Lucy Alexis Liu

Lucy Alexis Liu (Chinese: 劉玉玲; pinyin: Liú Yùlíng; born December 2, 1968) is an American actress and film producer. She became known for playing the role of the vicious and ill-mannered Ling Woo in the television series Ally McBeal (1998–2002), and has also appeared in several Hollywood films including Charlie's Angels, Chicago, Kill Bill, and Kung Fu Panda.

Career

Liu began acting in 1989, after auditioning for a role in the University of Michigan's production of 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.[5] 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's 'feisty' Ling Woo secured Liu as a permanent cast member. It also earned her an 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.[5] Liu cemented her reputation playing bad girls by portraying "Pearl" the sadistic dominatrix/hitwoman for the Chinese mafia in the film Payback (1999).

Liu played Alex Munday in the 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 Rita Foster in Vincenzo Natali's Brainstorm (original title Cypher) in 2002. This was followed shortly after by her role as O-Ren Ishii, one of the major villains in Quentin Tarantino's 2003 film, Kill Bill. She won an MTV Award for "Best Movie Villain" for the part. Subsequently, Liu appeared on several episodes of Joey with Matt LeBlanc, who played her love interest in the Charlie's Angels films. She also had smaller roles as Kitty Baxter in the film Chicago, and as a psychologist opposite Keira Knightley in the thriller 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"), and a guest host on an episode of the NBC sketch show Saturday Night Live in 2000 (musical guest: Jay-Z).

Her film 3 Needles was released on December 1, 2006. In the film, she plays Jin Ping, an HIV-positive Taiwanese woman. Liu agreed to star in the film for lower than usual pay because she wanted to spread awareness about the way AIDS is improperly treated in China and Thailand.[10] Liu's other recent roles, which met with less success, but later gain cult followings among her fans, include Code Name: The Cleaner, an action comedy released January 5, 2007; Rise, a supernatural thriller co-starring Michael Chiklis in which Liu plays an undead reporter[7] (for which she was ranked number forty-one on "Top 50 Sexiest Vampires");[11] and Watching the Detectives, an independent romantic comedy co-starring Cillian Murphy. Liu has also signed on to star in a new version of Charlie Chan which has been in pre-production since 2000; she will produce both films.[5]

Liu has guest-starred as lawyer Grace Chin on Ugly Betty in the episodes "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 starred in the Sex and the City inspired TV show, Cashmere Mafia on ABC. In 2007, Empire magazine named her among the "100 Sexiest Movie Stars".[12]

In 2008, after pitching an interest in being part of the hit new show, Dirty Sexy Money, the producers immediately created a role for her as a series regular. She played the role of Nola Lyons, a powerful attorney that faced Nick George (played by Peter Krause).[13] She is the voice for Silvermist in Disney Fairies franchise. She also appeared in Kung Fu Panda, an animated film in which she voiced Viper.[5]

On March 2, 2010, Liu made her Broadway debut in the Tony Award-winning play God of Carnage playing Annette as part of the second replacement cast along side Jeff Daniels, Janet McTeer and Dylan Baker.[citation needed]

 Personal life

Liu speaking at the USAID Human Trafficking Symposium in September 2009In a Jane interview, she is quoted as 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''.[14][15]

With her parents' work ethic, Liu continued, "I'm always multi-tasking, doing 10 things at once". She speaks Mandarin Chinese and English natively, and "a little bit of Spanish, a tiny bit of Italian, a little bit of Japanese,"[12] for her role in Kill Bill.[5] She also rock climbs, practices martial arts, skis, and plays the accordion.

