrough role after auditioning for the character of Nelle Porter, a new and formidable addition to the quirky law firm Cage and Fish in the acclaimed comedy Ally McBeal, created by David E. Kelley. Although Liu did not land the part, Kelley’s impression of her performance was so strong that he crafted a role specifically for her. Initially intended for a limited engagement, Liu’s incisive portrayal of Ling Woo received widespread acclaim, leading to her becoming a regular cast member. In recognition of her talent, Liu received an Emmy nomination in 1999 for Best Supporting Actress, significantly contributing to the show’s success, which won the Emmy for Best Comedy that same year.
On the big screen, Liu captured audience attention with her portrayal of a leather-clad dominatrix in the thriller Payback (1999), featuring Mel Gibson. Other films released that year, including the independent feature The Mating Habits of the Earthbound Human, Play It to the Bone with Woody Harrelson and Antonio Banderas, and Molly starring Elisabeth Shue, failed to achieve commercial success. However, Liu experienced a resurgence in 2000 with her role in the hit comedy Shanghai Noon, where she played a rebellious Chinese princess kidnapped and taken to America’s Wild West, ultimately rescued by bumbling heroes portrayed by Jackie Chan and Owen Wilson.
Charlie’s Angels
In early 2000, Liu landed one of Hollywood’s most sought-after roles as the third glamorous crime fighter in the big-screen adaptation of Aaron Spelling’s 1970s detective series Charlie’s Angels. The film, co-starring Cameron Diaz, Drew Barrymore, and Bill Murray—who Liu reportedly clashed with during filming—was released in November 2000 and achieved remarkable box office success, grossing over $260 million worldwide. A sequel, Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle, followed in the summer of 2003. Later that year, Liu starred as an assassin and Tokyo gang leader in Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill Vol. 1, and made a subsequent appearance in Vol. 2 the following year.
In addition to her acting career, Liu is a talented visual artist, frequently showcasing her mixed-media compositions in galleries across New York and Los Angeles. In 1994, she received a grant to study art in China, awarded based on an exhibition of her work at a gallery in Manhattan’s SoHo neighborhood.
Elementary
Throughout the early 2000s, Liu appeared in a range of projects, including films like Domino (2005), Watching the Detectives (2007), and The Year of Getting to Know Us (2008), while also lending her voice to animated features such as Kung Fu Panda and Tinker Bell (both 2008). At the end of the decade, Liu made her Broadway debut as a replacement cast member in Yasmina Reza’s play Gods of Carnage. She returned to martial arts-themed cinema in 2012 with The Man With the Iron Fists, directed by and starring hip-hop artist RZA alongside Russell Crowe.
Liu also appeared in series like Ugly Betty and the short-lived Cashmere Mafia, but she ultimately found another television success with Elementary, which premiered in 2012 and ran for seven seasons, concluding in 2019. The show reimagined the classic Sherlock Holmes narrative, with Liu portraying Dr. Joan Watson. Additionally, she directed several episodes of the series.
Personal Life
In August 2015, Liu announced the birth of her son, Rockwell Lloyd, through a gestational surrogate.