Lucy Liu was born in on December 2, 1968, in theJackson Heights neighborhood of Queens, New York City.[3][4] In high school, she adopted a middle name, Alexis.[5] She is the youngest of three children. Her mother, Cecilia, worked as abiochemist, and her father, Tom Liu, was acivil engineer who also sold digital clock pens.[6] Liu's parents originally came fromBeijing andShanghai and immigrated toTaiwan as adults before meeting in New York.[6][7][8] She has an older brother, John,[9][10][11][12] and an older sister, Jenny.[13] Her parents had many jobs while Lucy and her siblings were growing up.[14]
Liu became interested in acting as a child, after hearing about someone her own age who had been in a television commercial.[18] At the age of 19 she was discovered by an agent while traveling on the subway, and appeared in one commercial as a result.[19] As a member of the Basement Arts student-run theater group,[20] she auditioned in 1989 for the University of Michigan's production ofAlice in Wonderland during her senior year of college. Although she had originally tried out for only a supporting role,[21] Liu was cast in the lead. While in line to audition for the musicalMiss Saigon in 1990, she toldThe New York Times, "There aren't many Asian roles, and it's very difficult to get your foot in the door."[22] In May 1992, Liu made her New York stage debut inFairy Bones, directed byTina Chen.[23]
Liu had small roles in films and TV, marking her debut. In 1992, she made her big-screen debut in the Hong Kong filmRhythm of Destiny, which starredDanny Lee andAaron Kwok.[24] In 1993, she appeared in an episode ofL.A. Law as a Chinese widow giving her evidence in Mandarin.[25] Liu co-starred on theRhea Perlman sitcomPearl, which lasted one season. She appeared inThe X-Files (Season 3, Episode 19 "Hell Money") as well. Shortly after the end ofPearl's run in 1997, Liu was cast in a role onAlly McBeal. Liu originally auditioned for the role of Nelle Porter (played byPortia de Rossi), and the characterLing 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 aPrimetime Emmy Award[26] nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series and aScreen Actors Guild Award nomination for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series.[21]
Liu speaking at the USAID Human Trafficking Symposium in September 2009
In 2000, Liu starred inCharlie's Angels along withDrew Barrymore andCameron Diaz. In 2001, Liu was the spokeswoman for theLee National Denim Day fundraiser, which raises money for breast cancer research and education.[27] In 2004 Liu was appointed an ambassador forU.S. Fund for UNICEF.[28] She traveled to Pakistan andLesotho, among several other countries.[21] In 2002, Liu played Rita Foster inVincenzo Natali'sBrainstorm. She appeared as O-Ren Ishii inQuentin Tarantino's 2003 film,Kill Bill. While in negotiations forKill Bill with Tarantino the two joined to help produce theHungarian sports documentaryFreedom's Fury.[29] She won anMTV Award for Best Movie Villain for her part inKill Bill. Subsequently, Liu appeared on several episodes ofJoey withMatt LeBlanc, who played her love interest in theCharlie's Angels films. She also had minor roles as Kitty Baxter in the filmChicago and as a psychologist oppositeKeira Knightley in the thrillerDomino. InLucky Number Slevin, she played the leading love interest toJosh Hartnett.3 Needles was released on December 1, 2006, Liu portrayed Jin Ping, anHIV-positive Chinese woman.[30]
Liu had previously presented her artwork under her Chinese name, Yu Ling.[6][31] Liu, who is an artist in several media, has had several gallery shows showcasing hercollage, paintings, and photography.[32] She began doing collage mixed media when she was 16 years old, and became a photographer and painter.[33] Liu attended the New York Studio School for drawing, painting, and sculpture from 2004 to 2006.[34] In September 2006, Liu held an art show and donated her share of the profits toUNICEF.[33][35] She also had another show in 2008 inMunich. 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.[34] Liu has stated that she donated her share of the profits from the NYC Milk Gallery gallery show to UNICEF.[36] In London, a portion of the proceeds from her bookSeventy Two went to UNICEF.[28]
