Vivian Wu
Encyclopedia
Vivian Wu is a Chinese
actress, known for her roles in The Last Emperor
(1987), Heaven & Earth (1993), The Joy Luck Club
(1993), and The Pillow Book
(1996) and as the historical figure of Soong May-ling
, commonly referred to as Madam Chiang Kai-shek, in two major Chinese motion pictures The Soong Sisters
(1997) and The Founding of a Republic
(2009)
. In 1987, she attended the Hawaii Pacific University
, studying tourism
.
's The Last Emperor
. She later appeared in The Guyver
, alongside Mark Hamill
. The film received mostly negative reviews, where it was criticized for its "overacting", "ridiculous plot", and "bad soundtrack". She gained some critical acclaim, after appearing in The Joy Luck Club
(1993), and The Pillow Book
(1996), as Nagiko, a Japanese model, alongside Ewan McGregor
. Beside films, she has also worked in television
, making guest appearances in shows, such as The Untouchables
, L.A. Law
, Tales from the Crypt
, Highlander: The Series
, JAG
, Murder, She Wrote
, F/X: The Series
, ER
, and Ghost Whisperer
. As May–Lin Eng in Eve and the Fire Horse
(2005), Wu gained an Genie Award
nomination. She also appeared in the Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb
as Mei Ying.
She was chosen by People
as one of The 50 Most Beautiful People in the World in 1990.
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
actress, known for her roles in The Last Emperor
The Last Emperor
The Last Emperor is a 1987 biopic about the life of Puyi, the last Emperor of China, whose autobiography was the basis for the screenplay written by Mark Peploe and Bernardo Bertolucci. Independently produced by Jeremy Thomas, it was directed by Bertolucci and released in 1987 by Columbia Pictures...
(1987), Heaven & Earth (1993), The Joy Luck Club
The Joy Luck Club
The Joy Luck Club is a best-selling novel written by Amy Tan. It focuses on four Chinese American immigrant families in San Francisco, California who start a club known as "the Joy Luck Club," playing the Chinese game of mahjong for money while feasting on a variety of foods...
(1993), and The Pillow Book
The Pillow Book (film)
The Pillow Book is a 1996 film by United Kingdom director Peter Greenaway, which stars Vivian Wu as Nagiko, a Japanese model in search of pleasure and new cultural experience from various lovers...
(1996) and as the historical figure of Soong May-ling
Soong May-ling
Soong May-ling or Soong Mei-ling, also known as Madame Chiang Kai-shek or Madame Chiang was a First Lady of the Republic of China , the wife of Generalissimo and President Chiang Kai-shek. She was a politician and painter...
, commonly referred to as Madam Chiang Kai-shek, in two major Chinese motion pictures The Soong Sisters
The Soong Sisters (film)
The Soong Sisters is a 1997 Hong Kong film dramatization of the lives of the Soong sisters from 1911 to 1949. The three sisters married the most important historical figures during the founding of new China, making the family the focal point of every important major decision made in modern...
(1997) and The Founding of a Republic
The Founding of a Republic
The Founding of a Republic is a 2009 Chinese historical film commissioned by China's film regulator and made by the state-owned China Film Group to mark the 60th anniversary of the People's Republic of China...
(2009)
Early life
Wu began acting at the age of fifteen in Shanghai Film StudioShanghai Film Studio
Shanghai Film Studio is the film division of the Shanghai Film Group Corporation in Shanghai, China. It is responsible for the production of Chinese films and TV programs.-History:...
. In 1987, she attended the Hawaii Pacific University
Hawaii Pacific University
Hawaii Pacific University, also known as HPU, is a private, Nonsectarian, coeducational university located in Honolulu, Hawaii and Kaneohe, Hawaii. HPU founded in 1965 as Hawaii Pacific College by Paul C.T. Loo, Eureka Forbes, Elizabeth W...
, studying tourism
Tourism
Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes".Tourism has become a...
.
Career
Wu made her first film appearance in 1987, as Wenxiu in Bernardo BertolucciBernardo Bertolucci
Bernardo Bertolucci is an Italian film director and screenwriter, whose films include The Conformist, Last Tango in Paris, 1900, The Last Emperor and The Dreamers...
's The Last Emperor
The Last Emperor
The Last Emperor is a 1987 biopic about the life of Puyi, the last Emperor of China, whose autobiography was the basis for the screenplay written by Mark Peploe and Bernardo Bertolucci. Independently produced by Jeremy Thomas, it was directed by Bertolucci and released in 1987 by Columbia Pictures...
. She later appeared in The Guyver
The Guyver (film)
The Guyver is a 1991 American Tokusatsu film loosely based on the Manga series of the same name. The film was met with a mixed to negative reaction from critics and fans. A sequel was followed in 1994 called Guyver: Dark Hero, which was received more favorably than it's predecessor.-Plot:CIA agent...
