Constance Wu

Constance Wu

Wu in 2015
Born Constance Tianming Wu
(1982-03-22) 22 March 1982
Richmond, Virginia, U.S.
Alma mater SUNY-Purchase
Occupation Actress
Years active 2006–present
Constance Wu
Traditional Chinese 吳恬敏[1][2]

Constance Tianming Wu (born 22 March 1982) is an American actress.[3] Wu is known for her role as Jessica Huang in the ABC comedy series Fresh Off the Boat,[4] for which she received critical acclaim and was nominated for the TCA and Critics' Choice Television awards.[5][6]

Early life

Wu was born and raised in a Taiwanese family in Richmond, Virginia. She graduated from Douglas S. Freeman High School, where she began performing in local theater at Henrico Teen Theater, HATTheatre, Theatre IV, Virginia Shakespeare Festival as well as an NYU program for six months during high school at Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute.[7]

Her parents emigrated from Taipei City, the capital of Taiwan.[8][9][10] Wu said that her paternal grandparents were very poor, working as bamboo farmers and did not have the opportunity to get an education, so were unable to read and write.[5] Her father was a biology and genetics teacher at Virginia Commonwealth University.[7]

Wu graduated from State University of New York at Purchase's Conservatory of Theatre Arts with a BFA in Acting in 2005.[11][12] One of the directors she adores most is Ang Lee, a Taiwanese director who has won the Academy Award for Best Director twice.[13] After college she studied psycholinguistics and almost attended a graduate degree program in speech pathology from Columbia University[14] and her mother was a computer programmer. She has three sisters, two older and one younger.[15]

Career

In New York, Wu had roles onstage and in independent movies. She made her screen debut with a supporting role in Stephanie Daley (2006). She also had later supporting roles in Year of the Fish and The Architect. On television, she appeared in episodes of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Torchwood, and Covert Affairs, and also had a recurring role as Laudine Lee on the ABC soap opera One Life to Live in 2007. Wu moved to Los Angeles in 2010, where she was cast in Sound of My Voice, which was directed by Brit Marling.[3]

In 2014, after landing a role in one unsuccessful comedy pilot, Wu won the leading role in the ABC comedy series Fresh Off the Boat alongside Randall Park.[16][17] The series is loosely based on the life of chef and food personality Eddie Huang and his book Fresh Off the Boat: A Memoir. The series premiered in 2015, and Wu received critical acclaim for her performance.[18][19][20][21] E! named her a breakout star of the 2014-15 television season.[22]

In 2014, Wu participated in Sundance Screenwriters' Lab with two emerging Asian-American directors, Yung Chang and Christopher Yogi, in what she felt was a unique opportunity to support Asian storytellers.[5]

In 2015, she was nominated for Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Actress in a Comedy Series[23] and a Television Critics Association TCA Award for Individual Achievement in Comedy.[24] In 2015, Wu plays a leading role in the 2015 science fiction movie Parallels.

In 2016, it was announced that Wu would begin production on an upcoming indie film called, independent drama “You and Me Both, a film written and directed by filmmaker, Jennifer Cho Suhr.[25]

Personal life

Wu lives in Los Angeles. She has a pet rabbit named Lida Rose.[6][26]

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
2006 Stephanie Daley Jenn
2006 The Architect Michelle
2007 Year of the Fish Lucy
2011 Sound of My Voice Christine
2012 Watching TV with the Red Chinese Kimi Hu
2013 Best Friends Forever Melanie
2013 Ties Shannon O Short film
2013 Taylor Manifest Val Short film
2014 Electric Slide Mika Oh
2013 My Mother Is Not a Fish Director and writer
2015 Parallels Polly
2015 Low Budget Ethnic Movie Sara

Television

Year Title Role Notes
2006 Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Candy Episode: "Underbelly"
2007 One Life to Live Laudine Lee Recurring role
2011 Torchwood Shawnie Yamaguchi Episode: "Miracle Day: End of the Road"
2012 EastSiders Krazy Kathy Web series
2013 Deadly Revenge Kym Movie
2013 Browsers Prudence Yu Pilot movie
2013 Covert Affairs Wendy Chen Episode: "Rock a My Soul"
2014 Franklin & Bash Caroline Chilton Episode: "Falcon's Nest"
2014 High Moon[27] Mikiko Kobiyashi Movie
2015– Fresh Off the Boat Jessica Huang Series regular
Nominated – TCA Award for Individual Achievement in Comedy
Nominated – Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Actress in a Comedy Series (2014, 2015)
Nominated – EWwy Award for Best Supporting Actress

