Lucy Liu Net Worth (Updated 2023) – Bio Overview

Lucy Liu is an American actor, singer, director, producer, and voice artist, from Queens, New York City, who has a net worth of $16 million. She began working as an actress in the entertainment industry at the age of 18 and appeared in a variety of films and television projects throughout her career.

She is best known for winning numerous awards and honors such as the Critics’ Choice Television Award as well as the 2 Screen Actors Guild Awards. On top of that, she also earned an Emmy Award nomination for her outstanding performance in the comedy series Ally McBeal. 

Lucy Liu rose to fame when she got the lead role of Alex Munday in the action movie series, Charlie’s Angels in which she appeared in 2000, and then reprised her roles in the 2003 sequel. Her character earned her several awards and notoriety in the film industry. In 2012 Lucy gained further stardom for portraying Jessica Tang in the TNT crime drama series, titled Southland.

Liu made a name for herself in the film and TV industry and continued to appear in numerous films including Shanghai Noon, Payback, Chicago, Lucky Number Slevin, Kill Bill: Volume 1, Set It Up, and The Man with the Iron Fists. 

As a voice actor, she worked in some popular animated films and series such as Tinkerbell, Kung Fu Panda, and Mulan II. 

Net Worth 2023

Income Sources

• Film Salary
• TV Salary
• Voice Salary
• Social Media
• Director
• Producer
• Music Sales
• TV Commercials
• Real Estate Investment

Early Life

Lucy Alexis Liu was born in Jackson Heights, Queens, New York, on the 3rd of December 1968. She is the youngest of three children and grew up with an older brother Alex and a sister Jenny Liu. Her father Tom is a digital clock pen salesman as well as a skilled civil engineer while her mother Cecile is a biochemist.

She is of Han Chinese ancestry and grew up in a diverse neighborhood. Her parents were originally from Beijing and Shanghai and later they moved to Taiwan before eventually selling to New York City, the United States. 

Lucy began learning different languages from an early age including Mandarin which was her first language. At the age of 5, she began to speak English, and later she became far less fluent in Japanese, Italian, Spanish, and French.

As a kid, Lucy went to learn martial arts and started developing interests in horseback riding, rock climbing, and skiing. She adopted the middle name Alexis while studying in high school.

Lucy attended Joseph Pulitzer Middle School before enrolling at Stuyvesant High School. She graduated from high school in 1986 and then earned a bachelor’s degree in Asian languages and cultures from the University of Michigan. 

Career

Liu was just 19 years old when she started her professional acting career, it was during that time that she even not graduated from University. Around this time she was discovered by an agent while surfing on the streets of New York, who immediately booked her for a commercial.

She first got the main role in Alice in Wonderland a school’s theatrical production at the University of Michigan. In 1992 Lucy made her stage debut in Tina Chen’s Fairy Bones. 

She then started getting offers for small roles in several movies and television shows such as Beverly Hills, and 90210. In 1992 Lucy got her first big role in the Hong Kong Cantonese crime drama movie Rhythm of Destiny in which she made her film debut playing the role of Donna. In the following year, she gained popularity for playing Mai Lin in an episode of the legal drama series L.A. Law. 

Breakthrough

The turning point of her career came in 1997 when it was announced that Lucy will be cast as Ling Woo in the comedy-drama television series Ally McBeal. She gained a lot of popularity for her role in the series, but she originally auditioned for the character of Nelle Porter, but Portia de Rossi earned the role rather. 

In the begging, it was declared that her role would never be meant to be permanent but getting large viewers ratings and clear favoritism from lovers meant that Ling Woo will be permanent on the show. 

That was the same time when Lucy was the first choice for directors and appeared in numerous films such as Love Kills (1998), Molly (1999), Payback (1999), and Play It to the Bone which was released at the end of 1999. 

Lucy rose to fame in 2000 with the role of Alex Munday in the action movie series, Charlie’s Angels alongside Drew Barrymore and Cameron Diaz. Shanghai Noon was another comedy film released in that same year in which she played the central role of Princess Pei Pei.

Charlie’s Angels became massively successful and in 2003 Liu reprised her role of Alex in its sequel titled Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle. She won her first MTV Award in the Best Movie Villain category for her role in the film Kill Bill: Volume.

Further Work

After getting success in the industry she continued to appear in television series like Hotel Malibu, Coach, Home Improvement, Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, and Joey in which she appeared from 2004 to 2005. Lucy also earned fame for her appearance in popular movies Chicago, Lucky Number Slevin, 3 Needles, and Domino. 

In 2007 she played the role of Gina in the American action comedy film Code Name: The Cleaner in which she also worked as an executive producer. In the same year, she starred as Sadie Blake in Rise: Blood Hunter. 

From 2012 to 2019 Lucy was the main cast as Joan Watson in the procedural drama series Elementary. She played police officer Jessica Tang in the 10 episodes of the crime drama Southland in 2012. It was announced that Liu will play The Queen in the Syfy Future World in 2018. The actress is currently set to play the role of Kalypso in the superhero film “Shazam! Fury of the Gods.”