Liu is also an artist in several media, and has had three gallery shows showcasing her collage, paintings, and photography.[16] She started doing collage mixed media at 16 and then moved to photography and later painting.[17] Lucy Liu had an art show in September 2006 and she donated her share of the profits to UNICEF.[17][18] She also has another show in 2008 in Munich and has stated that she will also donate her share of the profits to UNICEF.[17]

In 2001, Liu was the spokesperson for the Lee National Denim Day fundraiser which raises millions of dollars for breast cancer research and education. In 2005, Liu was appointed a U.S. Fund for UNICEF Ambassador; in that capacity, she has traveled to Pakistan and Lesotho, among other countries.[5] She also hosted an MTV documentary for the MTV EXIT campaign in 2007, produced to raise awareness of human trafficking in Asia. Early in 2006, Liu received an "Asian Excellence Award" for Visibility.[citation needed] She is also the first Asian American woman to host Saturday Night Live.[citation needed]

Liu is a spokesperson in support for marriage equality for gays and lesbians.[19]

Liu has said about her background, "when you grow up Asian American it’s difficult because you don’t know if you’re Asian or you’re American. You get confused... You need to recognize where your background is from. I think it’s important. Just for yourself. It makes you more whole. It does."[5]

She lives with her brother and his wife in New York.[17]

[edit] Filmography

&nbsp 1992 Rhythm of Destiny Donna Hong Kong film 1993 Protozoa Ari 1995 Bang Hooker 1996 Jerry Maguire Former Girlfriend 1997 Flypaper Dot 1997 Riot Luke Perry's Girlfriend 1997 Gridlock'd Cee-Cee 1997 City of Industry Cathi Rose 1997 Guy Woman at newsstand 1998 Love Kills Kashi 1999 Payback Pearl 1999 True Crime Toy Shop Girl 1999 Molly Brenda 1999 The Mating Habits of the Earthbound Human Lydia 1999 Play It to the Bone Lia 2000 Shanghai Noon Princess Pei Pei Blockbuster Entertainment Award for Favorite Supporting Actress - Action 2000 Charlie's Angels Alex Munday Blockbuster Entertainment Award for Favorite Action Team MTV Movie Award for Best On-Screen Duo Nominated—MTV Movie Award for Best Dressed Nominated—Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress 2001 Hotel Kawikar 2002 Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever Agent Sever 2002 Cypher Rita Foster 2002 Chicago Kitty Baxter Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Cast Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture Nominated—Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Cast Nominated—Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie Hissy Fit 2003 Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle Alex Munday Nominated - MTV Movie Award for Best Dance Sequence 2003 Kill Bill: Vol. 1 O-Ren Ishii MTV Movie Award for Best Villain Nominated—Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress 2004 Mulan II Mei (voice) 2005 3 Needles Jin Ping, the Blood Smuggler 2005 Domino Taryn Mills 2006 Lucky Number Slevin Lindsey 2007 Code Name: The Cleaner Gina Also executive producer 2007 Rise: Blood Hunter Sadie Blake 2007 Watching the Detectives Violet 2008 Kung Fu Panda Master Viper (voice) 2008 The Year of Getting to Know Us Anne 2008 Tinker Bell Silvermist (voice) 2009 Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure Silvermist (voice) 2010 Tinker Bell and the Great Fairy Rescue Silvermist (voice) 2010 Nomads Susan 2011 East Fifth Bliss Andrea 2011 Detachment Dr. Parker 2011 Tinker Bell and the Pixie Hollow Games Silvermist (voice) 2011 Kung Fu Panda 2 Viper (voice) 2011 Someday This Pain Will Be Useful to You Hilda Temple Post-production 2012 Tinker Bell: Secret of the Wings Silvermist (voice) 2012 The Man with the Iron Fists Madame Blossom Filming

[edit] TelevisionYear Title Role Notes 1996–1997 Pearl Amy Li 1998–2002 Ally McBeal Ling Woo Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series Nominated—Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress – Comedy Series Nominated—NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series Nominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series Nominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series Nominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series 2004 Game Over Raquel Smashenburn 2004–2010 Maya and Miguel Maggie Lee Voice 2008 Ben & Izzy Yasmine Voice acted a major role in a non-American, children's production which was originally released in English. 2008 Cashmere Mafia Mia Mason 2008–2009 Dirty Sexy Money Nola Lyons 2009 Afro Samurai Resurrection Sio 2010 Marry Me Rae Carter Lifetime movie 2011 Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness Viper Voice 2012 Southland[20]

