Lisa Lu facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Lisa Lu
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| 盧燕 | |||||||||||
Lu in 2007
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| Born |
Lu Pingxiang (盧萍香)
January 19, 1927 |
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| Citizenship | United States | ||||||||||
| Occupation | Actress | ||||||||||
| Years active | 1958–present | ||||||||||
| Spouse(s) | Shelling Hwong | ||||||||||
| Children | 3, including Lucia Hwong | ||||||||||
| Awards | Full list | ||||||||||
| Chinese name | |||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 盧燕 | ||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 卢燕 | ||||||||||
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| Alternative Chinese name | |||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 盧萍香 | ||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 盧萍香 | ||||||||||
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Lisa Lu Yan (born Lu Pingxiang ; January 19, 1927) is a talented Chinese-American actress. She has acted in many movies and TV shows. These include films from Hong Kong, America, and mainland China. She started her acting career in 1958.
Lisa Lu has won the Golden Horse Awards three times. This award is like the Oscars for Chinese-language films. She won Best Leading Actress twice and Best Supporting Actress once in the 1970s. She is also the only person who belongs to both the Hollywood Foreign Press Association and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. These are important groups in the film world.
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Lisa Lu's Early Life and Education
Lisa Lu was born in Beijing, China, in 1927. She was the adopted daughter of Mei Lanfang, a very famous Chinese opera performer. Her mother, Li Guifei, was also a singer of Kunqu, a type of Chinese opera. Lisa Lu followed in their footsteps and began performing Kunqu when she was a teenager.
She went to a primary school run by English missionaries. This helped her become very good at the English language from a young age. Later, she studied at St. John's University, Shanghai. However, her studies were stopped because of the Chinese Civil War. She and her family then moved to Taiwan.
In Taiwan, she studied business at National Chiao Tung University. She also studied how to manage money at the University of Hawaiʻi. While studying, she worked different jobs in Honolulu. She was an accountant, a lab helper, a radio announcer, and a translator.
In 1956, Lisa Lu and her family moved to Los Angeles, USA. She joined an acting school called the Pasadena Playhouse. In 1958, she made her first professional stage appearance. This was in a play called The Teahouse of the August Moon.
Lisa Lu's Acting Career
Lisa Lu had a busy career in both TV and movies. From 1958 to 1959, she played Miss Mandarin on the TV show Yancy Derringer. In 1961, she had a regular role as "Hey Girl" on the TV series Have Gun – Will Travel. She also appeared as a guest star on many other popular TV shows. These included Bonanza, The Big Valley, and The Man from U.N.C.L.E..
In 1960, she starred in the anti-war film The Mountain Road with James Stewart. Her movie career really grew in the 1970s. She had important roles in films like Demon Seed and Saint Jack. During this time, she became very famous in the Hong Kong film industry. She won two Best Actress Golden Horse Awards. These were for her roles in The 14 Amazons and The Last Tempest.
Lisa Lu became well-known for playing the Empress Dowager Cixi. This was a powerful historical figure from China's Qing Dynasty. She played this role in The Empress Dowager and The Last Tempest. Years later, she played the same character in the Oscar-winning film The Last Emperor (1987). She also played her in the Chinese TV series Qianlong Dynasty.
Throughout her career, Lisa Lu acted in both plays and movies. Many English-speaking audiences know her from the TV miniseries Noble House (1988). They also know her from the movies The Last Emperor (1987), The Joy Luck Club (1993), and Crazy Rich Asians (2018).
Lisa Lu also worked to make Chinese opera popular in the United States. She toured universities and performed opera in English.
Lisa Lu's Personal Life
Lisa Lu was married to Shelling Hwong. He passed away in 1996. They had three children together. One of their children is the composer Lucia Hwong.
Selected Film Roles
Lisa Lu has appeared in many films. Here are some of her notable roles:
- 1960: The Mountain Road as Madame Sue-mei Hung
- 1970: The Arch as Madame Tung (Won Best Actress Golden Horse Award)
- 1972: The 14 Amazons as She Saihua (Won Best Supporting Actress Golden Horse Award)
- 1975: The Empress Dowager as Empress Dowager Cixi (Won Best Actress Golden Horse Award)
- 1976: The Last Tempest as Empress Dowager Cixi
- 1977: Demon Seed as Soon Yen
- 1979: Saint Jack as Mrs. Yates
- 1987: The Last Emperor as Empress Dowager Cixi
- 1993: The Joy Luck Club as An-mei Hsu
- 2009: 2012 as Grandmother Sonam
- 2018: Crazy Rich Asians as Shang Su Yi
Selected Television Roles
Lisa Lu has also had many roles on television:
- 1958: Have Gun - Will Travel as Kim Li
- 1959: Bachelor Father as Linda Toy
- 1960: The Rebel as Quong Lia
- 1961: Bonanza as Su Ling
- 1968: The Big Valley as Chinese girl
- 1970: Mission: Impossible as Mioshi Kellem
- 1988: Noble House as Ah Tam
- 2002: Qianlong Dynasty as Empress Dowager Chongqing
- 2023: American Born Chinese as Ni Yang
Awards and Recognitions
Lisa Lu has received several awards for her acting:
- 1970: 8th Golden Horse Awards - Best Actress for The Arch (Won)
- 1972: 10th Golden Horse Awards - Best Supporting Actress for The 14 Amazons (Won)
- 1975: 12th Golden Horse Awards - Best Actress for The Empress Dowager (Won)
- 2018: 4th Annual Asian World Film Festival - Snow Leopard Life Achievement Award (Won)
- 2019: 9th The Asian Awards - Outstanding Achievement in Cinema for Crazy Rich Asians (Won)
- 2019: Screen Actors Guild Awards - Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture for Crazy Rich Asians (Nominated)
Images for kids
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Lisa Lu in 2007
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Lisa Lu in 1960
See Also
In Spanish: Lisa Lu para niños
- Golden Horse Award for Best Leading Actress
