Lucy Liu

WHY IS SHE FAMOUS

After being introduced to mainstream audiences with David E. Kelley's hit FOX show Ally McBeal in 1998, Lucy lit up the big screen in movies such as Payback (1999), Shanghai Noon (2000),Charlie's Angels (2000), Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever (2002), Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle (2003), and Quentin Tarantino's 2003 Kill Bill: Vol. 1.

Lucy Liu Quote

"I was taught not to take anything for granted. If you are too busy being a diva or a freak, then you are not enjoying it."

84 SEX APPEAL

A submissive woman can be sexy, but a forceful one is even better. Lucy's role in Ally McBeal, as Ling Woo, was the first of a string of dominant characters that have fueled our fantasies for years. It's like she knows that what we really need is a good spanking...

Even though Liu has the bad habit of keeping her clothes on, we can always fall back on her appearance in Bang (1995) -- in which she played a hooker -- and City of Industry (1997) -- in which she played a stripper -- to admire the goodies. And who can forget her televised kiss with Calista Flockhart?

84 SUCCESS

During her senior year in high school, Lucy Liu played the lead in a production of Alice in Wonderland, which encouraged her to pursue acting. She headed to Hollywood and landed guest-starring spots on shows like Beverly Hills, 90210, L.A. Law, Coach, Home Improvement, ER, High Incident, The X Files, and NYPD Blue.

Also interested in multimedia art, Lucy has had two professional exhibits, one in SoHo and another in Venice, California.

After doing the small movies Rhythm of Destiny (a Hong Kong film, in 1992), Protozoa (1993), Bang (1995), as well as a minor part inJerry Maguire (1996) with Tom Cruise, she was cast as a regular in the sitcom Pearl, with Rhea Perlman.

One season later, the show was canceled and Lucy made the movies Gridlock'd, City of Industry, Guy, Flypaper, as well as television's Riot, all released in 1997. After the crime comedy Love Kills (1998), Liu became ill-tempered attorney Ling Woo on FOX'sAlly McBeal, where she stayed until 2002.

In 1999, she appeared in True Crime, Payback, The Mating Habits of the Earthbound Human with Carmen Electra, Molly, and Play It to the Bone, starring Antonio Banderas. Having become more popular, she finally got starring roles in Charlie's Angels (2000) and Shanghai Noon (2000), with Jackie Chan.

Hotel (2001), Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever (2002), Cypher (2002),Chicago (2002), Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle (2003), andQuentin Tarantino's Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003) were her next projects.

After appearing in archived footage of 2004's Kill Bill: Vol. 2, Lucy provided her voice to the animated series, Game Over and Maya & Miguel. In 2005, you can catch Lucy in Domino, 3 Needles andLucky Number Slevin.

LUCY LIU BIOGRAPHY

It's in the Italian neighborhood of Queens, New York that Lucy Alexis Liu was born on December 2, 1968. Her childhood in Jackson Heights with her brother and sister resembled that of many immigrant families. Even though it was difficult, her Chinese parents, a biochemist and a civil engineer, raised their children the American way.

They also taught their children to speak both English and Mandarin, which caused Lucy to have an identity crisis during her days at Manhattan's Stuyvesant High School. Still, she learned to accept herself and graduated in 1986.

lucy liu in school 

After the summer, she enrolled in New York University. In spite of the school being a very distinguished establishment of higher learning, she found the place to be gloomy and cynical. As a result, she only stayed for a year.

For her sophomore year, Lucy went to Ann Arbor and joined the University of Michigan, where she studied singing, acting and dancing. She ultimately graduated with a degree in Asian languages and cultures.

lucy's early tv roles

Lucy always knew she was artistic and, during her senior year of high school, she tried her hand at theater in Andre Gregory's adaptation of Alice in Wonderland. This gave her a taste of what it's like to be a professional actress and she quickly wanted more.

She moved to Los Angeles, where she supported herself by being a waitress. Before long, she landed a guest-starring part onBeverly Hills, 90210. Over the years, she made other guest appearances in shows such as L.A. Law, Coach, Home Improvement, ER, The X Files, High Incident, and NYPD Blue.

In 1993, Lucy's collection of multimedia art pieces was showcased at the Cast Iron Gallery in SoHo. Because of that, she was awarded a grant to study art in China. Upon her return, the chronicles of her journey (photography, paints, ceramics, collages) were exhibited in a gallery in Venice, California.

lucy on ally mcbeal

Along with her early TV career, Liu landed roles in small movies. She was in the Hong Kong feature Rhythm of Destiny (1992), the early Darren Aronofsky film Protozoa (1993), Bang (1995), and she had a small role in Jerry Maguire (1996) as one of Jerry's former girlfriends.

