# Lisa Lu

Lisa Lu Yan (born Lu Pingxiang; January 19, 1927) is a Chinese-American actress. She has worked extensively in Hong Kong, American, and mainland Chinese film and television since her debut in 1958. She won the Golden Horse Awards three times, twice for Best Leading Actress and once for Best Supporting Actress, in the 1970s. She is the only person who is a member of both the Hollywood Foreign Press Association and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

## Early life and education

Lu was born in Beijing in 1927, and was the adopted daughter of noted Chinese opera (Kunqu) performer Mei Lanfang. Her mother, Li Guifen, was also a Kunqu singer. Lu followed in her parents footsteps and began performing in Kunqu as a teenager. She attended a primary school run by English missionaries, and became adept in the English language from an early age.
She attended St. John's University, Shanghai, however her studies were interrupted by the Chinese Civil War and she and her family moved to Taiwan. She studied business administration at National Chiao Tung University, and then financial management at the University of Hawaiʻi, as well as drama and speech. During her studies, she worked as an accountant, laboratory technician, radio announcer, and translator in Honolulu.
In 1956, Lu and her family moved to Los Angeles, and she joined the Pasadena Playhouse. She made her professional stage debut in 1958, in a production of The Teahouse of the August Moon.

## Career

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., The Rebel, Cheyenne, Bat Masterson, Kentucky Jones, and other shows.
In 1960, she was the female lead in the antiwar film The Mountain Road, which starred James Stewart and which was based on the novel of the same name by the China war correspondent Theodore H. White. 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 achieved prominence in the Mandarin-language Hong Kong film industry, winning two Best Actress Golden Horse Awards for the films The 14 Amazons and The Last Tempest.
She became known during this time for playing the Qing Empress Dowager Cixi, in The Empress Dowager and The Last Tempest, which would become her signature role. Years later, she would play the same character in the Best Picture Oscar-winning film The Last Emperor (1987) and the Chinese television series Qianlong Dynasty.
For the remainder of her career, Lu alternated between theatre and film. She may be best known by English-speaking audiences for her roles in the 1988 TV miniseries Noble House, and the films The Last Emperor (1987), The Joy Luck Club (1993), and Crazy Rich Asians (2018).
Lu also attempted to popularise Chinese opera in the United States, touring universities and performing in English.

