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IMDbPro

Jessica Lu(I)

  • Actress
  • Writer
  • Producer
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Jessica Lu
Frank Penny is a disgraced cop looking for a shot at redemption. When the police chief's 11-year-old daughter is abducted, Frank goes rogue to try and save her. But to find the girl, Frank will need the help of Ava Brooks (Courtney Eaton), whose live-streaming news channel is broadcasting Frank's every move. While a city watches, Frank and Ava race against time in this explosive action-thriller.
Play trailer2:17
Line of Duty (2019)
15 Videos
75 Photos
Jessica Lu was born and raised in a northwest suburb of Chicago, Illinois, to artistic parents who grew up in more practical times. Her parents are from South Korea, with her father being Chinese and Japanese, and her mother being Chinese. They speak English, Mandarin and Korean at home. Despite her father being a photographer and her mother being a singer, their immigrant status and drive for success landed them in the restaurant business when they moved to the states.

Lu has been a natural performer since early childhood. At 6 years old, she started dancing, specializing in ballet, tap, and jazz, and had multiple recitals throughout the year. Seeing Kristi Yamaguchi and Michelle Kwan on television for the Olympics began her figure skating career, and she had private lessons every morning at 4am before school. She also dabbled a bit in music, with singing, piano and violin lessons. Growing up in and having her parents' restaurant as her stage with a daily rotating audience, Jessica would entertain each table with a theatrical reading of Beauty and the Beast, a tap dance, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star on the violin, or a serenade of Eternal Flame by the Bangles. Sometimes she would reward herself afterwards by sitting in the customers' laps and eating their food, which they would later remind her plenty of times well into her high school years.

Lu started modeling and acting, and quickly became one of the most sought after child talents in Chicago by the time she was 10 year old, working for huge campaigns such as Calvin Klein, OshKosh, Marshall Fields, Got Milk?, Chicago Place, as well as numerous commercials for McDonald's, Ford Motors, Orville Redenbacher's, Samsung, Kaiser Permanente. She could be seen in billboards around the city, as well as in department stores, weekly ads in the newspaper and on television. Her love for performing continued as she became more involved in theatre productions in junior high and high school, and eventually went on to attend Columbia College Chicago, graduating with a degree in Musical Theatre Performance.

Lu moved to Los Angeles, California in 2008. Soon after she booked the role of Ming Huang on the critically acclaimed MTV series Awkward. Other notable work followed, showcasing her versatility and ease with drama and comedy, including roles such as an insufferable hipster opposite Kathy Bates on FX's American Horror Story: Hotel in which Popsugar included her as one of "The 25 Best American Horror Story Guest Stars", an upscale escort opposite Tim Robbins on HBO's Here and Now with a performance that AVClub wrote was "one of the subtlest, best motivated characters", an adoring admirer opposite Ashton Kutcher and Jon Cryer on CBS's Two and a Half Men, a lovesick teenager with a terminal illness on FOX's Red Band Society.

As of 2018, Lu can be seen on NBC's Reverie, as tech genius CEO Alexis Barrett, starring alongside Sarah Shahi, Dennis Haysbert, Sendhil Ramamurthy and Kathryn Morris. IndieWire called her a "promising scene stealer" in the pilot episode. SYFYWIRE, as well as other fan sites, expressed their appreciation for Lu's performance week after week, and she quickly became a favorite character. TVLine gave her a Performer of the Week honorary mention by the last episode of the first season, with her "tender performance" breaking hearts.
BornApril 18, 1985
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BornApril 18, 1985
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Photos75

Dennis Haysbert, Kathryn Morris, Sendhil Ramamurthy, Tom Szentgyorgyi, Sarah Shahi, Mickey Fisher, and Jessica Lu
Jessica Lu arrives at the MTV Video Music Awards on Sunday, Aug. 25, 2013, at the Barclays Center in the Brooklyn borough of New York.
NBC's The New Normal as Tabitha, with Ellen Barkin as Jane
Ashley Rickards, Jillian Rose Reed, and Jessica Lu in Awkward. (2011)
AMERICAN HORROR STORY: HOTEL
RED BAND SOCIETY
Ashley Rickards, Jillian Rose Reed, and Jessica Lu in Awkward. (2011)
Jessica Lu in Awkward. (2011)
Ashley Rickards, Jillian Rose Reed, and Jessica Lu in Awkward. (2011)
Jillian Rose Reed and Jessica Lu in Awkward. (2011)
Molly Tarlov, Desi Lydic, Brett Davern, Jillian Rose Reed, Jessica Lu, and Greer Grammer in Awkward. (2011)
Jessica Lu in Awkward. (2011)