[edit] TV guest appearancesYear Title Role Notes 1991 Beverly Hills, 90210 Courtney 1993 L.A. Law Mai Lin 1994 Coach Nicole Wong 1994 Hotel Malibu Co-Worker 1995 Home Improvement Women #3 1995 Hercules: The Legendary Journeys Oi-Lan 1995 ER Mei-Sun Leow 1996 Nash Bridges Joy Powell 1996 The X Files Kim Hsin 1996 High Incident Officer Whin 1997 The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest Melana (voice) 1997 Michael Hayes Alice Woo 1997 Dellaventura Yuling Chong 1997 NYPD Blue Amy Chu 2000 MADtv Herself 2000 Saturday Night Live Herself - Host 2001 Sex and the City Herself 2002 King of the Hill Tid-Pao (voice) 2001–2002 Futurama Herself (voice) 2004 Jackie Chan Adventures Adult Jade (voice) 2004–2005 Joey Lauren Beck 2005 The Simpsons Madam Wu (voice) 2007 Ugly Betty Grace Chin 2010 Ni Hao, Kai-Lan Bear Queen

[edit] ProducerYear Title Role Notes 2006 Freedom's Fury Co-executive producer Documentary 2007 Code Name: The Cleaner Co-executive producer

[edit] Video GamesYear Title Role Notes 2001 SSX Tricky Elise Riggs 1.^ "Young Filmmaker - Lucy Liu" June 2008, American Government web site 2.^ Rose, Tiffany (2003-06-29). "Lucy Liu: The Q interview - Features, Films". London: The Independent. http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/features/lucy-liu-the-q-interview-542392.html. Retrieved 2010-07-06. 3.^ "The Asian Faces of Hollywood " MTVAsia.com Blog". Blog.mtvasia.com. 2009-10-27. http://blog.mtvasia.com/2009/10/27/the-asian-faces-of-hollywood/. Retrieved 2010-07-06. 4.^ "Lucy Liu - an agent of change". London: Independent.co.uk. 2008-06-27. http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/features/lucy-liu--an-agent-of-change-855072.html. Retrieved 2010-03-08. 5.^ a b c d e f g h i j k Roberts, Sheila (2006-12-21). "Lucy Liu Interview, CodeName The Cleaner". Movies Online. Archived from the original on 2007-01-06. http://web.archive.org/web/20070106023037/http://www.moviesonline.ca/movienews_10807.html. Retrieved 2006-12-21. 6.^ Talmadge, Eric (2008-07-15). "Liu says `Kung Fu Panda' is an improv adventure". Seattle Times. http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/entertainment/2008052078_appeopleliu.html. Retrieved 2010-07-06. 7.^ a b Radish, Christina (2006-12-06). "Lucy Liu and Shawn Ashmore Talk about "3 Needles"". MediaBlvd Magazine. http://www.mediablvd.com/magazine/the_news/celebrity/lucy_liu_and_shawn_ashmore_talk_about_%273_needles%27_20061206319.html. Retrieved 2006-12-21. 8.^ "Lucy Liu Biography (1968-)". Filmreference.com. http://www.filmreference.com/film/75/Lucy-Liu.html. Retrieved 2010-03-08. 9.^ Ogunnaike, Lola (2003-10-13). "The Perks and Pitfalls Of a Ruthless-Killer Role; Lucy Liu Boosts the Body Count in New Film". The New York Times. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9906E5D7133FF930A25753C1A9659C8B63. Retrieved 2007-11-01. 10.^ "Liu Shocked by Ridiculous Chinese AIDS 'Cures'". Contact Music. 2006-11-29. http://www.contactmusic.com/news.nsf/article/liu%20shocked%20by%20ridiculous%20chinese%20aids%20cures_1014964. Retrieved 2006-11-29. 11.^ "Latest Men's Lifestyle Stories". UGO.com. http://www.ugo.com/lifestyle/sexy-vampires/?cur=sadie-blake&morepics=1. Retrieved 2010-05-21. 12.^ a b "EimpireOnline.com EmpireOnline.com, 100 Sexiest Movie Stars". Empireonline.com. http://www.empireonline.com/100sexiest/default.asp?star=96. Retrieved 2010-03-08. 13.^ "Lucy Liu Talks Dirty". AsianWeek. Retrieved on 2008-09-08. 14.^ "How many times do I have to kiss a woman before I'm gay?". Jane Magazine. October 2003. http://www.clublez.com/movies/lesbian_celebrities/tidbits/lucy_liu.htm. Retrieved 2006-11-29. 15.^ Belge, Kathy. "Lucy Liu". Lesbian Life at About.com. http://lesbianlife.about.com/cs/famouslesbians/p/LucyLiu.htm. Retrieved 2006-11-29. 16.^ Tucker, Reed (2006-05-01). "Painting By Numbers With Lucy Liu". Esquire. http://www.keepmedia.com/pubs/Esquire/2006/05/01/1409095?extID=10037&oliID=229. Retrieved 2006-12-06. 17.^ a b c d Live with Regis and Kelly. First aired on January 21, 2008. 18.^ "Auction of Lucy Liu’s Artwork Raises More Than $330,000, October 17, 2006.". Mcmurry.com. http://www.mcmurry.com/about/about_news_release.asp?contentid=4741. Retrieved 2010-03-08. 19.^ [1] Lucy Liu 20.^ Southland scores Lucy Liu for Season 4 [edit] External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Lucy Liu

