Lucy Alexis Liu () (born Lucy Liu; December 2, 1968) is an American actress, producer, and artist. Regarded as a Hollywood icon and a trailblazer for Asian American representation in Hollywood, she is the recipient of numerous accolades, including two Critics' Choice Awards, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, and nominations for two Primetime Emmy Awards. A prominent sex symbol in the late 1990s and early 2000s, she has been recognized for shifting Western mainstream beauty standards. In 2019, Liu became the second Chinese American woman to be honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Liu had her breakthrough role as Ling Woo in the Fox legal comedy-drama series Ally McBeal (1998–2002). She received further recognition for starring in the action comedy film Charlie's Angels (2000) and its sequel Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle (2003), and the martial arts action film Kill Bill: Volume 1 (2003) and its sequel Kill Bill: Volume 2 (2004). She also starred in the films Payback (1999), Shanghai Noon (2000), Chicago (2002), Lucky Number Slevin (2006), Watching the Detectives (2007), The Man with the Iron Fists (2012), Set It Up (2018), Shazam! Fury of the Gods (2023), and Presence (2024). In 2025, she received renewed critical attention for her performance in the psychological drama Rosemead.
Liu starred as Dr. Joan Watson in the CBS crime drama series Elementary (2012–2019) and Simone Grove in Why Women Kill (2019). She also voiced Master Viper in the first three films of the Kung Fu Panda franchise (2008–2016) and Silvermist in the Tinker Bell series (2008–2015). Her other voice credits include the children's series Maya & Miguel (2004–2007) on PBS Kids, the animated films Mulan II (2004) and Strange World (2022), as well as the English and Mandarin-dubbed versions of the animated films The Tale of the Princess Kaguya (2013) and Magic Wonderland (2014).
Early life and education
thumb|upright=0.85|Liu as a high school senior in 1986
Lucy Liu was born in on December 2, 1968, in the Jackson Heights neighborhood of Queens, New York City. In high school, she adopted a middle name, Alexis. She is the youngest of three children. Her mother, Cecilia, worked as a biochemist, and her father, Tom Liu, was a civil engineer who also sold digital clock pens. Liu's parents originally came from Beijing and Shanghai and immigrated to Taiwan as adults before meeting in New York. She has an older brother, John, and an older sister, Jenny. Her parents had many jobs while Lucy and her siblings were growing up.
Liu has stated that she grew up in a diverse neighborhood. She learned to speak Mandarin at home and began studying English when she was five. She studied the martial art kali-eskrima-silat as a hobby when she was young. Liu attended Joseph Pulitzer Middle School (I.S.145), and graduated from Stuyvesant High School. She entered New York University before transferring to the University of Michigan, where she was a member of the Chi Omega sorority and graduated in 1990 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Asian languages and cultures.
Career
1990s: Beginnings and Ally McBeal
Liu became interested in acting as a child, after hearing about someone her own age who had been in a television commercial. At the age of 19 she was discovered by an agent while traveling on the subway, and appeared in one commercial as a result. As a member of the Basement Arts student-run theater group, she auditioned in 1989 for the University of Michigan's production of Alice in Wonderland during her senior year of college. Although she had originally tried out for only a supporting role, Liu was cast in the lead. While in line to audition for the musical Miss Saigon in 1990, she told The New York Times, "There aren't many Asian roles, and it's very difficult to get your foot in the door." In May 1992, Liu made her New York stage debut in Fairy Bones, directed by Tina Chen.
