Lisa Lu
Encyclopedia
Lisa Lu is a Chinese-American actress and documentary producer.
, China
). Beginning in her teens, she was active in Chinese opera, or Kunqu
, before emigrating to the United States
. Beginning in the 1950s, she enjoyed a long career in television
in the United States.
During the 1958-59 television season, she had a recurring role as Miss Mandarin on the cult western show Yancy Derringer
, set in New Orleans in 1868. In 1961 she had a recurring role as "Hey Girl" on the television series Have Gun – Will Travel.
She made numerous other appearances on television, with guest starring roles on Bonanza, The Big Valley
, The Richard Boone Show
, The Virginian
, Hawaiian Eye
, The Man from U.N.C.L.E.
and other shows. Her film career took off in the 1970s with supporting roles in films like Demon Seed
and Peter Bogdanovich
's Saint Jack. During this time, she received three Best Actress Golden Horse Awards
for her Chinese-language films The Arch, The Empress Dowager, and The Fourteen Amazons.
For the remainder of her career, Lu alternated between theater and film. She may be best known by English-speaking
audiences for her roles in The Last Emperor
(1987), Noble House
(1988 television miniseries), and The Joy Luck Club
(1993). In addition to her work in film, theater, and television, she is known for narrating and producing a number of documentaries.
Life and career
Lu was born in Peking, China (now BeijingBeijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
, China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
). Beginning in her teens, she was active in Chinese opera, or Kunqu
Kunqu
Kunqu , also known as Kunju , Kun opera or Kunqu Opera, is one of the oldest extant forms of Chinese opera. It evolved from the Kunshan melody, and dominated Chinese theatre from the 16th to the 18th centuries. The style originated in the Wu cultural area...
, before emigrating to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Beginning in the 1950s, she enjoyed a long career in television
Television in the United States
Television is one of the major mass media of the United States. Ninety-nine percent of American households have at least one television and the majority of households have more than one...
in the United States.
During the 1958-59 television season, she had a recurring role as Miss Mandarin on the cult western show Yancy Derringer
Yancy Derringer
Yancy Derringer is an American Western series that ran on CBS from 1958 to 1959, with Jock Mahoney in the title role. It was produced by Derringer Productions and filmed in Hollywood by Desilu Productions...
, set in New Orleans in 1868. In 1961 she had a recurring role as "Hey Girl" on the television series Have Gun – Will Travel.
She made numerous other appearances on television, with guest starring roles on Bonanza, The Big Valley
The Big Valley
The Big Valley is an American television Western which ran on ABC from September 15, 1965, to May 19, 1969, which starred Barbara Stanwyck, as a California widowed mother. It was created by A.I. Bezzerides and Louis F. Edelman...
, The Richard Boone Show
The Richard Boone Show
The Richard Boone Show is a short-lived, award-winning anthology television series. It aired on NBC during the 1963-64 season.-Synopsis:Richard Boone hosted the series and starred in about half of the episodes, garnering an Emmy nomination for himself and a Golden Globe award for the show...
, The Virginian
The Virginian (TV series)
The Virginian is an American Western television series starring James Drury and Doug McClure, which aired on NBC from 1962 to 1971 for a total of 249 episodes. Filmed in color, The Virginian became television's first 90-minute western series...
, Hawaiian Eye
Hawaiian Eye
Hawaiian Eye is an American television series that ran from October 1959 to September 1963 on the American Broadcasting Company television network.-Premise:...
, The Man from U.N.C.L.E.
The Man from U.N.C.L.E.
The Man from U.N.C.L.E. is an American television series that was broadcast on NBC from September 22, 1964, to January 15, 1968. It follows the exploits of two secret agents, played by Robert Vaughn and David McCallum, who work for a fictitious secret international espionage and law-enforcement...
and other shows. Her film career took off in the 1970s with supporting roles in films like Demon Seed
Demon Seed
Demon Seed is a 1977 American science fiction–horror film starring Julie Christie and directed by Donald Cammell. The film was based on the novel of the same name by Dean Koontz, and concerns the imprisonment and forced impregnation of a woman by an artificially-intelligent...
and Peter Bogdanovich
Peter Bogdanovich
Peter Bogdanovich is an American film historian, director, writer, actor, producer, and critic. He was part of the wave of "New Hollywood" directors, which included William Friedkin, Brian De Palma, George Lucas, Martin Scorsese, Michael Cimino, and Francis Ford Coppola...