References

  1. ↑ 馬雲 (5 December 2014). "華裔菜鳥移民明年笑翻ABC". World Journal/世界日報 (in Chinese). Retrieved 3 February 2016. 雖然她不到33歲
  2. ↑ 許惠敏 (22 January 2015). "菜鳥移民主角 華府現身說戲". World Journal/世界日報 (in Chinese). Retrieved 3 February 2016.
  3. 1 2 Wu, Constance (7 May 2015). "#IAm Constance Wu Story". Coalition of Asian Pacifics in Entertainment (CAPE). Retrieved 3 February 2016.
  4. ↑ Zhang, Jenny (30 October 2015). "The Lenny Interview: Constance Wu". Lenny Letter. Retrieved 9 December 2015.
  5. 1 2 3 Chung, Nicole (17 September 2015). "Constance Wu Is Making Her Way in Hollywood". The New York Times. Retrieved 3 February 2016.
  6. 1 2 Tseng, Ada (27 August 2015). "Audrey Fall 2015 Cover Story: Constance Wu". Audrey. Retrieved 3 February 2016.
  7. 1 2 Owen, Rob (16 October 2015). "Former Richmonder, Constance Wu, stars in ABC sitcom 'Fresh Off the Boat'". Richmond Times-Dispatch. Retrieved 3 February 2016.
  8. ↑ Lee, Emily (20 April 2015). "Taiwanese Viewers React to Fresh Off the Boat (菜鳥新移民)". Asia Pacific Arts (University of Southern California). Retrieved 3 February 2016.
  9. ↑ "美影集演「台裔虎媽」收視登喜劇寶座". TVBS. 31 March 2015. Retrieved 3 February 2016.
  10. ↑ 記者王丹荷 (1 April 2015). "菜鳥新移民 吳恬敏體驗做小籠包「好難」". Youth Daily News - 青年日報 (in Chinese). Retrieved 3 February 2016.
  11. ↑ Nicholson, David (3 July 2005). "Virginia Shakespeare Festival: Old Plays, New Look". Daily Press. Retrieved 2 April 2015. Constance Wu, a recent graduate of SUNY Purchase in New York
  12. ↑ "Ping Pong Democracy" (PDF). 59E59 Theaters. 2005. Retrieved 3 February 2016.
  13. ↑ "虎媽超哈李安 菜鳥移民開星路". Liberty Times (in Chinese). 1 April 2015. Retrieved 3 February 2016.
  14. ↑ Wong, Alex (21 September 2015). "Fresh Off the Boat's Constance Wu Still Isn't Sure About This Whole TV Thing". GQ. Retrieved 3 February 2016.
  15. ↑ Wieselman, Jarett (17 September 2015). "The Woman Leading A Crusade To Tell More Asian-American Stories". BuzzFeed. Retrieved 3 February 2016.
  16. ↑ Andreeva, Nellie (7 February 2014). "Constance Wu, Randall Park Join 'Fresh Off The Boat'; Windell Middlebrooks In 'Mason Twins'". Deadline.com.
  17. ↑ Andreeva, Nellie. "ABC Fall Schedule 2014: First Look". Deadline.com. Retrieved 13 May 2014.
  18. ↑ Patten, Dominic (3 February 2015). "[Watch] ‘Fresh Off The Boat’ Review: Show Doesn't Translate From Book". Deadline.com.
  19. ↑ Nguyen, Hanh (4 February 2015). "8 Reasons We Need Fresh Off the Boat to Succeed". TVGuide. Retrieved 5 February 2015.
  20. ↑ Rahman, Ray (4 February 2015). "'Fresh Off the Boat' recap: 'Home Sweet Home-School'". Entertainment Weekly.
  21. ↑ Lee, Ashley. "'Fresh Off the Boat' Review on ABC: What the Critics Are Saying". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 4 February 2015.
  22. ↑ Dos Santos, Kristin (4 February 2015). "Fresh Off the Boat's Constance Wu Is Our New Comedy Obsession". E! Online.
  23. ↑ Team TVLine (6 May 2015). "Critics Choice Television Awards Nominations List 2015 — 5th Annual". TVLine.
  24. ↑ Mitovic, Matt Webb (4 June 2015). "Justified, Broad City, Empire, Mom, 24, Jane the Virgin, Transparent Lead the 2015 Critics Choice Nominations". TVLine.
  25. ↑ McNary, Dave (2 February 2016). "Contance Wu Starring in ‘You and Me Both’ (Exclusive)". Variety. Retrieved 3 February 2016.
  26. ↑ Lim, Serene (30 May 2015). "Is Fresh Off The Boat’s Constance Wu anything like her TV character?". Today. Retrieved 3 February 2016.
  27. ↑ Andreeva, Nellie (3 September 2013). "Pilots 'Line Of Sight' & 'Strain' Add Regulars". Deadline.com.

External links

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