Liu had small roles in films and TV, marking her debut. In 1992, she made her big-screen debut in the Hong Kong film Rhythm of Destiny, which starred Danny Lee and Aaron Kwok. In 1993, she appeared in an episode of L.A. Law as a Chinese widow giving her evidence in Mandarin. Liu co-starred on the Rhea Perlman sitcom Pearl, which lasted one season. She appeared in The X-Files (Season 3, Episode 19 "Hell Money") as well. Shortly after the end of Pearl's run in 1997, Liu was cast in 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 temporary, but high audience ratings secured Liu as a permanent cast member. Additionally, she earned a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series and a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series. In 2004 Liu was appointed an ambassador for U.S. Fund for UNICEF. She traveled to Pakistan and Lesotho, among several other countries. She won an MTV Award for Best Movie Villain for her part in Kill Bill. 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 minor roles as Kitty Baxter in the film Chicago and as a psychologist opposite Keira Knightley in the thriller Domino. In Lucky Number Slevin, she played the leading love interest to Josh Hartnett. 3 Needles was released on December 1, 2006, Liu portrayed Jin Ping, an HIV-positive Chinese woman.
Liu had previously presented her artwork under her Chinese name, Yu Ling. Liu, who is an artist in several media, has had several gallery shows showcasing her collage, paintings, and photography. She began doing collage mixed media when she was 16 years old, and became a photographer and painter. Liu attended the New York Studio School for drawing, painting, and sculpture from 2004 to 2006. In September 2006, Liu held an art show and donated her share of the profits to UNICEF. She also had another show in 2008 in Munich. Her painting, "Escape", was incorporated into Montblanc's Cutting Edge Art Collection and was shown during Art Basel Miami 2008, which showed works by contemporary American artists. In London, a portion of the proceeds from her book Seventy Two went to UNICEF. She also hosted an MTV documentary, Traffic, for the MTV EXIT campaign in 2007. In 2008, she produced and narrated the short film The Road to Traffik, about the Cambodian author and human rights advocate Somaly Mam. The film was directed by Kerry Girvin and co-produced by photographer Norman Jean Roy. This led to a partnership with producers on the documentary film Redlight.
In 2007, Liu appeared in Code Name: The Cleaner; Rise: Blood Hunter, a supernatural thriller co-starring Michael Chiklis in which Liu plays an undead reporter and Watching the Detectives, an independent romantic comedy co-starring Cillian Murphy. She also planned to make her producing debut and star in a remake of Charlie Chan, which had been planned as early as 2000. The producers of Dirty Sexy Money created a role for Liu as a series regular. Liu played Nola Lyons, a powerful attorney who faced Nick George (Peter Krause). Liu voiced Silvermist in Disney Fairies and Viper in Kung Fu Panda. Liu is a supporter of marriage equality for same-sex marriage, and became a spokeswoman for the Human Rights Campaign in 2011. She has teamed up with Heinz to combat the widespread global health threat of iron deficiency anemia and vitamin and mineral malnutrition among infants and children in the developing world.
thumb|Liu at the 2012 [[San Diego Comic-Con]]
In March 2012, she was cast as Joan Watson for Elementary. Elementary is an American Sherlock Holmes adaptation, and the role Liu was offered is traditionally played by men. She has gained praise for her role as Watson, including three consecutive nominations for the People's Choice Awards for Favorite TV Crime Drama Actress. She also has played police officer Jessica Tang on Southland, a television show focusing on the lives of police officers and detectives in Los Angeles, as a recurring guest actor during the fourth season. She received the Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Drama Guest Actress for this role. Liu's other directorial credits include 6 episodes of Elementary, an episode of Graceland, the episode "Dearly Beloved" of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, and the second-season premiere of Luke Cage.
In August 2011, Liu became a narrator for the musical group The Bullitts. In 2013, Liu was invited to become a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Liu was named Harvard's 2016 Artist of the Year. She was awarded the Harvard Foundation's arts medal at the annual Harvard Foundation Award ceremony, during the Cultural Rhythms Festival in Sanders Theatre. She is also part of the cast in the post-apocalyptic thriller Future World, directed by James Franco and Bruce Thierry Cheung. Her first national museum exhibition was held at the National Museum of Singapore in early 2019 and was titled "Unhomed Belongings."
In 2019, she played houselite Simone Grove in the first season of the CBS series Why Women Kill.
