Lucy Alexis Liu (born December 2, 1968) is an
American actress. She became known for her role in the television series
Ally McBeal (1998–2002) as the vicious and ill mannered
Ling Woo, and has also appeared in several notable film roles, including
Charlie's Angels,
Kill Bill and
Kung Fu Panda.
Early life
Lucy Liu was born and was raised with her brother, John Liu, in
Jackson Heights, Queens,
New York by
Taiwanese immigrant parents.
[www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/features/lucy-liu--an-agent-of-change-855072.html] Liu has said that she grew up in a "diverse" neighborhood.
Her family spoke
Mandarin at home and she did not learn
English until she was five years old.
Her father, Tom, was a
civil engineer and her mother, Cecilia, a
biochemist,
[Lucy Liu Biography (1968-)] but they sacrificed those careers in Taiwan to come to the United States. Liu, at her parents' insistence, devoted her spare time to studying. She attended the Joseph Pulitzer Middle School (I.S.145) 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.
At one point, Liu worked as a
waitress in Michigan.
