Most beautiful Asian Actresses
...Gorgeous Asian actresses, here are the tops
Not a ranking-no particular order. Asian actresses from the Far East or of Oriental ancestry
Not a ranking-no particular order. Asian actresses from the Far East or of Oriental ancestry
List activity
490K views
• 101 this weekCreate a new list
List your movie, TV & celebrity picks.
52 people
- At an early age Francoise passed on an opportunity to study in music and chose to persue a degree in Political Science. It was during those years, Francoise started with modeling. That career didn't last long, but she did get the opportunity to star with Jackie Chan in Rumble in the Bronx. For her work, she earned two Hong Kong Film Award nominations and a star was born.
Francoise was not a martial artist, but she trained in screen-fighting. With her athletic skills she ended up doing various martial arts movies, including two with the legendary Jet Li. - Actress
- Soundtrack
Ming-Na ("enlightenment") was born on the island of Macau, forty miles from Hong Kong. Her mother, Lin Chan Wen, divorced her father when Ming-Na was only a toddler. She has an older brother named Jonathan. After the divorce, they moved to Hong Kong where her mother became a nurse. There her mother met Soo Lim Yee, a U.S. businessman. They soon married, and at four years, Ming-Na moved with her family to Queens, New York. Five years later, they transferred to Yee's hometown of Pittsburgh where his family runs the Chinatown Inn restaurant. Jonathan and half-brother, Leong, now manage this restaurant. Struggling to fit in at school, she changed her name to Maggie & Doris. She found a love for acting while appearing in a third grade Easter play, where she played a klutzy bunny. Her mother was not excited about her desire to pursue acting, She preferred that she go into medicine. Nonetheless, Ming-Na graduated from Carnegie Mellon University with a degree in theatre. She got her first acting job in 1988 on the soap As the World Turns (1956). Her big break came when she was cast in The Joy Luck Club (1993). When she needed a ride to the premiere of the film, her acting instructor sent one of his students, Eric Michael Zee. The two started dating in 1994 after Ming-Na moved permanently to Los Angeles and married in 1995, dropping her last name, Wen, at that time. She says she is now like Ann-Margret. Zee is a screenwriter and, with Ming-Na, manages At Last, a boy band.- Actress
- Soundtrack
Maggie Cheung was born on September 20, 1964, in Hong Kong, and moved at the age of eight with her family to England. After finishing secondary school, she returned to Hong Kong, where she began modeling and appearing in commercials. In 1983 she participated in the Ms. Hong Kong pageant, winning first runner-up, which proved not to be a detriment since she went on to become a star of both Hong Kong television and film.- Actress
- Producer
Margaret Denise Quigley was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, to a father of Polish and Irish descent (originally based in New York) and a Vietnamese mother. Her parents met during the Vietnam War. Maggie has two older half-siblings from her mother's previous marriage, and two older sisters. The family moved to Hawaii and settled in Mililani.
Maggie dreamed of becoming a veterinarian, but modeled and found herself bursting onto the Hong Kong movie scene - eventually becoming a full-fledged superstar in Asia. She changed her name to the easily pronounceable "Maggie Q" (for the Chinese audience). She had a cameo in the Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker smash hit Rush Hour 2 (2001) and is part of the supporting cast in Mission: Impossible III (2006), starring Tom Cruise.She was awesome in Nikita- Isabella Leong was born on 23 June 1988 in Portuguese Macau. She is an actress, known for The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor (2008), Isabella (2006) and Bug Me Not! (2005).
- Actress
- Producer
- Writer
Michelle Yeoh was born in Ipoh, Malaysia. She's the daughter of Janet Yeoh & Kian Teik Yeoh. She's of Hokkien descent, speaking English and Malay before Chinese. A ballet dancer since 4, she moved to London to study at the Royal Academy as a teen. After a brief dance career, she won the Miss Malaysia beauty pageant title in and the Miss Moomba beauty pageant title in Melbourne, Australia in the early 1980s. Her first on camera work was a 1984 commercial with martial arts star Jackie Chan. In 1985, she began making action movies with D&B Films of Hong Kong. She was first billed as Michelle Khan, then Michelle Yeoh. Never a trained martial artist, she relied on her dance discipline and on-set trainers to prepare for martial arts action scenes.
She uses many dance moves in her films and does most of her own stunts. In 1988, she married wealthy D&B Films executive Dickson Poon & retired from acting. Even though they divorced in 1992, she's close to Poon's second wife and a godmother to his daughter. When she returned to acting, she became very popular w/ Chinese audiences. She later became known to Western audiences through role in the James Bond film Tomorrow Never Dies (1997) and in the phenomenally successful Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000). She turned down a role in a sequel to The Matrix (1999).