2020s: Continued film roles
In April 2021, Liu was cast as the villainess Kalypso in the superhero film Shazam! Fury of the Gods. In 2022, she voiced the role of Callisto Mal in the Walt Disney Animation Studios film Strange World. In 2024, she starred in Steven Soderbergh's psychological thriller film Presence and Jake Kasdan's Christmas action comedy film Red One.
In 2025, Liu starred in and produced Rosemead as a mother diagnosed with a terminal illness who has a troubled child. It had its world premiere at the Tribeca Festival in June 2025. Liu will next star and executive produce Superfakes for Peacock.
Personal life
thumb|upright=0.8|Liu in 2025
Liu has been vegetarian since childhood. Liu has studied various religions, mainly Buddhism and Taoism, and briefly Kabbalah. She has stated, "I'm into all things spiritual—anything to do with meditation or chants or any of that stuff. I studied Chinese philosophy in school. There's something in the metaphysical that I find very fascinating."
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Liu has a son, Rockwell, who was born in 2015 via gestational surrogate. She has stated that surrogacy was the right option for her because, "I was working and I didn't know when I was going to be able to stop." She has decided to raise him as a single parent. She was involved in Tylenol's #HowWeFamily Mother's Day Campaign, which celebrated non-traditional families.
Performances and works
Film
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Role
! Notes
|-
| 1992
| Rhythm of Destiny
| Donna
|
|-
| 1993
| Protozoa
| Ari
| Short
|-
| 1995
| Bang
| Hooker
|
|-
| rowspan="2"|1996
| Guy
| Woman at Newsstand
|
|-
| Jerry Maguire
| Former Girlfriend
|
|-
| rowspan="2"|1997
| Gridlock'd
| Cee-Cee
|
|-
| City of Industry
| Cathi Rose
|
|-
| rowspan="2"|1998
| Flypaper
| Dot
|
|-
| Love Kills
| Kashi
|
|-
| rowspan="5"|1999
| Payback
| Pearl
|
|-
| True Crime
| Toy Shop Girl
|
|-
| Molly
| Brenda
|
|-
| '
| The Female's Friend (Lydia)
|
|-
| Play It to the Bone
| Lia
|
|-
| rowspan="2"|2000
| Shanghai Noon
| Princess Pei Pei
|
|-
| Charlie's Angels
| Alex Munday
|
|-
| 2001
| Hotel
| Kawika
|
|-
| rowspan="3"|2002
| Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever
| Agent Sever
|
|-
| Cypher
| Rita Foster
|
|-
| Chicago
| Kitty Baxter
|
|-
| rowspan="2"|2003
| Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle
| Alex Munday
|
|-
| Kill Bill: Volume 1
| rowspan="3" |O-Ren Ishii
|
|-
| rowspan="3"|2004
| Kill Bill: Volume 2
|
|-
| Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair<!-- Per source: -->
|
|-
| Mulan II
| Mei (voice)
| Video
|-
| rowspan="2"|2005
| 3 Needles
| Jin Ping
|
|-
| Domino
| Taryn Mills
|
|-
| 2006
| Lucky Number Slevin
| Lindsey
|
|-
| rowspan="3"|2007
| Code Name: The Cleaner
| Gina
|
|-
| Rise: Blood Hunter
| Sadie Blake
|
|-
| Watching the Detectives
| Violet
|
|-
| rowspan="3"|2008
| '
| Anne
|
|-
| Kung Fu Panda
| Master Viper (voice)
|
|-
|The Tiger's Apprentice
| Nu Kua/Cynthia (voice)
|
|-
| Old Guy
| Anata
|
|-
| Red One
| Zoe Harlow
|
|-
| 2025
| Rosemead
| Irene
| Also producer
|-
| 2026
| The Devil Wears Prada 2
| Sasha Barnes
|
|}
Talk Show Appearance
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Role
! Notes
|-
