Born to Chinese immigrant parents Dec. 2, 1968, in Queens, N.Y., Lucy Liu earned her bachelor's degree in Asian languages and cultures from the University of Michigan before moving to Los Angeles to pursue an acting career.

Liu soon began landing guest roles on TV shows and small parts in movies (including 1996's Jerry Maguire). But it wasn't until she was cast as feisty, bad-tempered lawyer Ling Woo on television's "Ally McBeal" that Liu became a familiar face to the American public. Since then, she has graduated to increasingly bigger parts in highly visible movies such as the Jackie Chan Western Shanghai Noon (2000), Charlie's Angels, Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle (opposite Drew Barrymore and Cameron Diaz) and director Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003).

In 2005, Liu served as executive producer for the historical documentary Freedom's Fury. ... - from Netflix