Lucy Liu

Background

Lucy Liu was born on December 2, 1968, in Jackson Heights, Queens. She is the third of three children born to Tom Liu, a civil engineer who sold digital clock pens, and Cecilia Liu, a biochemist. Liu’s parents were born in Beijing and Shanghai and met in New York as adults. Her siblings are John, her older brother, and Jenny, her older sister. After attending Joseph Pulitzer Middle School, she graduated from Stuyvesant High School. She continued her education at New York University before moving to the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, where she was a Chi Omega sorority member. She has a bachelor’s degree in Asian languages and cultures.

At 19, Liu was discovered by an agency while riding the metro. She was only in one commercial. Her career began with a few appearances in film and television. In 1992, she made her big-screen debut in the Hong Kong blockbuster “Rhythm of Destiny.” In 2001, Liu was the face of the Lee National Denim Day campaign, which raised cash for breast cancer research and education. In 2004, Liu was named an ambassador for the United States Fund for UNICEF.

In March 2010, Liu made her Broadway debut as Annette in the second replacement cast of Jeff Daniels, Janet McTeer, and Dylan Baker in the Tony Award-winning play “God of Carnage.” When she was cast in “Elementary” in March 2012, she played Joan Watson. She was nominated for the People’s Choice Award for ‘Favorite T.V. Crime Drama Actress’ three times in a row for her depiction of Watson. Liu directed six episodes of “Elementary,” one episode of “Graceland,” the “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” episode “Dearly Beloved,” and the second-season premiere of “Luke Cage.” In April 2021, she was featured as the villain in the superhero film “Shazam! Fury of the Gods.” Liu is a single parent. Rockwell, her son, was born in 2015 through gestational surrogacy.