| 2026
| The View
| herself
| Episode: First Episode of 2026 Year
|}
Television
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Role
! Notes
|-
| 1991
| Beverly Hills, 90210
| Courtney
| Episode: "Pass, Not Pass"
|-
| 1993
| L.A. Law
| Mei Lin
| Episode: "Foreign Co-Respondent"
|-
| rowspan="2"|1994
| Hotel Malibu
| Co-Worker
| Episode: "Do Not Disturb"
|-
| Coach
| Nicole Wong
| Episode: "It Should Happen to You" & "Out of Control"
|-
| rowspan="3"|1995
| Home Improvement
| Woman #3
| Episode: "Bachelor of the Year"
|-
| Hercules: The Legendary Journeys
| Oi-Lan
| Episode: "The March to Freedom"
|-
| ER
| Mei-Sun Leow
| Recurring cast (season 2)
|-
| rowspan="3"|1996
| Nash Bridges
| Joy Powell
| Episode: "Genesis"
|-
| '
| Kim Hsin
| Episode: "Hell Money"
|-
| High Incident
| Officer Whin
| 2 episodes
|-
| 1996–1997
| Pearl
| Amy Li
| Main cast
|-
| rowspan="5"|1997
| '
| Melana (voice)
| 2 episodes
|-
| 2001
| Sex and the City
| Episode: "Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda"
|-
| 2001–2002
| Futurama
| Herself (voice)
| 2 episodes
|-
| rowspan="3"|2002
| Rank
| rowspan="2" | Herself
| Episode: "25 Toughest Stars"
|-
| VH-1 Behind the Movie
| Episode: "Chicago"
|-
| King of the Hill
| Tid Pao (voice)
| Episode: "Bad Girls, Bad Girls, Whatcha Gonna Do"
|-
| rowspan="2"|2003
| Biography
| rowspan="2" | Herself
| Episode: "Bernie Mac: TV's Family Man"
|-
| Bo' Selecta!
| Episode: "Episode #2.5"
|-
| rowspan="2"|2004
| Jackie Chan Adventures
| Adult Jade Chan (voice)
| Episode: "J2: Rise of the Dragons"
|-
| Game Over
| Raquel Smashenburn (voice)
| Main cast
|-
| 2004–2005
| Joey
| Lauren Beck
| Recurring cast (season 1)
|-
| 2004–2007
| Maya & Miguel
| Maggie Lee (voice)
| Recurring cast (season 1–5)
|-
| 2020
| A World of Calm
| Herself/Narrator (voice)
| Episode: "The Coral City"
|-
| rowspan="4"|2021
| Star Wars: Visions
| Bandit Leader (voice)
| Episode: "The Duel"
|-
|2025
|The Mighty Nein
|Empress Leylas Kryn (voice)
|3 episodes
|-
| TBA
| Superfakes
|
| Also executive producer
|}
Video games
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Voice role
|-
| 2001
| SSX Tricky
| Elise Riggs
|-
| 2022
| If You Have
|
|}
Director
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Notes
|-
| 2014
| Meena
| Short film
|-
| 2014–2019
| Elementary
| 7 episodes
|-
| 2015
| Graceland
| Episode: "Master of Weak Ties"
|-
| 2018
| Luke Cage
| Episode: "Soul Brother#1"
|-
| rowspan="2"|2019
| Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
| Episode: "Dearly Beloved"
|-
| Why Women Kill
| Episode: "Marriages Don't Break Up on Account of Murder - It's Just A Symptom That Something Else Is Wrong"
|-
| 2020
| New Amsterdam
| Episode: "Hiding Behind My Smile"
|-
| 2023
| American Born Chinese
| Episode: "Hot Stuff"
|}
Art exhibitions
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! class="unsortable" | Location
! class="unsortable" | Notes
|-
| 1993 || Unraveling || As Liu Yu-ling, Cast Iron Gallery, SoHo, New York, US || Collection of multimedia art pieces, photographs
|-
| 2006 || Antenna || Emotion Picture Gallery, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada || Incorporating paint and drawing into photographs. Seven pieces of which two new. March 5 to June 30.