She has her own production company, Mythical Films. She trained with the Shen Yang Acrobatic team for her role in The Touch (2002), an English-language film she both starred in and produced. She hopes to use her company to discover and nurture new film-making talent. She also aspires to act in roles that combine both action and deeper spiritual themes.- Actress
- Producer
- Additional Crew
Born in Shenyang, grew up in Jinan, the daughter of an economics professor. Loved music from childhood, and dreamed of a singing career. After failing to gain entrance to China's top music school in 1985, applied for and was admitted to the Central Drama Academy in Beijing, from which she graduated in 1989. While still a student, was cast as the female lead in Red Sorghum (1988)(aka "Red Sorghum"), the initial directing effort by Yimou Zhang. China's best-known actress in the West, she was named Best Actress at the 49th Venice International Film Festival for her role in The Story of Qiu Ju (1992) (aka "The Story of Qiu Ju"). Made a series of successful films with Yimou Zhang, a collaboration that apparently ended with the breakup of their personal relationship in 1995 and Gong's subsequent marriage to a tobacco company executive.- Actress
- Soundtrack
Crystal Liu, better known by her stage name Liu Yifei, was born in Wuhan, on August 25, 1987. She began modeling at 8. She was trained in singing, dancing & the piano. She moved to the U.S. at 10 w/ her mom, where she lived for 4 years. She returned to China in June 2002 to pursue a modeling & acting career.
In September 2002, she was accepted into the Performance Institute of Beijing Film Academy at 15. Her first TV role was in The Story of a Noble Family. Shortly after, she was chosen to portray the role of Wang Yuyan in Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils, a drama based on the same-titled novel by the acclaimed martial arts writer, Jinyong.
In October 2003, she made her 1st appearance on the big screen w/ May Day, the well-known Taiwanese rock band, in the movie Love of May. Her fame & popularity went up even further due to her role in the 2004 drama series adaptation of the video game, The Legend of Sword and Fairy. Upon her graduation from the Beijing Film Academy in July 2006, she starred in another TV production based on another book by Jinyong, The Return of the Condor Heroes. This was very well received in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan & Japan.
She made her first foray into a music career in August 2005, when she secured a recording contract w/ Sony Music Entertainment Japan. After taking up singing & dance lessons for a year, her album Liu Yifei was released in China, Taiwan, Hong Kong & Southeast Asia in August 2006, featuring a diverse music repertoire that included rap &soft rock. That same year, she also released a Japanese album. The single, The Gate of Late Night, was chosen to be the theme for an animation series by Tokyo TV.- Actress
- Soundtrack
Kim Hee-seon was born on 11 June 1977 in Daegu, South Korea. She is an actress, known for The Myth (2005), Wonderful Days (2014) and Bichunmoo (2000). She has been married to Ju-Young Park since 21 October 2007. They have one child.- Actress
- Soundtrack
Fann Wong is a Singapore-born actress-singer-model of Chinese origin. Born on 27 January 1971, she derived her artiste name, Fann Wong, from a combination of her father's surname (Fann) and her mother's surname (Wong). With GCE 'A' Levels and a diploma in fashion merchandising from the La Salle International Academy, her break into showbiz was when she was 16, and was crowned champion of a beauty contest in Singapore which she participated in. She stayed in the modelling circuit between 1990 to 1994, occasionally flying to Taiwan to film product endorsements for products such as Oil of Ulan. In 1994, she was discovered in Taipei by a Singapore TV producer who invited her back to Singapore to act in a drama serial, Dreams Come True (1994). Fann's natural acting talent was discovered in the show, and this led to her career transition as a television actress based in Singapore. A slew of television projects soon after - including her third and award-winning serial, Chronicle of Life (1995) - raised her profile, status and popularity such that she became a top name in Singapore by 1995. In 1996, another career transition for her happened when she released her first solo Mandarin pop album, 'Fanntasy' (1996) in Singapore. However, due to a contractual problem which occurred in late 1996 between MediaCorp (her management agency in Singapore) and a Taiwanese artiste management agency, Fann was suspended for half a year. During that period, she attended vocal and drama classes in Shanghai. After she was released from her suspension period in mid-1997, she went over to Taiwan and released a repackaged version of that album, titled 'I Live Alone'. It was an immense success in the Taiwanese music market, achieving four IFPI Platinum awards in sales records and moving over half a million units in the East Asian