In order to become the star she is today, Lucy Liu had to fight her way out of type-casting literally. Back in the days when she was still trying to break through, the aspiring actress realised the only way to move beyond the stereotyped roles she was being offered was to put her martial arts skills to use. "I was doing a lot of stuff on ER and NYPD Blue, playing the immigrant who gets washed ashore," recalls the actress.
"As I started progressing in my career I did this episode of Hercules where I went into the audition and I brought my sticks with me and showed them some of the tricks I could do they got really excited about it and I got the job." Her training in Kali Eskrima Silat, a form of Indonesian knife and stick fighting, obviously made quite an impression, because it wasn't long before the 5ft 3in actress carved out a niche as an action femme fatale of the small screen.
Then her growling portrayal of wrathful lawyer Ling Woo in the hit series Ally McBeal, brought her to the world's attention.
Lucy Liu's early years
© GettyShe was born into a family of Chinese immigrants in Queens, New York, on December 2, 1968. Her parents, a biochemist and a civil engineer, were anxious to bring her up the American way, and put her under no pressure to embrace Chinese culture.
Nonetheless, Lucy developed a passion for her ancestral heritage and, after graduating from high school, took a degree in Asian languages and culture at Michigan University. While working on her Mandarin, the diligent student also found time to take classes in dance, fine art and acting. And it was in these disciplines that the young performer would most distinguish herself.
But Lucy believes it is how she lives, rather than her choice of profession, that is most important. "I think that if I wasn't an actress, if I decided I wanted to go into hotel management, I would do that as ferociously as possible," says the petite beauty. "I love to live my life passionately I don't know how to be mediocre."
The "ferocity" she describes has shone through in movies like Ballistic and Kill Bill. Being Tinseltown's toughest temptress comes at a price, though, and Lucy has often bemoaned the scarcity of opportunities on the romantic front. "Men never ask me out on dates," she once admitted. "People get the impression that I am hard."
Lucy Liu's family life
© GettyIn June 2023, she met screenwriter Zach Helm and in April of the following year, the pair announced they were to marry - but called it quits before making it down the aisle.
These days, she prefers to keep her personal life private, but in the past, the actress has been linked to hedge-fund billionaire Noam Gottesman, as well as Will McCormack.
The actress welcomed a son named Rockwell via gestational surrogate in 2015, and is a proud single mom. In a recent interview, Lucy opened up about one of their favorite things to do at home together - ukulele lessons.
Discussing her experience of raising Rockwell as a single mom, Lucy previously told Mom.com: "We didn't create a traditional family that most people would say is 'the social norm,' but he never feels that he's without anything he needs."
The star said that her decision to go down the surrogacy route was due to her intense filming schedule. Shetold People: "It just seemed like the right option for me because I was working and I didn't know when I was going to be able to stop."
Lucy and Rockwell live in New York, and the star occasionally shares glimpses of her beautiful home with her fans on social media.