In 1996, Liu was also cast as a regular in the short-lived CBS sitcom Pearl, with Rhea Perlman and Malcolm McDowell. This secured her position in Hollywood and, in 1997, she was in five movies: Gridlock'd, City of Industry, Guy, Flypaper, and television's Riot. After a small role in Mario Van Peebles' Love Kills(1998), Lucy was introduced to mainstream America. She auditioned for the role of Nelle Porter on Ally McBeal, but Portia de Rossi got it instead. Nevertheless, writer-producer David E. Kelley noticed Lucy's spunk and promised to write a character especially for her.

The character was Ling Woo, a fiery lawyer who never took no for an answer, and she was introduced in a September 1998 episode of Ally McBeal. Lucy was so riveting that she was invited to join the regular cast. She was nominated for an Emmy (as Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series) in 1999 and stayed on until the show's demise in 2002.

lucy the movie star

With her stock rising, Lucy was in demand and made several motion pictures. In 1999, she played a dominatrix in Payback withMel Gibson, and appeared in Clint Eastwood's True Crime, Molly, The Mating Habits of the Earthbound Human (with Carmen Electra), and the sports comedy Play It to the Bone, starringAntonio Banderas and Woody Harrelson.

lucy liu in charlie's angels

Lucy's next project was the action comedy Shanghai Noon (2000) with Jackie Chan and Owen Wilson. Shortly thereafter, she appeared in another blockbuster, the star-studded Charlie's Angels (2000), in which she played one of the female leads alongside Cameron Diaz and Drew Barrymore.

Following the independent Mike Figgis film Hotel (2001), Liu teamed up with Antonio Banderas once more and starred as a government agent in Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever (2002). After Cypher(2002) and a brief appearance in the Oscar-winning Chicago(2002), she joined the "Angels" again for Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle (2003).

lucy liu in kill bill vol. 1

After that, she decided to slow down because her schedule was too hectic. Consequently, Lucy kept busy with only one movie -- although it's since been partitioned in two -- Quentin Tarantino'sKill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003) and Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (2004, in archived footage). 

In 2005, she can add Domino, 3 Needles and Lucky Number Slevin to her resume.

Read more »

Chris Tucker

WHY IS HE FAMOUS

He teamed up with Jackie Chan for the hilarious Rush Hour and its sequel, making him part of one of the biggest franchises in Hollywood history.

Chris Tucker Quote

"I wanted to cut down on the profanity, because I think I'm funnier without sayin' a lot of cuss words., on whether he felt limited by Rush Hour's PG-13 rating."

78 MAGNETISM

A great sense of humor ranks high among many women's lists of "partner criteria." It should therefore come as no surprise that Tucker would be any woman's dream. And whatever he lacks in humor, he makes up for in riches, a slick wardrobe and, yes, we'll admit it, good looks (at least according to our female panel members). Come to think of it, he has everything women are looking for... lucky guy.

76 SUCCESS

Considering nearly everyone knows his name and he likely can't go anywhere without getting mobbed, one would think that he's a seasoned veteran with 30 or so films under his belt. 

But although he has a considerable resume, including 1995'sFriday and 1997's Jackie Brown, the Rush Hour franchise is really his only claim to fame (that, and a cameo on Michael Jackson'sInvincible album and the video for "You Rock My World," though these may have been a curse more than anything else). 

During a three-year hiatus in between films, Tucker was virtually out of the spotlight, prompting many to label his career "over." (For the record, he has been busy with various projects, even opening up a comedy club in Atlanta). But upon reprising his role in the 2001 Rush Hour sequel, he was right back at the top, and even more so. 

There are very few stars that can command an A-list salary after just two major pictures, but he has achieved it. And for that, he has nothing but our utmost respect.

CHRIS TUCKER BIOGRAPHY

Chris Tucker was born in Atlanta, Georgia on August 31, 1972. His parents, Norris and Mary, had six children, of which Chris was the youngest (he has three brothers and two sisters). 

Chris was always a fan of acting and comedy, and his teachers even encouraged him to take his humor to the stage. And so, following graduation, he decided to pursue stand-up professionally. He left Atlanta for Los Angeles and began working the comedy clubs, where he became a regular. 

tucker made us "def"

As word got out about this up and coming comedian, Tucker was eventually selected to participate in Russell Simmons' Def Comedy All-Star Jam on HBO, in 1992. The success of that performance landed Tucker his first acting gig, playing Johnny Booze in House Party 3. 

