lucy liu

Lucy Liu. Best known to television audiences as Ling Woo, the raging force of political incorrectness on Ally McBeal, Lucy Alexis Liu has managed to cross over to the big screen in such features as Payback and Play It to the Bone.
Born to Chinese parents in Jackson Heights, NY on December 2, 1968, Liu grew up speaking both English and Mandarin. After graduating from Brooklyn's Stuyvesant High School, she earned a degree in Asian languages and cultures from the University of Michigan, where she also studied acting, dance, and voice. Liu's first professional job was playing a waitress on Beverly Hills 90210, something that led to more substantial work on various TV shows, including a regular part on the TV series Pearl.

Liu's biggest breakthrough came in 1998, when she was cast as Ling Woo on Ally McBeal. She had originally auditioned for the role of Nelle Porter, which ultimately went to Australian actress Portia DeRossi. David E. Kelley, the show's producer, was so impressed with Liu's audition, however, that he created the role of Ling Woo specifically for her. The character was initially supposed to be included on only a few episodes, but proved so popular with the show's audience that Liu was made into a regular cast member.

Unsurprisingly, the actress' increased exposure led to greater opportunities on the screen and after playing supporting roles in such films as Payback and Molly (both 1999), she moved on to more substantial work in Play It to the Bone and the Jackie Chan \\martial arts period \\comedy Shanghai Noon, which cast her as a princess who has been kidnapped from her emperor father. In 2000, she also was cast in perhaps her most high-profile role to date, when she was chosen alongside Drew Barrymore and Cameron Diaz as one of the titular crime fighters in Charlie's Angels: The Movie.

Lucy Alexis Liu (her early television and movie credits show all three names) first walked the boards as the lead in a university stage production of Alice in Wonderland. Already a bright scholar and talented artist, acting then was merely something else which Liu could do well. It turned, though, into much more. Born in Queens, New York, the daughter of professional-forced-to-turn-blue-collar Chinese immigrants, a very young Liu focussed on education. Her high school was one which required an entrance exam, and her University of Michigan degree in Asian Languages and Cultures came with honours. An art grant took her to China, and the American’s multi-media collage of her Asian experience was exhibited in California. (A previous Liu exhibition, Unraveling, had shown in New York).

The Asian experience also included a movie credit – Rhythm of Destiny (Hong Kong, 1992) was the 24 year old Liu’s first big screen work, after three years of acting lessons, martial arts training, odd jobs, television work -- Coach (1989), Beverly Hills 90210 (1990), Home Improvement (1991) -- and stage work with the Pan Asian Repertory Theatre and, later, the Met Theatre Development Ensemble – Numb, Redwood Curtain, M. Butterfly, Fairy Bones, Hair, The Inspector General, Jesus Christ Superstar. Steady roles before the camera followed. There were films -- Hercules, the Legendary Journeys (1995), Bang (1995), Guy (1996) Jerry McGuire (1996), Riot in the Streets (1997), Flypaper (1997), and City of Industry (1997) -- and television – X-Files (1993), ER (1994), NYPD Blue (1996), LA Law (1996), Pearl (1996), and Michael Hayes (1997).

Then came Ally McBeal (1997 to present). Liu originally read, unsuccessfully, for the part of Nelle Porter, and, instead, inspired the creation of Ling Woo. Audiences were fascinated with Liu’s “razor-edged” portrayal of the stunningly blunt and beautiful lawyer, and a single-episode guest became a series regular. An Emmy nomination, and shared Screen Actors Guild award showed that critics and audiences agreed. Liu “awarded” herself a gruelling work schedule. The actor churned out, in 1999 alone, Molly, True Crime, Payback, The Mating Habits of the Earthbound Human, Play It To The Bone, Love Kills, Rescue Me, and Gridlock’d. In 2000, Liu accepted an Ammy (Asian-American film award) for Shanghai Noon, then was propelled to glam-goddess superstardom in Charlie’s Angels, with its resulting action-figure immortality, Revlon contract, and Saturday Night Live guest host spot (TV, 2000).

Upcoming is an almost-certain Charlie’s Angels sequel, for which Liu is currently being lavishly courted (according to eager industry headlines). And there is no end in sight for the popular Ally McBeal series and its own ungentle angel. Now, what have we forgotten? Liu is said to be a fearless athlete: a master of martial arts who risks life and limb snowboarding, skiing, and climbing mountains. She is a visual artist who continues to work with photographs and mixed-media; she speaks fluent Mandarin; she plays the accordion (yes, the accordion) with reported aplomb. No wonder webfans call her “the most electrifying woman in mainstream entertainment.” Who could argue? Who could keep up?

Charlie's Angels (2000)
Play It to the Bone (2000)
Shanghai Noon (2000)
Love Kills (1999)
The Mating Habits of the Earthbound Humans (1999)
Molly (1999)
Payback (1999)
Play It to the Bone (1999)
Flypaper (1997)

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