Who is Lucy Liu - Actress

Lucy was born and raised in Jackson Heights, Queens, New York by her Chinese immigrant parents. Her family spoke Mandarin at home and she did not learn English until she was five years old. She attended the Joseph Pulitzer Middle School and she graduated from New York City's prestigious Stuyvesant High School in 1986. She attended New York University for one year, before transferring to the University of Michigan where she joined the Chi Omega sorority and graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Asian Languages and Cultures.

Lucy had a number of roles in TV and film during the nineties but it was her role in Ally MacBeal that brought her to the public's attention closely followed by Charlie's Angels and Shanghai noon. Her other notable role was as O-Ren Ishii in the Kill Bill movies - she received an MTV award for "

As well as her acting career Lucy is an artist and has had three gallery shows showcasing her work. She has done a lot of charity work, for various organizations and was appointed a US Fund for UNICEF ambassador in 2005 where she travelled to Pakistan and Lesotho among other countries.

About her background, she has said "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."

Lucy lives with her brother and his wife in New York.

Find out more about Lucy

Lucy's most famous TV role was in Ally MacBeal from seasons 2-5. She has appeared in a number of other shows including ER, Joey and Ugly Betty.

Movies
Kung Fu Panda 2 (2011) Voice of Viper
Tinker Bell (2008), Voice of Silvermist
Kung Fu Panda (2008), Voice of Master Viper
Watching the Detectives (2008), Violet
Year of Getting to Know Us (2008), Anne
Code Name: The Cleaner (2007), Gina
Rise: Blood Hunter (2007), Sadie Blake
3 Needles (2006), Jin Ping
Lucky Number Slevin (2006), Lindsey
Domino (2005), CSI Taryn Miles
Kill Bill Vol. 2 (2004), O-Ren Ishii/ aka Cottonmouth
Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle (2003), Alex
Cypher (2003), Rita Foster
Hotel (2003), Kawika
Kill Bill Vol. 1 (2003), O-Ren Ishii/ Cottonmouth
Party Monster (2003), Alessandra
Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever (2002), Sever
Chicago (2002), Kitty Baxter
Charlie's Angels (2000), Alex
Shanghai Noon (2000), Princess Pei Pei
Molly (1999), Brenda
Payback (1999), Pearl
Play It to the Bone (1999), Lia
True Crime (1999), Toy Store Girl
The Mating Habits of the Earthbound Human (1999), The Female's Friend
Flypaper (1998)
Love Kills (1998)
City of Industry (1997), Exotic Dancer
Gridlock'd (1997), Cee-Cee
Guy (1997), Woman at Newstand
Jerry Maguire (1996), Former Girlfriend