, alongside Mark Hamill
Mark Hamill
Mark Richard Hamill is an American actor, voice artist, producer, director, and writer, best known for his role as Luke Skywalker in the original trilogy of Star Wars. More recently, he has received acclaim for his voice work, in such roles as the Joker in Batman: The Animated Series, Firelord...
. The film received mostly negative reviews, where it was criticized for its "overacting", "ridiculous plot", and "bad soundtrack". She gained some critical acclaim, after appearing in The Joy Luck Club
The Joy Luck Club (film)
The Joy Luck Club is a 1993 American film about the relationships between Chinese-American women and their Chinese mothers. It is based on the 1989 novel of the same name by Amy Tan, who co-wrote the screenplay with Ronald Bass. The film was produced by Oliver Stone and directed by Wayne Wang...
(1993), and The Pillow Book
The Pillow Book (film)
The Pillow Book is a 1996 film by United Kingdom director Peter Greenaway, which stars Vivian Wu as Nagiko, a Japanese model in search of pleasure and new cultural experience from various lovers...
(1996), as Nagiko, a Japanese model, alongside Ewan McGregor
Ewan McGregor
Ewan Gordon McGregor is a Scottish actor. He has had success in mainstream, indie, and art house films. McGregor is perhaps best known for his roles as heroin addict Mark Renton in the drama Trainspotting , young Jedi Obi-Wan Kenobi in the Star Wars prequel trilogy , and poet Christian in the...
. Beside films, she has also worked in television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
, making guest appearances in shows, such as The Untouchables
The Untouchables (1959 TV series)
The Untouchables is an American crime drama that ran from 1959 to 1963 on ABC. Based on the memoir of the same name by Eliot Ness and Oscar Fraley, it fictionalized the experiences of Eliot Ness, a real-life Prohibition agent, as he fought crime in Chicago during the 1930s with the help of a...
, L.A. Law
L.A. Law
L.A. Law is a US television legal drama that ran on NBC from September 15, 1986 to May 19, 1994. L.A. Law reflected the social and cultural ideologies of the 1980s and early 1990s and many of the cases featured on the show dealt with hot topic issues such as abortion, racism, gay rights,...
, Tales from the Crypt
Tales from the Crypt (TV series)
Tales from the Crypt, sometimes titled HBO's Tales from the Crypt, is an American horror anthology television series that ran from 1989 to 1996 on the premium cable channel HBO...
, Highlander: The Series
Highlander: The Series
Highlander: The Series is a fantasy-adventure television series featuring Duncan MacLeod of the Scottish Clan MacLeod, as the Highlander. It was an offshoot and another alternate sequel of the 1986 feature film with a twist: Connor MacLeod did not win the prize and Immortals still exist post-1985...
, JAG
JAG (TV series)
JAG is an American adventure/legal drama television show that was produced by Belisarius Productions, in association with Paramount Network Television and, for the first season only, NBC Productions...
, Murder, She Wrote
Murder, She Wrote
Murder, She Wrote is an American television mystery series starring Angela Lansbury as mystery writer and amateur detective Jessica Fletcher. The series aired for 12 seasons from 1984 to 1996 on the CBS network, with 264 episodes transmitted. It was followed by four TV films and a spin-off series,...
, F/X: The Series
F/X: The Series
F/X: The Series was a television series based on the film F/X, starring Cameron Daddo, Christina Cox, Kevin Dobson , Jacqueline Torres , Carrie-Anne Moss and Jason Blicker. It ran for 40 episodes from 1996 through 1998....
, ER
ER (TV series)
ER is an American medical drama television series created by novelist Michael Crichton that aired on NBC from September 19, 1994 to April 2, 2009. It was produced by Constant c Productions and Amblin Entertainment, in association with Warner Bros. Television...
, and Ghost Whisperer
Ghost Whisperer
Ghost Whisperer is an American television supernatural drama, which ran on CBS from September 23, 2005 to May 21, 2010.The series follows the life of Melinda Gordon , who has the ability to see and communicate with ghosts...
. As May–Lin Eng in Eve and the Fire Horse
Eve and the Fire Horse
Eve and the Fire Horse is a 2005 Canadian film written and directed by Julia Kwan. It won the Special Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival and the Claude Jutra Award for the best feature film by a first-time film director in Canada.-Plot:...
(2005), Wu gained an Genie Award
Genie Award
Genie Awards are given out to recognize the best of Canadian cinema by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television. From 1949-1979, the awards were named the Canadian Film Awards...
nomination. She also appeared in the Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb
Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb
Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb is an action video game developed by The Collective and published by LucasArts in 2003 for PlayStation 2, Xbox, Macintosh and Windows. It features cover art by Drew Struzan. The game is a new adventure of fictional archeologist Indiana Jones. The story is set in...
as Mei Ying.
She was chosen by People
People (magazine)
In 1998, the magazine introduced a version targeted at teens called Teen People. However, on July 27, 2006, the company announced it would shut down publication of Teen People immediately. The last issue to be released was scheduled for September 2006. Subscribers to this magazine received...
as one of The 50 Most Beautiful People in the World in 1990.