Early in 2006, Liu received an "Asian Excellence Award" forVisibility.[37] She also hosted an MTV documentary,Traffic, for theMTV EXIT campaign in 2007. In 2008, she produced and narrated the short filmThe Road to Traffik, about the Cambodian author and human rights advocateSomaly 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 filmRedlight.[38][39]
In March 2012, she was cast as Joan Watson forElementary.[46]Elementary is an AmericanSherlock Holmes adaptation, and the role Liu was offered is traditionally played by men.[47] She has gained praise for her role as Watson, including three consecutive nominations for thePeople's Choice Awards for Favorite TV Crime Drama Actress. She also has played police officer Jessica Tang onSouthland, a television show focusing on the lives of police officers and detectives in Los Angeles, as a recurring guest actor during the fourth season.[48] She received the Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Drama Guest Actress for this role.[49] Liu's other directorial credits include 6 episodes ofElementary, an episode ofGraceland,[50] the episode "Dearly Beloved" ofLaw & Order: Special Victims Unit, and thesecond-season premiere ofLuke Cage.[51]
In August 2011, Liu became a narrator for the musical groupThe Bullitts.[52][53] In 2013, Liu was invited to become a member of theAcademy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.[54] 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 thrillerFuture World, directed byJames Franco and Bruce Thierry Cheung.[55] Her first national museum exhibition was held at theNational Museum of Singapore in early 2019[56] and was titled "Unhomed Belongings."[57]
In 2019, she played houselite Simone Grove in the first season of the CBS seriesWhy Women Kill.
In 2025, Liu starred in and producedRosemead as a mother diagnosed with a terminal illness who has a troubled child.[61][62] It had its world premiere at theTribeca Festival in June 2025.[63] Liu will next star and executive produceSuperfakes forPeacock.[64]
Liu has beenvegetarian since childhood.[65][66] Liu has studied various religions, mainlyBuddhism andTaoism, and brieflyKabbalah. She has stated, "I'm into all things spiritual—anything to do withmeditation or chants or any of that stuff. I studied Chinese philosophy in school. There's something in themetaphysical that I find very fascinating."[16] She has been a member of the Chinese-American organizationCommittee of 100 since 2004.[67]
She has a son, Rockwell, who was born in 2015 viagestational surrogate.[68][69] 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."[70] She has decided to raise him as asingle parent.[71] She was involved in Tylenol's #HowWeFamilyMother's Day Campaign, which celebrated non-traditional families.[72]
^Minn, Tammy (November 2012). "Smart & Savvy Lucy Liu".Inland Empire Magazine. p. 88.The youngest of three children born toTaiwanese immigrants, Liu was born in Queens, New York and attended public schools.
^"Before You Graduate The Basement await".e-TrueBlue: Seniors, The e-newsletter for U-M seniors. Alumni Association – University of Michigan. February 20, 2003.Archived from the original on April 13, 2014. RetrievedMay 22, 2013.
^Frontline Newsletter. Fall 2001. "Actress Lucy Liu (Ling Woo—TV's Ally McBeal), served as spokeswoman for the 2001 Lee National Denim Day®, the world's largest single-day fundraiser for breast cancer. The one-day event was not just about raising funds, though—it was also about raising awareness."
^ab"UNICEF".Archived from the original on April 13, 2014. RetrievedFebruary 1, 2013.
^Lucy Liu (November 26, 2007).Traffic: An MTV EXIT Special presented by Lucy Liu — Part 1.Hulu.Archived from the original on December 11, 2021. RetrievedJuly 18, 2012.MTV EXIT Documentary presented by Lucy Liu to raise awareness of human trafficking. Log on to www.mtvexit.org for more information. This program is produced rights-free and can be used by any broadcaster, website, organisation, or individual.
^"Latest Academy News". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. September 10, 2014.Archived from the original on July 1, 2013. RetrievedAugust 14, 2013.
^abcdefghijklmnopqrstuv"Lucy Liu (visual voices guide)". Behind The Voice Actors. RetrievedJune 5, 2024. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its opening credits, closing credits or other reliable sources of information.
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