Having previously appeared in supporting roles in several films and as a regular on the CBS sitcom “Pearl” (1996-97), actress Lucy Liu skyrocketed to popularity in 1998 as the malicious Ling Woo on “Ally McBeal” (Fox, 1997-2002). David E Kelley, who originally auditioned her for the role of Nelle Porter (later played by Portia de Rossi), wrote the popular character for Liu, whose fiery performance in her first episode soon eventually led to a regular role. During her run on the series, Liu’s scene-stealing portrayal earned many fans and a share of the 1998 SAG Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series.
Before making her name on “Ally McBeal,†Liu could be seen frequently in guest appearances on television, including a 1991 stint as a waitress on “Beverly Hills, 90210″ (Fox). One of her more memorable turns came with a recurring part in 1995 as a woman whose young son was suffering from complications of AIDS on NBC’s medical drama “ER”. Additionally, Liu portrayed the self-hating girlfriend of Luke Perry’s Los Angeles police officer in “Riot”, a 1997 Showtime movie dramatizing different stories in 1992′s racially charged Los Angeles riots.
Liu’s up and coming film career began with a bit part in the 1996 hit “Jerry Maguire”. The following year, she played an exotic dancer in the Harvey Keitel actioner “City of Industry”. (The dedicated actress prepared for this role by performing for over a month in a Los Angeles strip club.) Had Liu not already come to the public’s attention on “Ally McBeal,” 1999′s “Payback” may have proven to be her breakthrough role. She starred as Pearl, a leather-clad dominatrix who proved so likable that the initial script was rewritten to afford her more screen time. That same year, Liu could be seen in a featured role in “Molly”, starring Elisabeth Shue as an autistic woman who becomes a genius and in “Play It to the Bone.” The following year, Liu portrayed a kidnapped Chinese princess in “Shanghai Noon” and displayed her martial arts expertise as one of “Charlie’s Angels.” The latter film provided a major boost to Liu’s public image, placing her in an on-screen pantheon of A-listers Drew Barrymore and Cameron Diaz. As famously as she got on with her female co-stars, Liu did have to contend with numerous media reports of serious friction between herself and comedian Bill Murray, who played Bosley in the film.
Following the phenomenal success of “Charlie’s Angels” in 2000, a wealth of exciting film roles fell into Liu’s lap. In addition to immediately signing up for the glitzy sequel to the hit franchise, Liu starred opposite Antonio Banderas in the little-seen sci-fi thriller “Ecks vs. Sever” in 2002. She also nabbed a part in the much anticipated film version of “Chicago” (2002), turning in a juicy if all-too-brief performance as murderess Kitty Baxter; In 2003, Lui reunited with Cameron Diaz and Drew Barrymore for the action-packed, eye-candy heavy “Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle.” The feature, again directed by McG, allowed Liu re-emphasized the ass-kicking style of female bonding the Angels trio–by then very close friends off-screen as well as on–demonstrated in the first film and in their media appearances together. Next, Liu got on board Quentin Tarantino’s long-awaited fourth feature “Kill Bill, Vol. 1″ (2003), in a bravura performance as Japanese-Chinese-American O-Ren Ishii, Queen of the Tokyo Underworld and leader of the Crazy 88 Fighters. Liu also enlivened the 2004-2005 first season of the “Friends” spin-off sitcom “Joey” by playing the compulsively clean TV producer Lauren Beck on several episodes.
- Also Credited As:
Lucy Alexis Liu, Tom Jones
- Born:
on 12/02/1967 in New York, New York
- Job Titles:
Actor, Artist, Aerobics instructor, Caterer
Significant Others
- Companion: Will McCormack.
- Companion: Zach Helm.
- Companion: Nicholas Lea. dated in 1997-98
Education
- New York University, New York, New York
Milestones
- 1989 Began acting career after auditioning for a part in a Univeristy of Michigan production of “Alice in Wonderland” during senior year; won the lead role although she had tried out for a supporting role assuming that as an Asian woman, she would never be cast as Alice (date approximate)
- 1991 Had an early television role on Fox’s “Beverly Hills, 90210″ as a waitress at the Peach Pit
- 1995 Gave a memorable and moving performance as a woman whose son is suffering from complications of AIDS in a recurring role on NBC’s “ER”
- 1996 Feature debut in a small part in “Jerry Maguire”
- 1997 Appeared as an exotic dancer in “City of Industry”, a role for which she prepared by performing for over a month in a Los Angeles strip club
- 1997 Played a racist self-loathing girlfriend to Luke Perry’s L.A. cop in a segment of “Riot”, Showtime’s episodic dramatization of 1992′s Los Angeles riots
- 1997 Was featured in the film “Gridlock’d”
- 1999 Appeared in “Molly”, a story of an autistic woman who becomes a genius through experimental treatments, starring Elisabeth Shue
- 1999 Had a featured role as a dominatrix in “Payback”
- 1999 Had featured role in “Play It to the Bone
- 2000 Portrayed Alex, one of “Charlie’s Angels” alongside Drew Barrymore and Cameron Diaz in the feature based on the 1970s TV series
- 2000 Portrayed a kidnapped Chinese princess in “Shanghai Noon”, starring Jackie Chan and Owen Wilson
- 2002 Appeared in small but vital role as murderess Kitty Baxter in “Chicago”
- 2002 Starred opposite Antonio Banderas in “Ecks vs. Sever”
- 2003 Played assassin Cottonmouth in Quentin Tarantino’s film “Kill Bill,” which was released in two Volumes “Kill Bill Vol. 1″ in 2003 and “Kill Bill Vol.2″ in 2004
- 2003 Signed to reprise role in “Charlie’s Angels 2: Full Throttle”
- 2004 Guest-starred in two episodes of “Joey” (NBC) as a tough-talking executive producer
- 2005 Portrayed a psychologist in “Domino” starring Keira Knightley as Domino Harvey, a model turned bounty hunter
- 2006 Played the girl next door opposite Josh Hartnett in the thriller, “Lucky Number Slevin”
- Appeared in TV commercials
- Raised in Queens, New York
- Set to star and executive produce in an updated version of “Charlie Chan,” which centers on the granddaughter of the fictional Chinese-American detective (lensed 2005)
- Was a regular on “Pearl” (CBS), playing college student Amy Li alongside Rhea Pearlman
- Was a regular on the popular Fox legal comedy “Ally McBeal” playing Ling Woo; garnered 1999 Emmy nomination; left show early in the 2001-2002 season (after four episodes) to pursue film career