market. In 1998, Fann's gongfu TV drama, The Return of the Condor Heroes (1998), was a runaway success in Taiwan and China. It immensely increased Fann's popularity in the region and certified her as a credible actress in the Chinese-speaking world. At the same time, the release of her very commercially-successful second solo album, 'Shopping' (1998), won her many fans in the region, including the award-winning Hongkong director, Tung-Shing Yee, who noticed her 'Shopping' MTV on Channel V in Hongkong and invited her to star in her first big-screen Hongkong movie, an art film titled The Truth About Jane and Sam (1999). Her breakthrough role as a delinquent teenager who finally made good introduced her to Hongkong movie audiences and won her a prestigious nomination for the Best New Performer Award at the Hongkong Film Awards (the Hongkong equivalent of the Oscars). The success of the movie led to another Hongkong feminist movie titled When I Fall in Love... with Both (2000), in which Fann had a starring role opposite Michelle Reis and 'Teresa Lee (I)'. In these two years, she also found time to continue her prolific singing career, releasing soundtracks to all her movies and TV serials as well as dueting with the British boyband, 911 in the English classic, 'Private Number'. Hence, in 2000, she became the first Singaporean to stage a large-scale concert ('My Story - Fann Wong In Concert') at Singapore's Indoor Stadium. It was a major media focus and a sell-out gig. Later in the year, Fann returned to her modelling origins again when she was invited to Hongkong to do an artistic pictorial helmed by renowned award-winning Hongkong conceptualists William Chang and Wing Shya. The pictorial, titled 'In +he Mood', found a ready market in Asia. It was noticed that made-in-Singapore serials like Out to Win (1999) and Looking for Stars (2000) won Fann the most critical acclaim and viewership ratings, so in 2001, her focus switched back to being a television actress, with 4 drama serials and one Taiwanese web movie in 2001 alone. She worked with renowned Taiwanese producer Pei-Pei Yang in a blockbuster Taiwanese serial Legend of the Snake Spirits (2001), which showcased her versatility in acting. This serial raised Fann's profile and popularity in Taiwan and later in the year, Fann was invited as a guest presenter for Taiwan's most prestigious movie award event, the Golden Horse Awards. In early 2002, she also appeared in the Ka-Fai Wai-produced China-Singapore collaboration, Brotherhood (2002). During this period, she diversified her career portfolio by actively hosting travelogue shows such as Travel Hunt: Japan (2001) and Fann Adventure (2002). In 2003, she appeared alongside international stars Jackie Chan and 'Owen Wilson' on cinema screens worldwide in her first Hollywood film, Shanghai Knights (2003), which gave her career an international boost. She was nominated in the 2003 MTV Movie Awards (Best Fight category) for her kickfighting role in this movie.- Yunjin Kim (born November 7, 1973), also known as Kim Yun-Jin is a South Korean-American film and theater actress. She is best known for her role as Sun on the American television series Lost, and as the North Korean spy Bang-Hee in the South Korean film Shiri. She also starred as Dr. Karen Kim in the ABC drama series Mistresses.
Kim was born in Seoul, South Korea on November 7, 1973. She immigrated to the United States with her family in 1980. They lived in Staten Island, New York. She joined the middle school drama club in the 7th grade and performed in the musical My Fair Lady.
Kim attended high school at the prestigious Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts, a public high school located in Manhattan. From there, she went on to study drama at the London Academy of Performing Arts and later earned her BFA degree in drama at Boston University. Kim has remarked that in her zeal to become Americanized quickly, she studied acting, academics and pronunciation with equal intensity. She is also a trained dancer and martial arts fighter.
After graduation, Kim devoted herself full-time to acting. She garnered several minor parts on MTV, in soap opera-style dramas on ABC, and on the off-Broadway stage. In 1997, she starred in Splendid Holiday, a Korean TV drama shot on location in New York. Kim decided to return to Korea. She was cast in the TV drama Wedding Dress and was also invited to act in Lee Kwangmo's feature Spring in My Hometown, although she ended up not taking this role. Her breakthrough debut came in the 1999 film Shiri, South Korea's first blockbuster film. Shiri became the highest-grossing film in Korean history at the time. In November 2000, she continued her association with Kang Je-gyu in The Legend of Gingko.
After acting in a Japanese film and a feature set in Los Angeles, Kim appeared in the sci-fi feature Yesterday. Then in 2002, Kim took the lead role in Ardor, the feature film debut of documentarist Byun Young-ju. The film was invited to screen in a non-competitive section at the 2003 Berlin film festival.