Lucy Liu at the Internet Movie Database Lucy Liu's Interview on Playboy [show]v ·d ·eMTV Movie Award for Best Villain Rebecca De Mornay (1992) ·Jennifer Jason Leigh (1993) ·Alicia Silverstone (1994) ·Dennis Hopper (1995) ·Kevin Spacey (1996) ·Jim Carrey (1997) ·Mike Myers (1998) ·Matt Dillon / Stephen Dorff (1999) ·Mike Myers (2000) ·Jim Carrey (2001) ·Denzel Washington (2002) ·Daveigh Chase (2003) ·Lucy Liu (2004) ·Ben Stiller (2005) ·Hayden Christensen (2006) ·Jack Nicholson (2007) ·Johnny Depp (2008) ·Heath Ledger (2009) ·Tom Felton (2010) ·Tom Felton (2011) Persondata Name Liu, Lucy Alternative names Short description Date of birth 1968-12-02 Place of birth Queens, New York, USA Date of death Place of death Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Lucy_Liu&oldid=466118747" View page ratingsRate this page Rate this page Page ratings What's this?Current average ratings. Trustworthy Objective Complete Well-written I am highly knowledgeable about this topic (optional) I have a relevant college/university degreeIt is part of my professionIt is a deep personal passionThe source of my knowledge is not listed here I would like to help improve Wikipedia, send me an e-mail (optional) We will send you a confirmation e-mail. We will not share your e-mail address with outside parties as per our feedback privacy statement.Submit ratings Saved successfullyYour ratings have not been submitted yetYour ratings have expiredPlease reevaluate this page and submit new ratings. An error has occured. Please try again later. Thanks! Your ratings have been saved.Please take a moment to complete a short survey.Start surveyMaybe later Thanks! Your ratings have been saved.Do you want to create an account?An account will help you track your edits, get involved in discussions, and be a part of the community.Create an accountorLog inMaybe later Thanks! Your ratings have been saved.Did you know that you can edit this page?Edit this pageMaybe later Categories: 1968 birthsLiving people20th-century actors21st-century actorsActors from New York CityAmerican actors of Chinese descentAmerican film actorsAmerican film producersAmerican people of Taiwanese descentAmerican television actorsAmerican voice actorsNew York University alumniPeople from Jackson Heights, QueensOutstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture Screen Actors Guild Award winnersOutstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series Screen Actors Guild Award winnersStuyvesant High School alumniUniversity of Michigan alumniHidden categories: Wikipedia indefinitely move-protected pagesBLP articles lacking sources from January 2010Articles lacking reliable references from January 2010All articles needing additional referencesArticles containing Chinese language textArticles containing traditional Chinese language textArticles containing simplified Chinese language textAll articles with unsourced statementsArticles with unsourced statements from November 2010Persondata templates without short description parameter

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