Lucy Liu

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Date of Birth : Dec 2nd 1968

Liu became better known with her turn as Alex Munday in the Charlie’s Angels movie, alongside established Hollywood stars Drew Barrymore and Cameron Diaz. The film became a hit, earning more than $125 million in the U.S., and a worldwide total of more than $258 million. The sequel, Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle, opened to poor reviews but was a box-office hit again, earning more than $252 million. In between the two films, Liu starred with Antonio Banderas in Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever, a critical and box-office failure.

In April 2006, the documentary Freedom’s Fury premiered, with Liu as executive producer. The film dramatizes the 1956 Hungarian Revolution, climaxing with the infamous water polo showdown between Hungary and the Soviet Union at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics, known as the ‘Blood in the Water match’.

Her film 3 Needles was released on December 1, 2006. In the film, she plays Jin Ping, an HIV-positive Chinese woman. Liu agreed to star in the film for lower than usual pay because she wanted to spread awareness about the way AIDS is improperly treated in China and Thailand. Liu’s other recent roles include Code Name: The Cleaner, an action comedy released January 5, 2007 and, Rise, a supernatural thriller co-starring Michael Chiklis in which Liu plays an undead reporter, Watching the Detectives, an independent romantic comedy co-starring Cillian Murphy, and Kung Fu Panda, an animated film scheduled for 2008 in which she will voice a snake. Liu has also signed on to star in Beautiful Asian Brides and a new version of Charlie Chan which has been in pre-production since 2000; she will produce both films.

Lucy Lui has gained a reputation as a well-coiffed martial artist and tough co-star not to be messed with. Her acting debut came in “Beverly Hills, 90210” (1991) as a waitress at the Peach Pit. She moved to the big screen in “Bang” (1995) as a hooker and then in “Jerry Maguire” (1996) as a former girlfriend.

Lucy’s career got a much-needed boost with the role as dominatrix in “Payback” (1999) with Mel Gibson. “Play It to the Bone” (1999) and “Charlie’s Angels” (2000) are other recent hits that keep her fan base and salary growing at a steady rate.