's Saint Jack. During this time, she received three Best Actress Golden Horse Awards
Golden Horse Film Festival and Awards
The Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival and Awards is a film festival and awards ceremony held annually in Taiwan. It was founded in 1962, by Government Information Office, Republic of China...
for her Chinese-language films The Arch, The Empress Dowager, and The Fourteen Amazons.
For the remainder of her career, Lu alternated between theater and film. She may be best known by English-speaking
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
audiences for her roles in The Last Emperor
The Last Emperor
The Last Emperor is a 1987 biopic about the life of Puyi, the last Emperor of China, whose autobiography was the basis for the screenplay written by Mark Peploe and Bernardo Bertolucci. Independently produced by Jeremy Thomas, it was directed by Bertolucci and released in 1987 by Columbia Pictures...
(1987), Noble House
Noble House
Noble House is a novel by James Clavell, published in 1981 and set in Hong Kong in 1963.It is a massive book, well over 1000 pages, with dozens of characters and numerous intermingling plot lines. In 1988, it was adapted as a television miniseries for NBC starring Pierce Brosnan...
(1988 television miniseries), and The Joy Luck Club
The Joy Luck Club (film)
The Joy Luck Club is a 1993 American film about the relationships between Chinese-American women and their Chinese mothers. It is based on the 1989 novel of the same name by Amy Tan, who co-wrote the screenplay with Ronald Bass. The film was produced by Oliver Stone and directed by Wayne Wang...
(1993). In addition to her work in film, theater, and television, she is known for narrating and producing a number of documentaries.
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role |
| 1960 | The Mountain Road The Mountain Road The Mountain Road is a 1960 war film starring James Stewart and directed by Daniel Mann. Based on a book by Theodore White, the film follows the attempts of a U.S. Army major to destroy bridges and roads potentially useful to the Japanese during World War II.Starting on Sunday, June 28, 1959,... |
Madame Sue-Mei Hung |
| 1962 | Rider on a Dead Horse | Ming Kwai |
| Cheyenne - "Pocket Full of Stars" | Mei Ling | |
| Womanhunt | Li Sheng | |
| 1970 | The Arch The Arch The Arch is a 1970 Hong Kong drama film directed by Tang Shu Shuen. The film was selected as the Hong Kong entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 42nd Academy Awards, but was not accepted as a nominee.-Cast:* Lisa Lu as Madame Tung... |
|
| 1972 | The 14 Amazons The 14 Amazons The 14 Amazons is a 1972 Hong Kong wuxia film produced by the Shaw Brothers Studio and featuring a predominantly female cast. The story is about the female Generals of the Yang Clan.-Plot:... |
|
| 1973 | Terror in the Wax Museum | Madame Yang |
| 1975 | The Empress Dowager The Empress Dowager The Empress Dowager is a 1975 Hong Kong historical film directed by Li Han-hsiang and produced by the Shaw Brothers Studio, starring Lisa Lu as Empress Dowager Cixi.-Plot:... |
Empress Dowager Cixi Empress Dowager Cixi Empress Dowager Cixi1 , of the Manchu Yehenara clan, was a powerful and charismatic figure who became the de facto ruler of the Manchu Qing Dynasty in China for 47 years from 1861 to her death in 1908.... |
| 1976 | The Last Tempest | Empress Dowager Cixi Empress Dowager Cixi Empress Dowager Cixi1 , of the Manchu Yehenara clan, was a powerful and charismatic figure who became the de facto ruler of the Manchu Qing Dynasty in China for 47 years from 1861 to her death in 1908.... |
| 1977 | Demon Seed Demon Seed Demon Seed is a 1977 American science fiction–horror film starring Julie Christie and directed by Donald Cammell. The film was based on the novel of the same name by Dean Koontz, and concerns the imprisonment and forced impregnation of a woman by an artificially-intelligent... |
Soong Yen |
| 1979 | Saint Jack Saint Jack Saint Jack is a 1973 novel by Paul Theroux and a 1979 film of the same name. It tells the life of Jack Flowers, a pimp in Singapore. Feeling hopeless and undervalued, Jack tries to make money by setting up his own bordello, and clashes with Chinese triad members in the process.Ben Gazzara stars as... |
