Lucy Liu's Real Name: Lucy Alexis Liu

Quick answer: Lucy Liu's documented full name is Lucy Alexis Liu. She was born on December 2, 1968, in Queens, New York. She is an actress known for Ally McBeal, Charlie's Angels, Kill Bill, and the series Elementary (Biography.com).

Real name and early life

Biography.com gives her full name as Lucy Alexis Liu, born December 2, 1968, in Queens, New York. A Library of Congress CIP galley likewise records Lucy Alexis Liu, born December 2, 1968. The authorized heading is "Liu, Lucy, 1968-," with the variant "Liu, Lucy Alexis, 1968-." The daughter of Chinese immigrants, she attended Stuyvesant High School in New York City, Biography.com says. She enrolled at New York University, then transferred to the University of Michigan, where she studied Asian languages and culture and received a bachelor's degree in 1990. During her senior year she auditioned for a school production, work that helped turn her toward acting.

Career highlights

Early television appearances included a small role on Beverly Hills, 90210 and later parts on Coach, The X-Files, and ER, plus the sitcom Pearl (1996–97). Her mainstream film debut was a brief part in Jerry Maguire (1996). Her breakthrough came on Ally McBeal. Biography.com says she auditioned for the part of Nelle Porter and did not get it; creator David E. Kelley instead wrote the role of Ling Woo for her. Originally planned as a short stint, the character became a signature part and brought an Emmy nomination in 1999.

In 2000 she co-starred with Cameron Diaz and Drew Barrymore in the film Charlie's Angels, which Biography.com says took in more than $260 million worldwide. She later appeared in Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill and in the film Chicago. Other late-1990s credits included Payback (1999), with Mel Gibson. In 2012 she began a long run as Joan Watson on the CBS series Elementary, again finding a wide television audience. Biography.com also notes her work as a visual artist, and her official site presents both acting and art projects. A Library of Congress citation records her as a narrator as well, including a reading of Celeste Ng's Our Missing Hearts. Those later credits sit alongside the earlier television and film roles that first made the name Lucy Liu familiar to a wide audience.

Name notes for searchers

Lucy Alexis Liu is the documented full name; she has been billed as Lucy Liu. Searchers looking for either form are usually aiming at the same person.