In 2004, Kim started appearing in the U.S. television series Lost, which ran for six seasons.
In May 2006, Maxim named Kim number 98 on its annual Hot 100 List. In October 2006 she was featured on the cover of Stuff, as well as an inside spread.
In 2013, she had a leading role in the ABC drama series Mistresses.
In 2018, Kim returned to Korean television by headlining the series Ms. Ma, Nemesis. - Actress
- Producer
Jamie Chung was born and raised in California, the daughter of Korean parents. She studied Economics at the University of California, Riverside. Chung's break came in 2004, when she was working in a sports bar. MTV held auditions for The Real World (1992) there, she tried out, and was successful, appearing in the San Diego based fourteenth season.
Chung went on to successfully launched an acting career, making her debut with a small part in Veronica Mars (2004). Roles in other TV series followed, including Days of Our Lives (1965) and Greek (2007). She also transitioned into feature films with such projects as Sorority Row (2009), Sucker Punch (2011) and The Hangover Part II (2011).- Grace Park (born March 14, 1974) is an American-Canadian actress. She gained recognition as Lt. Sharon 'Boomer' Valerii and Lt. Sharon 'Athena' Agathon on Battlestar Galactica (2004), as well as Shannon Ng in the Canadian television series teen soap Edgemont (2000). From 2010 to 2017, Park starred as Officer Kono Kalakaua in the CBS television series Hawaii Five-0 (2010), which debuted on September 20, 2010. Born in Los Angeles, Park moved with her family to Canada when she was 22 months old. She was raised in the Vancouver neighborhood of Kerrisdale. Park is of Korean heritage. She graduated from Magee Secondary School in 1992 and holds a degree in psychology from the University of British Columbia.
- Actress
- Producer
Born in Thailand, half-Thai, half English Sonia, or Pim, as warmly known amongst friends and family, has been working as a professional model since being discovered at age 13. She attended boarding school and University in the UK and worked with Storm Agency landing ads for L'Oreal UK and many fashion spreads. After returning home, she appeared in countless Thai TV dramas, TV talk shows, movies, magazine covers, magazine spreads and fashion shows.
She landed a job as the 1st Thai VJ for MTV Asia and launched her career into the pan-Asian stage. That X-tra factor was spot on once she stepped into that limelight years ago and there was no stepping out. Sonia has only one way to go and that's all the way up. She's much sought after in Asia. Film, TV, endorsements and an endless list of offers anxiously await her. Recently having a show on HBO Asia, Challenger Muaythai on AXN and appeared on Jessica Simpson's show "Price of Beauty" as one of 6 worldwide beauty ambassadors on VH1.
She has been the face of L'Oreal Asia, Clairol Shampoo Worldwide, Olay Asia, 1st Asian Ambassador for Rado watches, Singapore Telecom, Sunsilk Thailand signed her for 4 years and Physical Gym Hong Kong with Aaron Kwak, Eucerin and plenty more.
Sonia also works behind the cameras producing quality shows like "Thailand's Next Top Model" and another one in the pipeline. She is, also, a dual language MC, hosting many high profile events across Asia like the APEC Convention, Asian TV Awards, Miss Universe Thailand and Formula 1 just to name a few.
Sonia has recently expanded her work into the International market and has been received with open arms. Shooting a US movie called Glory Days, been a has guest star in the hugely popular French film "Largo Winch 2", she's the executive producer on "A Stranger in Paradise" starring Stuart Townsend, Colin Egglesfield and Catalina Sandino Moreno... And is the lead role in 3 other movies with Eric Roberts and Craig Scheffer.- Actress
- Writer
- Music Department
Born in Taiwan, Qi Shu has won the prestigious Golden Horse Award in Taiwan (regarded as the East Asian Oscar) for Best Supporting Actress in 1998. She has also received a Golden Horse Award for Best Leading Actress in 2005. She appeared with Jackie Chan in the romantic comedy Gorgeous (1999) ("Gorgeous"). Her name is spelled in a variety of ways, including Hsu Qi, Hsu Chi, Qi Shu, and Shu Kei, and there are quite a few other variations on her name on foreign V.C.D.s, D.V.D.s, and internet sites.- Actress
- Producer
- Writer
Most widely known for her work on prime time television on shows Buffy the Vampire Slayer, House (FOX), ER, Grey's Anatomy, The OC, 8 Simple Rules (Disney), The Deep End (ABC), the critically acclaimed Aaron Sorkin series, Studio 60 On the Sunset Strip (NBC), Julia Ling starred as the popular "nerd-herder" Anna Wu on Chuck. This action-comedy garnered international support, and Ling was voted as "No.1 Woman of Geek Culture" by G4TV. After voicing the live action character "Izumi" for the video game, Command and Conquer (EA), Ling toured the world to raise money for charities. In the 2007 Jackie Chan Disciples martial arts competition, Ling was selected as a Finalist to compete in the International Top 100 and won "Best Acting Award" for her performance.