Film roles continued to roll in. Following his role in 1995's Dead Presidents, in which he acted out a memorable death scene, Tucker appeared alongside Bruce Willis in 1997's The Fifth Element, portraying an eccentric 23rd century talk show host. 

Chris Tucker remained consistently employed as his star power began to rise; he also appeared in 1997's Money Talks and Tarantino's Jackie Brown, in which he was cast in the supporting role of Beaumont Livingston. 

the right hour for chris

But Tucker elevated himself to superstar status following the blockbuster success of Rush Hour, starring as the LAPD's Detective James Carter opposite Jackie Chan. The 1998 action-comedy set a then-record for the biggest September opening of all-time. The film won Tucker an MTV Movie Award in 1999 for best on-screen duo (along with Jackie Chan), and made Chris Tucker a household name. 

Over the next three years, Chris maintained a low profile but returned with a bang in 2001 with a sequel to Rush Hour. Again, the film broke box office records and was a critical favorite, making Tucker the next $20 million man. 

When he isn't shooting movies, Tucker plays the role of loving father (to son Chris Tucker Jr.), and activist for charitable causes. He even went to Africa with Bono and U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Paul O'Neill, as can be seen on MTV's "Diary of Bono and Chris Tucker: Aiding Africa." 

driving to success

Tucker is currently busy working on Mr. President, a concert film based on his stand-up act. There is even talk that he may star in the MGM remake of The Pink Panther. But what's certain is that both Tucker and Chan are set to star in Rush Hour 3, which is slated for a 2004 release.

Read more »

Owen Wilson

WHY IS HE FAMOUS

Starring in a string of respectable box-office smashes and a few cultish hits, Owen Wilson can proudly pencil in Meet the Parents(and a bit part in its sequel, Meet the Fockers), Zoolander, Starsky & Hutch, The Royal Tenenbaums, The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, Wedding Crashers, You, Me and Dupree, andDrillbit Taylor onto his resume.

Owen Wilson Quote

""You can think of Hollywood as high school. TV actors are freshmen, comedy actors are maybe juniors, and dramatic actors -- they're the cool seniors."  - Owen Wilson"

80 MAGNETISM

With his blonde, wind-blown hair, blue eyes and unmistakable crooked nose, Owen Wilson is an easily recognizable figure. Women, for the most part, dig his sporty, surfer look despite the zigzag schnoz, and there's little doubt the actor can do some damage at any public spot crammed with ladies. Younger brotherLuke Wilson, an equally-popular actor, has a more classic handsome look and often seems to steal Owen Wilson's rep as a ladies' man -- but that doesn't mean we would refuse some of Owen Wilson's pick-up tips.

81 SUCCESS

Though it's not his bread and butter these days, Owen Wilson got his start in Hollywood as a writer. Along with famed director Wes Anderson, he penned the short Bottle Rocket, which was given the funding to become a full-length feature. Though the full-length version of Bottle Rocket wasn't a big box-office draw, Owen Wilson's double-duty as star and writer of the film drew much acclaim after its 1996 release.

Owen Wilson went on to briefly appear in The Cable Guy in 1996, a comedy in which Owen Wilson met and befriended Ben Stiller. The two went on to make more than a half dozen movies together. Owen Wilson then starred in Anaconda, Armageddon and an independent thriller, The Minus Man.

It was only after Owen Wilson showcased his comedic talents in 2000's Shanghai Noon opposite Jackie Chan that his roles became more high-profile. After Shanghai Noon came the hit Meet the Parents and 2001's Oscar-nominated The Royal Tenenbaums, which costarred Owen Wilson and led to a Best Screenplay Oscar nomination (shared with Wes Anderson). Buddy movies like 2002'sI Spy, Shanghai Knights (the 2003 sequel to Noon) and the 2004 big screen reworking of Starsky & Hutch followed, and Owen Wilson was subsequently recognized as a legit Hollywood comedy star.

The witty The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou was one of Owen Wilson's career highlights in 2004, in addition to a small role in the box-office smash Meet the Fockers. In 2005, Owen Wilson cracked people up in Wedding Crashers, costarring Vince Vaughn,  and had three more films released in 2006: Night at the Museum, You, Me and Dupree and Cars. However, he had a rough '07, appearing in The Darjeeling Limited but attempting suicide in August. Luckily, Owen Wilson was fine and withdrew from his role in Tropic Thunder, which was produced by and starred his friend and frequent collaborator, Ben Stiller. He was later replaced by Matthew McConaughey.