Lucy worked as a director in films such as Meena (2011), Elementary (2014-19), Graceland (2015), Luke Cage (2018), Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (2019), Why Women Kill (2019), and the medical drama series New Amsterdam in 2020.

Voice Work

In 2004 Lucy came up as a voice actress and provided vocals for the character of Mei in the animated film Mulan II. She earned stardom for providing her voice for the character of Master Viper in the superhit computer-animated film Kung Fu Panda in 2008.

Liu reprised her role in Kung Fu Panda Holiday (2010), Kung Fu Panda 2 (2011), Kung Fu Panda: Secrets of the Scroll, and Kung Fu Panda 3 (2016).

Lucy also voiced in several other animated series including Tinker Bell, Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure, Tinker Bell and the Great Fairy Rescue, Secret of the Wings, The Pirate Fairy, Magic Wonderland, The Tale of the Princess Kaguya, Tinker Bell and the Legend of the NeverBeast, and Strange World. She played Melana in the 2 episodes of the animated series The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest in 1996. 

Awards and Nominations

Her outstanding performance as Ling Woo in the series Ally McBeal led her to earn a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award in the Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series category. On top of that, Lucy won the Screen Actors Guild Award in the category of Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series. 

Lucy has won numerous awards throughout her successful acting career such as Blockbuster Entertainment Award for Favorite Supporting Actress – Action, MTV Movie Award, Broadcast Film Critics Association Award, New York Women in Film & Television Muse Award, Seoul International Drama Awards, Teen Choice Awards, and many more. 

Despite this, Liu earned the NAACP Image Award, Primetime Emmy Award, Saturn Award, and, People’s Choice Award in the category of Favorite TV Crime Drama Actress for her performance in Elementary. 

Personal Life

In 2002 Lucy started dating Zach Helm a screenwriter. In 2004 they eventually got engaged after dating for about 2 years. In that same year, Liu decided to break the engagement due to some personal reasons. 

Lucy is a single parent of a son named Rockwell Lloyd. In mid-2015 she revealed that she gave birth to her biological child who was born through surrogacy. Lucy says that choosing the method was the best option for her as she was busy schedule at the time.

Back in 1991, Lucy Liu struggled with a possible brea#t cancer issue. A lump was discovered in one of her brea#ts and it was released through surgery. The lump was found to be innocent, although she has defined the issue as traumatizing.

Houses

Lucy bought the two apartments in two separate transactions the first in early 2005 and the second one the next year for a total of about $4 million. These two apartments are located in her hometown of New York City in the area of Madison Square Park. These entirely separate condos each span over 1,816 square feet of living space.

There are two of the townhouse-style building’s five luxury units while the upper unit had a private key lock elevator entry and had been professionally decorated throughout. Both of the houses had two bedrooms and three bathrooms with gas fireplaces as well as a high-end kitchen. 

In 2018 reportedly the actress bought a condo on a lower floor of a restored bow arts building in the same flat iron district neighborhood. Her current condo is set to span 1,800 square feet of space with 2 beds and 2.5 baths, throughout.

In 2019 Lucy sold her long-time house in the Fryman Canyon enclave of Los Angeles for 3.06 million. She first listed this house for $4.199 million and then lower the price to $3.5 million.

The craftsman-style home was located in the Fryman Canyon enclave on a leafy street which was in the Studio City area of L.A. She had bought the property back in 2001 for an unknown amount from actress Patricia Tiffany Arquette and the current owner of the house is a finance executive in Hong Kong. 

This luxurious mansion spans over 4,100 square feet of space with 4 beds and 5 baths. Her abode was hidden behind some trees with extra privacy. A living place in the house boasted a corner fireplace with a mirror above. In the backyard of the house, there was a swimming pool with an elevated spa into flagstone terracing and even a charming tea house. 

Lucy Liu Net Worth

As of 2023, Lucy Liu Net Worth is estimated to be around $16 million. She is one of the most prominent stars in the industry and has acted in more than 55 movies throughout her career. Most of her films became commercially successful and earned her numerous awards and accolades.

According to reports, Lucy Liu’s per-episode salary is more than $130 thousand. Apart from earning from the entertainment industry, she is also making a good sum from brand endorsements and has done commercials for brands like Revlon, Intel, SBC Internet service, OnStar, and Suntory Diet Beer, among others. She also made her appearance in Lee Jeans’ ad. 

Summary

Lucy Liu is an actress, director, producer, and artist who starred in many movies and series over her successful career from the TV show Elementary to films like Charlie’s Angels, Kill Bill: Volume 1, and much more. Born in Queens, New York, Lucy continued to call the big apple home for a while attending University in New York City as well. 

Lucy Liu has a net worth of $16 million, making her one of the most successful actresses in the American film industry. 

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