As a dancer, her first award-winning solo performance aired on national television when she was 8 years old. At sixteen, she was selected as a State Finalist in the "Miss America Pageant" and was awarded by Congressman David Dreier for over one hundred hours of volunteer service to her local hospital. After nine years of playing the piano, Ling received a diploma from the Royal Board of Music. She graduated high school second in her class with a 4.0 GPA, then went on to UCLA where she majored in chemical engineering and became Vice President of Engineering Society and honorary member of Society of Women Engineers. She returned to UCLA to study film producing and receive a professional certificate in the Mandarin Chinese language.
Ling later joined the star cast of FOX sitcom, I Hate My Teenage Daughter, voiced a sketch in Chinese for Conan O'Brien, performed opposite Academy Award winner Adrien Brody in the movie "High School," and starred in a number of independent films, but Ling could not contain her passion as a film-maker. While on set as an actress, she shadowed notable directors as Jay Chandrasekhar, Timothy Busfield, Leslie Linka Glatter and many others. She studied film producing at UCLA and was largely self taught through experience and studying from her mentors in the field. UCI awarded her the Anne Frank Researcher Award for her film-making efforts on a historical documentary.
Ling launched her own production company, Silver Rose Entertainment, for writing, script coverage, and film production. The company's clients included scientists from Cal Tech, University of Illinois, other filmmakers and commercial companies. In recent years, Ling joined the cast of a few feature films, and also co-created, produced and starred in a couple of her own short films: "Brotherhood" which won overall best action in the 2-minute category at the Urban Action Film Festival, and "Tango Down" which won "Best Short Film" at the 573 Film Festival in Perryville, MO. She appeared on Fox 2 St. Louis prior to the screening to promote "Tango Down."- Actress
- Producer
Kristin Kreuk was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, to Deanna Che, who is of Chinese ancestry, and Peter Kreuk, who is of Dutch descent. Her parents are landscape architects. She attended and graduated from Eric Hamber Secondary School. Although she did some stage work in school, she focused more on her studies. She described herself as shy and boring.
For her first professional work, she went to an open casting audition for Edgemont (2000), a teen drama series aired on CBC Television in Canada. She plays the role as "Laurel Yeung". Laurel was the last main character to be cast because the casting director was having a problem finding an actress. Fortunately, for them (and us), they found Kristin just in time.
Her career was set to take off when she landed on the highly acclaimed serial drama series for The WB, Smallville (2001). It follows the story of "Clark Kent" in his pre-Superman days in a small town of Smallville, Kansas. Kreuk played the role as "Lana Lang", Clark Kent's object of desire before he meets "Lois Lane".
Smallville (2001) proved to be a giant step for Kristin's acting career, as she landed several interviews with several magazines, including YM (Young and Modern) and Rolling Stone. She also did a commercial for Neutrogena, popular for its skin care products.- Actress
- Music Department
Moon Bloodgood was born on 20 September 1975 in Alliance, Nebraska, USA. She is an actress, known for Terminator Salvation (2009), Faster (2010) and Eight Below (2006). She was previously married to Grady Hall.- Actress
- Soundtrack
On February 13th, 1968, a girl of Chinese, English, and Hawaiian ancestry was born in Honolulu, Hawaii. Her father, Herbert, was a salesman and her mother, Juanita, worked many odd jobs to help support the family. She has one older brother, Glenn. She is a former Miss Teen USA, and modeled in Japan and Italy for several months before deciding to relocate to L.A. and try her hand at show business. She received her break on TV's Growing Pains (1985) in 1987 and never looked back.- Actress
- Additional Crew
- Producer
Carrie Ann Inaba was born and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii, USA. She is of Japanese, Chinese, and Irish ancestry, and is the youngest of two children. Carrie Ann grew up dancing the hula (native Hawaiian dance) and other dance forms. She also played the piano and violin and sang in the choir. She attended Hanahaouli School and then Punahou School. Carrie Ann played volleyball for a little while but found her true love in performing.
At the age of 16, she and her closest friend Tina Horii won the Hawaii statewide competition, "Search for Talent", dancing a piece that they had choreographed together. While still sixteen, Carrie Ann was scouted to go to Japan to become a "Teen Idol".