In 2008, Owen Wilson appeared in Drillbit Taylor and Marley & Me.

OWEN WILSON BIOGRAPHY

Born in Dallas, Texas, on November 18, 1968, Owen Cunningham Wilson is the middle sibling of three brothers: Andrew, the eldest, and Luke, the baby of the family. The three were each other's best friends and wreaked a lot of havoc on the household run by mother Laura, a photographer, and father Robert, an advertising executive.

Owen Wilson's Early Days

Though the three Wilson brothers were considered troublemakers, Owen admits that he was the worst one and caused his father a lot of embarrassment. His behavior came to a head in the 10th grade at St. Marks School of Texas, when, after stealing his teacher's textbook in an attempt to help him finish his math homework quicker, he was expelled.

Owen Wilson Meets Wes Anderson

After finishing his secondary studies at another nearby high school, Owen Wilson went on to a military academy in New Mexico and then returned to the Lone Star State to study at the University of Texas at Austin. It was there that he met his close friend and mentor (and future director), Wes Anderson. Both possessed an innate ability to write and soon enough they penned a short screenplay, Bottle Rocket, which they sent to a family friend who was working on a career as a screenwriter. The script ended up in the hands of famed director/writer/producer James L. Brooks, who gave Owen Wilson and Wes Anderson $5 million to produce a full-length feature.

Owen Wilson Releases Bottle Rocket

Debuting at the Sundance Film Festival, Bottle Rocket was released in 1996 and featured the acting debut of Owen and Luke Wilson. Though the film enjoyed only limited success, it helped springboard the middle Wilson to bigger things, including appearances in The Cable Guy, Anaconda and Armageddon in 1996, '97 and '98, respectively.

Owen Wilson In Cable Guy

While on the set of The Cable Guy, Owen Wilson befriended fellow funnyman Ben Stiller, director of the Jim Carrey vehicle. The two would work on many projects together thereafter, includingPermanent Midnight in 1998. Owen Wilson also had an uncredited role in Wes Anderson's Rushmore, which was written by Owen Wilson and Wes Anderson. In 1999, Owen Wilson landed the lead role in the film The Minus Man, an excellent independent thriller that costarred singer Sheryl Crow. The two became good friends and began dating, though the relationship was rocky and did not last very long.

Owen Wilson In Zoolander And Meet The Parents

In 2000, Owen Wilson teamed up with Jackie Chan to make the action-packed buddy flick, Shanghai Noon. The duo later reprised their roles for the sequel, Shanghai Knights, released in 2003. In between the first and second installments, Owen Wilson emerged as a consistently hilarious and versatile actor, joining Ben Stiller once again for Meet the Parents, Zoolander and The Royal Tenenbaums, a star-studded film that Owen Wilson also cowrote. Owen Wilson and Wes Anderson received a Best Screenplay Oscar nomination for Tenenbaums.

Owen Wilson In Starsky & Hutch

Big-budget films like I Spy, with Eddie Murphy, and Behind Enemy Lines (proving Owen Wilson could also tackle drama) with Gene Hackman, also appear on Owen Wilson's resume -- a resume that is filling up more and more as Owen Wilson kicks his career into high gear. He appeared in five films in 2004, including two more with Ben Stiller -- Meet the Fockers and Starsky & Hutch-- and one directed and cowritten by Wes Anderson, The Life Aquatic with Steve Zisso.

Owen Wilson In Wedding Crashers

The year 2005 was just as busy for Owen Wilson, as he starred with Vince Vaughn in the summer comedy Wedding Crashers, as well as in the "Luke/Andrew Wilson project" (the brothers served as directors while Luke wrote the screenplay), The Wendell Baker Story. The torrid pace continued in 2006 as Owen Wilson starred in three more movies, including Night at the Museum, You, Me and Dupree and Cars.

Owen Wilson Attempts Suicide

In 2007, Owen Wilson was hospitalized due to a suicide attempt. While he only released one statement asking that the public respect his privacy during this trying time, he refused, as did his publicist, to comment on the nature of his hospitalization. His first public appearance afterwards was at the premiere The Darjeeling Limited (2007).

His 2008 projects included Drillbit Taylor and Marley & Me.

Read more »