Personal life
Wu married Oscar L. Costo, director and producer on December 30, 1996.Filmography
- The Last EmperorThe Last EmperorThe Last Emperor is a 1987 biopic about the life of Puyi, the last Emperor of China, whose autobiography was the basis for the screenplay written by Mark Peploe and Bernardo Bertolucci. Independently produced by Jeremy Thomas, it was directed by Bertolucci and released in 1987 by Columbia Pictures...
(1987) - Iron & Silk (1990)
- Shadow of China (1990)
- The GuyverThe GuyverThe Guyver is a 1991 American Tokusatsu film loosely based on the Manga series of the same name. The film was met with a mixed to negative reaction from critics and fans. A sequel was followed in 1994 called Guyver: Dark Hero, which was received more favorably than it's predecessor.-Plot:CIA agent...
(1991) - Heaven & Earth (1993)
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IIITeenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IIITeenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III is a 1993 American live-action film, the second sequel of the 1990 live-action Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film. It was produced by Clearwater Holdings Ltd. and Golden Harvest. This was the last Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film released by New Line Cinema and...
(1993) - The Joy Luck ClubThe Joy Luck ClubThe Joy Luck Club is a best-selling novel written by Amy Tan. It focuses on four Chinese American immigrant families in San Francisco, California who start a club known as "the Joy Luck Club," playing the Chinese game of mahjong for money while feasting on a variety of foods...
(1993) - Vanishing SonVanishing SonVanishing Son is a short-lived syndicated action television series that was part of Universal Television's Action Pack. Starting as a series of four made for television movies in 1994, the series debuted on January 16, 1995...
(TV) (1994) - Woman Rose (1996)
- The Pillow BookThe Pillow Book (film)The Pillow Book is a 1996 film by United Kingdom director Peter Greenaway, which stars Vivian Wu as Nagiko, a Japanese model in search of pleasure and new cultural experience from various lovers...
(1996) - The Soong SistersThe Soong Sisters (film)The Soong Sisters is a 1997 Hong Kong film dramatization of the lives of the Soong sisters from 1911 to 1949. The three sisters married the most important historical figures during the founding of new China, making the family the focal point of every important major decision made in modern...
(1997) - A Bright Shining Lie (1998) (TV Film)
- The Legend of Pig Eye (1998)
- Blindness (1998)
- 8½ Women8½ Women8½ Women is a 1999 comedy-drama film written and directed by Peter Greenaway, and starring John Standing, Matthew Delamere, and Vivian Wu. The international co-production was entered into the 1999 Cannes Film Festival.-Plot:After the death of his wife , wealthy businessman Philip Emmenthal 8½...
(1999) - Dinner RushDinner RushDinner Rush is an independent feature film, written by Brian S. Kalata and Rick Shaughnessy. Directed by Bob Giraldi. It stars Danny Aiello as a restaurateur-bookmaker in New York City's Tribeca neighborhood and Edoardo Ballerini as his son, the restaurant's star chef...
(2000) - Roses Are Red (2000)
- EncryptEncrypt (film)Encrypt is a television movie that premiered June 14, 2003 on the Sci-Fi Channel. Set in the year 2068, the Earth's surface is in a cataclysmic upheaval, much of it transformed into wasteland by unstoppable storms...
(2003) - Beauty Remains (2005)
- KinamandKinamandKinamand is a bitter comedy/drama film made in 2005 in China and Denmark. The film deals with the Chinese immigrant experience in Denmark and marriage of convenience.-Plot:...
(2005) - Eve and the Fire HorseEve and the Fire HorseEve and the Fire Horse is a 2005 Canadian film written and directed by Julia Kwan. It won the Special Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival and the Claude Jutra Award for the best feature film by a first-time film director in Canada.-Plot:...
(2005) - Shanghai Red (2006)
- Desires of the Heart (2008)
- The Founding of a RepublicThe Founding of a RepublicThe Founding of a Republic is a 2009 Chinese historical film commissioned by China's film regulator and made by the state-owned China Film Group to mark the 60th anniversary of the People's Republic of China...
(2009) - Shanghai Blue (2010)
- Snow Flower and the Secret FanSnow Flower and the Secret Fan (film)Snow Flower and the Secret Fan is a 2011 historical drama film based on the novel of the same name by the Chinese-American author Lisa See. Directed by Wayne Wang, the film stars Gianna Jun, Li Bingbing, Archie Kao, Vivian Wu, and Hugh Jackman....
(2011)
TV series
- Dwelling NarrownessDwelling NarrownessDwelling Narrowness , also known literally as Snail House, was a 2009 television series broadcast in Mainland China, based on a 2007 novel of the same name. It depicts two sisters struggling with life in Jiangzhou, a fictional city that strongly resembles present-day Shanghai...
(2009) - Strange World Television series (1999 - 2000)