However, she waited until she finished high school and then left Hawaii to pursue her career as a musical artist in Japan. During her time in Japan, Carrie Ann released three singles with Pony Canyon Records while attending Sophia University, a Jesuit university in Tokyo. In the two-year period spent living in Tokyo, Japan, she learned a great deal about the entertainment industry, performing, as well as the Japanese language. She also made great friends from all over the world, which later became a theme in her life as a documentarian.
After realizing that the Tokyo lifestyle wasn't for her at the time, Carrie Ann returned to the United States, relocating to California. She began to study choreography at the University of California, Irvine. It wasn't long till she got the bug to dance in Los Angeles and moved up to study with Alex Magno at the Debbie Reynolds Studios in North Hollywood, California. One day in dance class, Carrie Ann was approached by a producer who asked her to be in a music video for an artist named Terry Lin. She met the choreographer and booked the job. She was ready to start working.
One of her first jobs was as a dancer for the Emmy Award-winning television show, In Living Color (1990). Her next big gig was performing with Madonna, being featured as the "Pole Girl" on The Girlie Show tour. For this tour, Carrie Ann had to shave her head and also train with circus trainers and a stripper. She later went on to dance with Ricky Martin, David Copperfield, Chayanne, and did a lot of appearances on shows such as The Creative Arts Emmys, The SAG Awards, The NAACP Awards, The MTV Awards, The Oprah Winfrey Show (1986), and so much more. To this day, she still loves to dance. In her heart of hearts, it is the movement and the music that will always inspire her as an artist. In fact, even as an actress, she likes to incorporate dance and movement.
When Carrie Ann began her acting career, her main interest was in action roles. She studied tae kwon do with Billy Blanks, the creator Taebo, and continues her education in martial arts. She also practices hatha yoga. Carrie Ann always looks for ways to include her background in movement (choreography and martial arts) into her career.
Besides performing, Carrie Ann has many credits behind the scenes as well. Besides her choreography, she opened up her own digital video production company, EnterMediArts, Inc., which produced two of her documentaries and her short film. She hopes that EnterMediArts, Inc. will soon produce more reality/education television programming, behind-the-scenes DVD productions as well as lower-end film projects. She is the president and CEO for the company and has directed and edited most of her own projects. She loves the entertainment industry and loves the accessibility that DV (Digital Video) provides. She invested in a few edit bays and a few cameras and produces projects for fellow artists and "creatives." As her company's name implies, Carrie Ann likes to break down barriers and combine elements, creating hybrids just like she, herself, is a combination of cultures. Her production company, EnterMediArts, Inc., gets its name from Entertainment, Media, and the Arts -- all rolled into one.
Carrie Ann has also modeled here and there and has been on the cover of European magazines and Japanese magazines. She was the national spokesmodel for an AT&T Asian Campaign and has been in many commercials throughout her career.
At the time of this writing, Carrie Ann is in the limelight once more for her participation in the hit show, Dancing with the Stars (2005) and Dance War: Bruno vs. Carrie Ann (2008).- Actress
- Director
- Producer
Born to immigrants in New York City, Lucy Liu has always tried to balance an interest in her cultural heritage with a desire to move beyond a strictly Asian-American experience. Her mother, Cecilia, a biochemist, is from Beijing & her father, Tom Liu, a civil engineer, is from Shanghai. Once relegated to "ethnic" parts, the energetic actress is finally earning her stripes as an across-the-board leading lady.
She graduated from Stuyvesant High School in 1986 & enrolled in NYU. However, she was discouraged by the dark and sarcastic atmosphere, so she transferred to the University of Michigan after her freshman year. She graduated w/ a degree in Asian Languages & Cultures, managing to squeeze in some additional training in dance, voice, fine arts & acting. During her senior year, she auditioned for a small part in a production of Alice in Wonderland and walked away with the lead. Encouraged by the experience, she decided to take the plunge into professional acting. She moved to L.A., splitting her time between auditions & food service day jobs. She eventually scored a guest appearance as a waitress on Beverly Hills, 90210 (1990). That performance led to more walk-on parts in shows like NYPD Blue (1993), ER (1994) & The X-Files (1993). In 1996, she was cast as an ambitious college student on Rhea Perlman's ephemeral sitcom Pearl (1996).
