Do we like Lucy Liu?
Our score: 8 out of 10. Years of speaking up on anti-Asian hate and for women and children, with no harmful words found; one on-set clash is her only real stoush.
Lucy Liu grew up in Queens, the daughter of Chinese immigrants, went to Stuyvesant High School and finished a degree in Asian languages and culture at the University of Michigan. A uni production of Alice in Wonderland got her acting, and a small spot on Beverly Hills, 90210 was the first paid gig.
The breakout came when Ally McBeal's creator wrote Ling Woo for her after she missed out on another part. It earned her a 1999 Emmy nomination. Charlie's Angels, Kill Bill and a long run as Joan Watson on Elementary followed.
Her one famous stoush is with Bill Murray on the Charlie's Angels set. Liu has said Murray hurled insults at her after missing a rehearsal, and that some of it was inexcusable and unacceptable. She pushed back, doesn't regret it, and has since said she has nothing against him. The report we read carried no response from Murray.
On the harm check, nothing nasty from her turned up. In 2021 she called the surge in anti-Asian attacks terrifying and outrageous, said words matter, and urged Asian Americans to vote. We found no sign of conspiracy theories, culture-war grievance or dodgy company. Her recent-work trail looks clean too, though that search was thin.
She's also been blunt about Hollywood's own bias. In a December 2025 interview about her drama Rosemead, she described a long lull after her early hits and said she was offered side salad roles. She said financing the film took 16 investors. That's someone using her platform to name a problem, not just collect trophies.
The good stuff is on the record. Harvard's Foundation for Intercultural and Race Relations named her 2016 artist of the year, citing humanitarian work as a UNICEF Ambassador. CBS also reported she has been a spokeswoman for the Human Rights Campaign, the big US LGBTQ+ advocacy group. That's a point in her favour here.