# Jade Wu

Jade Wu (born January 5, 1953) is a Chinese-American actress, playwright, producer, director, and editor. She is the granddaughter of actor and director, Yuanlong Wang, who worked in Hong Kong, China, and Taiwan. Wu has worked for the ABC as an actress on the daytime drama series General Hospital and One Life to Live, while also working as a writer for Disney. She has scripted and directed several documentaries that have screened at the IFP Market, Asian American International Film Festival, Sundance Producers Conference, and the Anthology Film Archives in New York City. As a writer, her plays have been read at the Santa Clara Experimental Theatre Festival and La Jolla Studio Stage. Wu has also served as a panelist for the National Endowment for the Arts, New York State Council on the Arts, and Individual Artist Grant, as well as serving as a juror for an International Emmy Award.

## Early life

Jade Wu was born on January 5, 1953, in Tokyo, Japan, to a family of Chinese heritage. The daughter of a soldier, she spent much of her childhood traveling while her father served in the United States Army. Her family later settled in the United States where her father began to work at Capitol Hill. Wu spent much of her childhood living in Washington, D.C.

## Education

After moving to the West Coast, Wu attended the University of California, San Diego. Wu graduated with a BS in Biochemistry, a BA in Humanities, a BA in Drama, and an MFA in Acting and Directing. She later received a certification in video and film editing from The Edit Center and an AA in science and humanities from Mira Costa College.

## Acting career

Wu did not get involved with acting until 20 years after her move from the west coast. Her first gig was a recurring role on Homicide: Life on the Street. Wu has stated that in the late 1990s, roles for Asian American actors were so sparse that it was rare to find trained Asians who were adequately eligible for the position posted.
Jade Wu has since then worked with notable figures such as: Meryl Streep, Kevin Kline, George C. Wolf, Austin Pendleton, Jeanine Tesori, Jenifer Lewis, Ato Essandoh, Fred Weller, Tony Kushner, Ridley Scott, Will Smith, Gene Hackman, Tony Gilroy, Warren Leight, Paul McGuigan, Vincenzo Natali, Peter Leto, Clark Johnson, Frank Prinzi, Tom Fontana and Barry Levinson.
Wu had recurring roles on One Life to Live, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Bull, and The Blacklist. She has performed on stage in Off-Broadway theatre productions at The Public, Delacorte Theatre in Central Park, Urban Stages, Bank St. Theatre, Minetta Lane, The Wilma Theatre, Arena Stage, Shakespeare Theatre Washington DC, and La Jolla Stage. Wu played the lead role of Ahma Chin in The Motel, which won the Humanitas Prize and an Independent Spirit Award Nomination. She has worked with stage directors such as Alan Schneider, Liv Ciuilei, JoAnne Akalaitis, Gerald Gutierrez, Wendy Goldberg, Blanka Zizka and David Muse among others.
From 2016 to 2018 Wu played Connie Lin in the Marvel Original Luke Cage on Netflix. In 2016, Wu had a recurring role as Judge Cara Bergen in the CBS series Bull with Michael Weatherly and as Katie's Mom in the HBO series Divorce with Sara Jessica Parker and Thomas Hayden Church. In 2018, Wu played one of the leads in the film Snakehead along with Sung Kang and Shuya Chang.

## Acting roles

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1997 | Homicide: Life on the Street | Sun-Rae Roh (2 episodes) | TV |
| 2002–present | One Life to Live | Judith Chen | TV |
| 2004 | The Jury | Maeve Li Sook (1 episode) | TV |
| 2002, 2004 | Law & Order: Criminal Intent | Mrs. Kaoru Miyazaki, Irene Chang | TV |
| 2005 | The Motel | Ahma Chen | Film` |
| 2015 | The Blacklist | Chinese Delegate (2 episodes) | TV |
| 2016 | Limitless | Mary Wu (1 episode) | TV |
| 2018 | Billions | Glynnis Robinson (1 episode) | TV |
| 2018 | Elementary | elderly woman (1 episode) | TV |
| 2016-2018 | Luke Cage | Connie Lin (6 episodes) | TV |
| 2018-2019 | Divorce | Katie's Mom (2 episodes) | TV |
| 2019 | Manifest | Angela Graham (1 episode) | TV |
| 2020 | FBI: Most Wanted | Auntie Diane (1 episode) | TV |
| 2020 | For Life | Judge Julie Tanaka (2 episodes) | TV |
| 2021 | Snakehead | Dai Mah | Film |
| 2021 | Awkafina is Nora from Queens | Cousin Rosalind (1 episode) | TV` |
| 2016-2021 | Bull | Judge Cara Bergen (3 episodes) | TV |
| 2022 | Law & Order | Judge Carol Ward | TV |
| 2023 | The After Party | Aunt Ruth (5 episodes) | |

## Stage

* Washer/Dryer (Dr.Lee)
* Like Shadows (Boss)
* U.S. Premiere Chimerica (Feng Mehui) (Ming Xoali)
* Mother Courage (Farmers Wife)
* 2752 (solo performance)
* Memes in the Membrane (solo performance)
* Red (Sonya Wong Pickford)
* Book of Days (Sharon Bates)
* The Shanghai Gesture (Mother God Damn)
* Barriers (Naima)
* Trojan Women (Pallas Athena)(Hecuba US)
* Primary English Class (Mrs. Pong/Translator)

## Teaching

Wu was a return lecturer at Bard College from February 2005 to February 2007 where she lectured on the relations of Michel Foucault's philosophies in “Fearless Speech” and dramatic conflict and conversation in plays for the school's theater and social human justice departments. She also taught at the Fashion Institute of Technology, Cal State East Bay and Raul Julia Performing Arts Institute.

## Awards

Source:
* Disney/ABC Fellowship
* BlueCat Semi-finalist
* PEN USA Rosenthal Emerging Writers finalist
* Edinburgh Festival Best Actress Nomination
* Jerome Media Fellowship