She first appeared on the big screen as an ex-girlfriend in Jerry Maguire (1996) (she had previously filmed a scene in the indie Bang (1995), but it was shelved for 2 years). She then waded through a series of supporting parts in small films before landing her big break on Ally McBeal (1997). She initially auditioned for the role of Nelle Porter, which went to Portia de Rossi. However, writer-producer David E. Kelley was so impressed w/ her that he promised to write a part for her in an upcoming episode. The part turned out to be that of growling, ill-tempered lawyer Ling Woo, which she filled w/ such aplomb that she was signed on as a regular cast member.
The "Ally" win gave her film career a much-needed boost-in 1999, she was cast as a dominatrix in the Mel Gibson action flick Payback (1999) & as a hitchhiker in the ill-received boxing saga Play It to the Bone (1999). The following year brought even larger roles: first as the kidnapped Princess Pei Pei in Jackie Chan's western Shanghai Noon (2000), then as one-third of the comely crime-fighting trio in Charlie's Angels (2000).
When she's not hissing at clients or throwing well-coiffed punches, she keeps busy w/ an eclectic mix of off-screen hobbies. She practices the martial art of Kali-Eskrima-Silat (knife-and-stick fighting), skis, rock climbs, rides horses &plays the accordion. In 1993, she exhibited a collection of multimedia art pieces at the Cast Iron Gallery in SoHo (New York), after which she won a grant to study & create art in China. Her hectic schedule doesn't leave much time for romantic intrigue, but she says she prefers to keep that side of her life uncluttered.They changed her photo and this one isn't as good as the old one..- Actress
- Music Department
Singapore-born, Houston-raised Tila "Tequila" Nguyen has become a pop culture sensation. She is one of the most popular personalities in cyberspace, breaking records on MySpace, with a record breaking 1.4 million friends, as well as Facebook.
Raised in a Buddhist temple, the Vietnamese teenager soon rebelled against her strict upbringing, developing into an outspoken tomboy before being discovered by international magazine editors. Since then, this Texan beauty has graced the covers of numerous magazines including Maxim UK and Stuff, was listed on Maxim Magazine's "Hot 100" list, and has been featured in Rolling Stone's "Hot Issue".
A musician at heart, Tila's has recorded with numerous platinum and multi-platinum producers such as Lil Jon, Junior Sanchez and Leor Dimant (aka DJ Lethal). A versatile artist, Tila has made numerous television and film appearances, including a cameo opposite Adam Sandler in the Universal Pictures feature I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry (2007). Her "Tequila" nickname originates from a near fatal drinking experience. Ironically, Tila is allergic to alcohol.- Actress
- Soundtrack
- Producer
Tia Carrere, born and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii, was discovered in a grocery store and landed the female lead in the film Aloha Summer. She then moved to Los Angeles and continued her ascent in the acting world as a series regular on General Hospital as well as a string of guest starring roles on MacGyver, Quantum Leap, Married With Children, and Friday the 13th among others. With her iconic breakthrough role as Cassandra in Wayne's World and Wayne's World 2, Tia was able to showcase both her considerable singing as well as acting chops. Wayne's World was a worldwide phenom and set the stage for the femme fatale role of Juno Skinner in James Cameron's film True Lies, opposite Arnold Schwarzenegger; the computer whiz Jingo Asakuma in Rising Sun opposite Sean Connery and Wesley Snipes; and her very own series lead as Sydney Fox in Relic Hunter. Other work includes Nip/Tuck, In Plain Sight, Curb Your Enthusiasm, and many more. Subsequently Tia returned to her Hawaii roots starring in Disney's animated film Lilo & Stitch, while on the musical front, being nominated four times and winning the Grammy twice with her records 'ikena and Huana Ke Aloha. She also co-hosted and performed during the ceremony. Lately, Tia can be seen in Michael Patrick King's series AJ & the Queen starring RuPaul, Amblin Films "Easter Sunday" starring JoKoy and Mindy Kaling's Never Have I Ever. She also just released a single and video of a song she wrote called "I'm Still Here".- Actress
- Producer
Summer Qing is a native of Beijing, and graduated from Beijing Film Academy's renowned performing division. She made an attention-grabbing film debut as the female lead in Kaige Chen's 1990 Cannes Film Festival-competing Life on a String (1991), about a pair of blind musicians in a rural village. Qing's naturalistic performance contributed greatly to the film, which cemented Chen's reputation as one of the foremost international filmmakers. Soon after, she played the lead in the film of another acclaimed director, Zifeng Ling's Kuang (Crazy), and was nominated for Best Actress at one of China's top film awards, the Hundred Flowers awards. The TV series, "Close to Forbidden City", then shot her to fame across the country as a sweet-natured ingénue.