## Personal life

Lu was married to Shelling Hwong until his death in 1996. They had three children, including composer Lucia Hwong.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1958 | Panda and the Magic Serpent | Bai-Niang | |
| 1960 | The Mountain Road | Madame Sue-mei Hung | |
| 1962 | Rider on a Dead Horse | Ming Kwai | |
| 1962 | Womanhunt | Li Sheng | |
| 1970 | The Arch (董夫人) | Madame Tung or Madam Dong | Won—Golden Horse Award for Best Actress. |
| 1972 | The 14 Amazons (十四女英豪) | She Saihua | Won—Golden Horse Award for Best Supporting Actress |
| 1973 | Terror in the Wax Museum | Madame Yang | |
| 1975 | The Empress Dowager (傾國傾城) | Empress Dowager Cixi | Won—Golden Horse Award for Best Actress |
| 1976 | The Last Tempest (瀛台泣血) | Empress Dowager Cixi | |
| 1976 | The Star (星語) | Chen Lianyu | |
| 1977 | The Eternal Love (永恆的愛) | | |
| 1977 | Demon Seed | Soon Yen | |
| 1979 | Saint Jack | Mrs. Yates | |
| 1982 | Hammett | Miss Cameron's Assistant | |
| 1982 | Don't Cry, It's Only Thunder | Sister Marie | |
| 1983 | Sewing Woman | Narrator | Short. |
| 1986 | Tai-Pan | Ah Gip | |
| 1987 | The Last Emperor (末代皇帝溥儀) | Empress Dowager Cixi | |
| 1989 | The Last Aristocrats (最後的貴族) | Li' mother | |
| 1989 | The Heroine in Northeast (關東女俠) | Yi Pinhong | |
| 1990 | Hiroshima: Out of the Ashes | Mrs. Sato | |
| 1993 | The Joy Luck Club | An-mei Hsu | |
| 1993 | Temptation of a Monk (誘僧) | Shi's Mother | |
| 1994 | I Love Trouble | Mrs. Virginia Hervey | |
| 1998 | Blindness | Mrs. Hong | |
| 2000 | Sworn Revenge (撞鬼你之血光之災) | Ling | |
| 2002 | Tomato and Eggs | Mrs. Wang | |
| 2005 | Beauty Remains (美人依舊) | Woman gambler | |
| 2006 | The Postmodern Life of My Aunt (姨媽的後現代生活) | Mrs. Shui | Nominated—Chinese Film Media Award for Best Supporting Actress |
| 2007 | Invisible Target (男兒本色) | Wai King-ho's grandmother | Cameo |
| 2007 | Lust, Caution (色，戒) | Mahjong partner of Aunt | |
| 2009 | Dim Sum Funeral | Mrs. Xiao | |
| 2009 | 2012 | Grandmother Sonam | |
| 2010 | Somewhere | Chinese journalist | |
| 2010 | Apart Together (團圓) | Qiao Yu'e | |
| 2012 | Dangerous Liaisons (危險關係) | Madam Du Ruixue | |
| 2018 | Crazy Rich Asians | Shang Su Yi | |
| 2023 | Rally Road Racers | Granny Bai | Voice role |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1958 | Have Gun - Will Travel - "Hey Boy's Revenge" | Kim Li | Hey Boy's sister |
| 1959 | Bachelor Father - "Peter Meets his Match" & "Peter Gets Jury Notice" | Linda Toy | Love interest for Peter Tong (Sammee Tong) |
| 1960 | The Rebel - "Blind Marriage" | Quong Lia | Played daughter of Quong Lee (Philip Ahn) |
| 1960 | Have Gun - Will Travel - Recurring Role (Season 4) | Hey Girl | Unknown if this character is still Hey Boy's sister |
| 1960 | Hawaiian Eye - "Jade Song" | Lin Ming | Appeared alongside George Takei |
| 1961 | Bonanza - "Day of the Dragon" | Su Ling | Appeared alongside Philip Ahn, Benson Fong, Richard Loo, and Victor Sen Yung |
| 1961 | The Dick Powell Show - "Three Soldiers" | The Prisoner | |
| 1961 | Bat Masterson - "Terror of the Trinity " | Hsieh-Lin | |
| 1962 | Cheyenne - "Pocket Full of Stars" | Mei Ling | |
| 1964 | My Three Sons - "The Lotus Blossom" | | |
| 1965 | Kentucky Jones - "The Victim" | Su Ling | |
| 1968 | The Big Valley - "Run of the Cat" | Chinese girl | |
| 1970 | Mission: Impossible - "Butterfly" | Mioshi Kellem | |
| 1986 | China Hand | | |
| 1988 | Noble House | Ah Tam | |
| 2001 | NYPD Blue - "Fools Russian" | | |
| 2002 | Qianlong Dynasty (乾隆王朝) | Empress Dowager Chongqing | |
| 2011 2012 2015 | General Hospital | Mrs. Yi | |
| 2023 | American Born Chinese | Ni Yang | Episode: "Rockstar Status" |
| 2024 | Death and Other Details | Celia Chun | |

## Recordings

* The Reunion, a Peking Opera. with Lisa Lu and K.S. Chen, Lyrichord, 1972

## Awards

| Year | Award | Category | Nominated work | Result |
| 1970 | 8th Golden Horse Awards | Best Actress | The Arch | Won |
| 1972 | 10th Golden Horse Awards | Best Supporting Actress | The 14 Amazons | Won |
| 1975 | 12th Golden Horse Awards | Best Actress | The Empress Dowager | Won |
| 2018 | 4th Annual Asian World Film Festival | Snow Leopard Life Achievement Award | Herself | Won |
| 2019 | 9th The Asian Awards | Outstanding Achievement in Cinema | Crazy Rich Asians | Won |
| 2019 | Screen Actors Guild Awards | Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture | Crazy Rich Asians | Nominated |