Do we like Lisa Lu?
Our score: 8 out of 10. A long, clean record and a public wish to back the next generation, though the coverage we could open is mostly honours and interviews.
Lisa Lu was born in Beijing in 1927. Her family moved to Shanghai's French Concession during the war with Japan, and as a teenager she translated dialogue live for English-language films at a Shanghai cinema. Her mother and godfather were Peking opera singers, and her mother steered her towards scholarship rather than singing.
After the Chinese Civil War she moved to Honolulu in 1947 and studied at the University of Hawaiʻi. She and her husband later lost their language-teaching jobs and moved to California. A barmaid role in China Doll in 1958 got her an Actors Guild card, and in 1960 she shared the screen with James Stewart in The Mountain Road.
She then built a second career in Hong Kong and Taiwan. The Arch won her the first of three Golden Horse Awards, and she played Empress Dowager Cixi for Shaw Brothers and later in The Last Emperor. Then came The Joy Luck Club in 1993 and Crazy Rich Asians in 2018, where a new generation met her as the formidable matriarch.
On the harm check, honestly, the cupboard is bare in a good way. Searches across LGBTQ+ issues, women, race, vaccines, climate and politics found no statements or campaigns from her, and nothing about backing anyone harmful. Her recent work we could confirm is a documentary about her own life and mainstream films. We found no court cases or allegations either, but she keeps a low political profile, so this pass is on absence of evidence.
The good stuff is a Hollywood Walk of Fame star in May 2025, which made her the oldest recipient at 98. She had turned one down in 1960, saying she “couldn't bear the thought of anyone walking on my name.” Awkwafina and Academy President Janet Yang spoke at the ceremony. She said she was there to support the next generation of rising Asian actors.