In 1996, she starred in the Chinese historical epic, The Emperor's Shadow (1996) (The Emperor's Shadow), which is a fictionalized account of China's first emperor and his relationship with a court musician. In official competition at the San Sebastian Film Festival, the film was widely recognized for its vast scope and breathtaking visuals. Qing's leading men were You Ge, one of China's most popular actors today, and Jiang Wen, the internationally renowned actor and director. Testament to her popularity then was Disney's choice to have her voice the part of Mulan (1998), an important Chinese folk figure, in the dubbed Chinese version of their 1998 worldwide hit animated movie. That period also saw her play memorable parts in such TV series as Sun Rise in the East, Rain in the West and Coming and Going. Most Chinese TV audiences remember her from the 2000 big-budget China Central Television landmark production of Laughing in the Wind (2001) (The Legendary Swordsman), which was based on a popular martial arts novel by Louis Cha.
She continued to play regularly in films and TV series over the course of the next decade. In 2007, she was featured in the Hong Kong action movie, Flash Point (2007), which was a box-office hit across Asia. Most memorably, she played the pivotal part of Soong Ching-ling, wife of Sun Yat-sen and an honored historical figure known to every Chinese person, in the hugely successful 2009 film The Founding of a Republic (2009). The film was made to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the People's Republic of China and produced by China Film Group and DMG Entertainment, which is also one of the producers behind Looper. For that role, she won a Hundred Flowers Award for Best Supporting Actress. She won the same prize at the Macau International Film Festival.
In 2011, Qing joined the cast of Looper (2012). Director Rian Johnson acclaimed her as the perfect figure for Chinese women. Qing worked with Bruce Willis, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Emily Blunt in her first Hollywood production. Looper got released worldwide on September 28th, 2012.- Actress
- Producer
- Composer
Vivian Wu (Chinese name : Wu JunMei) is a Chinese American actress and producer. Born in Shanghai, China, to Zhu ManFang, a famous Chinese actress and Wu ChengYe, a college professor, she was discovered by female director HuangShuQin during her visit to her mother's film set when she was 15 years old and was offered one of the lead roles in Huang's Long Live Youth launching her prolific acting career. While completing high school, Wu was also starring in numerous films and soon became one of the nation's most promising young stars.
During her third year as an actress Vivian was chosen by legendary director Bernardo Bertolucci to play the role of Wen Xiu, in his iconic Oscar-winning film, The Last Emperor. Bertolucci's film introduced Vivian to the international stage outside of mainland China. Vivian was the first Asian actress to receive a Best Supporting Actress nomination at the prestigious Italian David Donatello film festival.
Vivian then went to Hawaii Pacific University to study Travel Industry Management. After moving to Los Angeles in 1990, she was selected by People Magazine as one of the fifty most beautiful people in the world. Since 1990, she has dedicated herself full-time to her acting career.
Besides for The Last Emperor, she is also known for her roles in The Joy Luck Club, and Heaven and Earth. More notably, Vivian starred with Ewan McGregor in Peter Greenaway's award-wining The Pillow Book which also won Cannes' Certain Regard Award. Vivian's remarkable portrayal of Nagiko, a deeply obsessed Japanese woman earned her international raving reviews.
In addition to her notable Western films and television work, Vivian continues her impressive career in China. She has starred in several independent feature films and garnered excellent reviews for such international films as Chinaman and Eve and the Firehorse, the latter which earned her a nomination for Canada's Genie Award, for her outstanding performance of MeiLing.
In 2018, Cathy Yan offered Vivian the leading role in her directorial debut Dead Pigs. Vivian's energetic performance of Candy won her and her three costars a Best Performance by an Ensemble Cast Award at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival. Recent television credits then include hit series such as Wo Ju, Ru Yi Zhuan, Hot Mama etc..
Vivian has also been involved in many charity foundations. In 1999, she founded the "Vivian Wu and Friends Educational Charity Foundation" in Shanghai to aid children with special educational needs.
Vivian has been married to Oscar Luis Costo, a Cuban/American producer/writer/director. The two met on the set of Vanishing Son, in which Vivian starred in and Oscar produced. Their 1996 Shanghai wedding in China was featured by People Magazine in their Celebrity Weddings of the Year Special Edition. Vivian was selected as the best-dressed bride of the year. She and Oscar have collaborated on several projects together, and in 2004, Vivian produced and starred in Oscar's feature film Shanghai Red.
In 2019, Vivian spent over half a year in North America, playing the role of Dr. Lu Wang, a series regular, on the Netflix series Away - a new dramatic series premiering globally on September 4th, 2020.