|-
| 2007 || — || Art Basel Miami, Casa Tua in South Beach Miami, US as part of Montblanc's Cutting Edge Art Collection || Painting Escape, a black and white abstraction
|-
| 2008 || je suis. envois-moi || As Yu Ling, Six Friedrich Lisa Ungar, Munich, Germany || Six oil paintings, four prints and ten sculptures. Revenue was donated to UNICEF. May 8 to 31
|-
| 2010 || — || As Yu Ling. Painting included in the Bloomsbury Auctions 20th Century Art and Editions sale in New York, US || Painting
|-
| 2011 || Seventy Two || Salon Vert, London, UK || Personal canvases – hand-stitched and stuck with funny little found objects, pieces of rubbish
|-
| 2013 || Totem || The Popular Institute gallery, Manchester, UK || Series of work on linen, explores the fragility of the human form
|-
| 2019 ||Unhomed Belongings || National Museum of Singapore || First museum exhibit, included works by Shubigi Rao
|-
| 2023 ||what was || The New York Studio School, New York City, US || Collection of multimedia art pieces, acrylic on canvas, books and found objects
|}
Awards and nominations
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Year
! Award
! Category
! Nominated work
! Result
|-
| 1997
| rowspan=3|Screen Actors Guild Award
| rowspan=3|Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series
| rowspan=7| Ally McBeal
|
|-
| 1998
|
|-
| rowspan=4|1999
| rowspan=5
|-
| NAACP Image Award
| Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series
|-
| Primetime Emmy Award
| Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series
|-
|rowspan=2|Screen Actors Guild Award
| Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series
|-
| rowspan=2|2000
| Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series
|-
| rowspan=2|Blockbuster Entertainment Award
| Favorite Supporting Actress – Action
| Shanghai Noon
|rowspan=3
|-
| rowspan=4|2001
| Favorite Team
| rowspan=4|Charlie's Angels
|-
| rowspan=2|MTV Movie Award
| Best On-Screen Duo
|-
| Best Dressed
| rowspan=2
|-
| Saturn Award
| Best Supporting Actress
|-
| rowspan=5|2003
| Broadcast Film Critics Association Award
| Best Cast
| rowspan=4|Chicago
|
|-
| Phoenix Film Critics Society Award
| Best Cast
|
|-
| Screen Actors Guild Award
| Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
|
|-
| Teen Choice Award
| Choice Hissy Fit
| rowspan=2
|-
|rowspan=2|MTV Movie Award
| Best Dance Sequence
| Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle
|-
| rowspan=2|2004
| Best Villain
| rowspan=2|Kill Bill: Volume 1
|
|-
| Saturn Award
| Best Supporting Actress
| rowspan=2
|-
| 2011
| NAACP Image Award
| Outstanding Actress in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special
| Marry Me
|-
| 2012
| New York Women in Film & Television Muse Award
| Best Actress
| rowspan=4|Elementary
|
|-
| rowspan=5|2013
| Prism Awards
| Female Performance in a Drama Series Multi-Episode
|
|-
| Seoul International Drama Awards
| Best Actress
| rowspan=3
|-
| Teen Choice Awards
| Choice TV Actress: Action
|-
| Critics' Choice Television Award
| Best Guest Performer in a Drama Series
| rowspan=2|Southland
|-
| NAACP Image Award
| Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series|Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series
| rowspan=6
|-
| 2015
|rowspan=3|People's Choice Awards
|rowspan=3|Favorite TV Crime Drama Actress
| rowspan=3|Elementary
|-
| 2016
|-
| 2017
|-
| rowspan=2|2024
| Golden Raspberry Award
| Worst Supporting Actress
| Shazam! Fury of the Gods
|-
| Primetime Emmy Award
| Outstanding Emerging Media Program
| The Pirate Queen with Lucy Liu
|-
|style="text-align:center;" rowspan=1|2025
| 78th Locarno Film Festival
| Lifetime Achievement Award
| For her achievements during 28 years, she is honored with Lifetime Achievement Award.
|
|-
|}
See also
- Chinese Americans in New York City
References
External links
<!--Religious and LGBT categories are not to be used on biographies of living people unless they publicly self-identify with the label in question and it is relevant to their public lives-->