Known for

Ashley Rickards in Awkward. (2011)
Awkward.
7.5
TV Series
  • Ming Huang
Dennis Haysbert, Kathryn Morris, Sendhil Ramamurthy, Sarah Shahi, and Jessica Lu in Reverie (2018)
Reverie
6.6
TV Series
  • Alexis Barrett
God Friended Me (2018)
God Friended Me
6.9
TV Series
  • Joy
  • Joy Chen
  • Woman
American Horror Story (2011)
American Horror Story
8.0
TV Series
  • Babe

Credits

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IMDbPro

Actress

  • The Blank's YPF (2020)
    The Blank's YPF
  • God Friended Me (2018)
    God Friended Me
  • Aaron Eckhart and Nishelle Williams in Line of Duty (2019)
    Line of Duty
  • Steve Aoki Feat. BTS: Waste It on Me (2018)
    Steve Aoki Feat. BTS: Waste It on Me
  • Henry Simmons, Natalie Dreyfuss, Patrick Fischler, Chris Payne Gilbert, Tricia Helfer, Luis Gomez, Kevin Alejandro, Sascha Rasmussen, Derek Ray, Paul Forte, Josh Atchley, Jessica Lu, Denise Santos, and Adrian Cunningham in Bedtime Story (2018)
    Bedtime Story
  • Dennis Haysbert, Kathryn Morris, Sendhil Ramamurthy, Sarah Shahi, and Jessica Lu in Reverie (2018)
    Reverie
  • Pink Lemonade
  • Tim Robbins, Holly Hunter, Sosie Bacon, Jerrika Hinton, Raymond Lee, and Daniel Zovatto in Here and Now (2018)
    Here and Now
  • Mary Kate Wiles and Jessica Lu in Meatloaf (2017)
    Meatloaf
  • Connie Britton and Hayden Panettiere in Nashville (2012)
    Nashville
  • Benjamin Papac in Saving the Human Race: Webisodes (2017)
    Saving the Human Race: Webisodes
  • Haley Pullos in From Straight A's to XXX (2017)
    From Straight A's to XXX
  • The girls I know... get their hands dirty. (2016)
    The girls I know... get their hands dirty.
  • Renee Faia, Matthew Yang King, Booboo Stewart, Jessica Lu, and Chanel Marriott in Loveology (2016)
    Loveology
  • Namour (2016)
    Namour

Writer

  • Pink Lemonade

Producer

  • Pink Lemonade

Videos15

Official Trailer
Trailer 2:17
Official Trailer
Reverie: Altum Somnum
Trailer 1:30
Reverie: Altum Somnum
Reverie: Apertus
Trailer 1:37
Reverie: Apertus
Reverie: Pas De Deux
Trailer 0:16
Reverie: Pas De Deux
Reverie: Bond. Jane Bond.
Trailer 1:23
Reverie: Bond. Jane Bond.
Reverie: The Key
Trailer 0:31
Reverie: The Key
Reverie: No More Mr. Nice Guy
Trailer 4:45
Reverie: No More Mr. Nice Guy
Reverie: The Black Mandala
Trailer 0:31
Reverie: The Black Mandala
Reverie: Season 1
Trailer 0:31
Reverie: Season 1
Reverie: Blue Is The Coldest Color
Trailer 0:31
Reverie: Blue Is The Coldest Color
Reverie: Despedida
Trailer 0:45
Reverie: Despedida
Reverie: Point Of Origin
Trailer 0:30
Reverie: Point Of Origin

Personal details

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  • Official sites
    • Facebook
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    • April 18, 1985
    • Schaumburg, Illinois, USA
    • (Sibling)
  • Other works
    Print ad: Got Milk?

Did you know

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  • Trivia
    Is Chinese and Japanese.

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