Mrs. Yates |
| 1982 | Hammett Hammett Hammett is a 1982 homage to noir films and pulp fiction directed by Wim Wenders. The film is a fictionalized story about writer Dashiell Hammett, based on the novel of the same name by Joe Gores... |
Miss Cameron's Assistant |
| Don't Cry, It's Only Thunder Don't Cry, It's Only Thunder Don't Cry, It's Only Thunder is a 1982 film directed by Peter Werner and written by Paul G... |
Sister Marie | |
| 1983 | Sewing Woman Sewing Woman Sewing Woman is a 1983 short documentary film directed by Arthur Dong. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short.... |
Narrator |
| 1986 | Tai-Pan Tai-Pan (film) Tai-Pan is a 1986 film directed by Daryl Duke, loosely based on James Clavell's 1966 novel of the same name. While many of the same characters and plot twists are maintained, a few smaller occurrences are left out. Filmed under communist Chinese censorship, some portions of Clavell's story were... |
|
| 1987 | The Last Emperor The Last Emperor The Last Emperor is a 1987 biopic about the life of Puyi, the last Emperor of China, whose autobiography was the basis for the screenplay written by Mark Peploe and Bernardo Bertolucci. Independently produced by Jeremy Thomas, it was directed by Bertolucci and released in 1987 by Columbia Pictures... |
Empress Dowager Cixi Empress Dowager Cixi Empress Dowager Cixi1 , of the Manchu Yehenara clan, was a powerful and charismatic figure who became the de facto ruler of the Manchu Qing Dynasty in China for 47 years from 1861 to her death in 1908.... |
| 1993 | The Joy Luck Club The Joy Luck Club The Joy Luck Club is a best-selling novel written by Amy Tan. It focuses on four Chinese American immigrant families in San Francisco, California who start a club known as "the Joy Luck Club," playing the Chinese game of mahjong for money while feasting on a variety of foods... |
An-Mei Hsu |
| Temptation of a Monk Temptation of a Monk Temptation of A Monk is a 1993 Chinese language film starring Joan Chen and directed by Clara Law.-External links:*... |
Shi's Mother | |
| 1994 | I Love Trouble | Mrs. Virginia Hervey |
| 1998 | Blindness Blindness Blindness is the condition of lacking visual perception due to physiological or neurological factors.Various scales have been developed to describe the extent of vision loss and define blindness... |
Mrs. Hong |
| 2000 | Sworn Revenge | Ling |
| 2002 | Tomato and Eggs | Mrs. Wang |
| 2005 | Beauty Remains | Woman Gambler |
| 2006 | The Postmodern Life of My Aunt The Postmodern Life of My Aunt The Postmodern Life of My Aunt is a 2006 Hong Kong serio-comedy film, directed by Ann Hui, starring Siqin Gaowa and Chow Yun-fat. The film also guest-stars Chinese actresses Zhao Wei and Lisa Lu.... |
Mrs Shui |
| 2007 | Invisible Target Invisible Target Invisible Target is a 2007 Hong Kong action film produced and directed by Benny Chan. The film stars Nicholas Tse, Shawn Yue and Jaycee Chan as three police officers who are thrown together due to their backgrounds to bring down a criminal gang of seven led by Tien Yeng-seng -Plot:An armoured... |
Ho's Grandma |
| Lust, Caution | Mahjong partner of Aunt | |
| 2009 | Dim Sum Funeral Dim Sum Funeral Dim Sum Funeral is a 2008 comedy/drama film. It was directed by Anna Chi and stars Kelly Hu, Bai Ling, Russell Wong, Steph Song and Talia Shire.- Plot :After their mother dies, four Chinese-American siblings return to their Seattle home... |
|
| 2012 2012 (film) 2012 is a 2009 American disaster film directed by Roland Emmerich. It stars John Cusack, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Amanda Peet, Oliver Platt, Thandie Newton, Danny Glover, and Woody Harrelson. It was produced by Emmerich's production company, Centropolis Entertainment and was distributed by Columbia Pictures... |
Grandmother Sonam | |
| 2010 | Apart Together Apart Together Apart Together is a 2010 Chinese drama film directed by Wang Quan'an. It was nominated for the Golden Bear at the 60th Berlin International Film Festival and won the Best Screenplay award.-Cast:* Lu Yan as Qiao Yu-e* Xu Caigen as Qiao Yu-e's husband... |
Qiao Yu-e |