Constance Wu Biography

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Constance Tianming Wu (born March 22, 1982) is an American actress. Wu is known for her role as Jessica Huang in the ABC comedy series Fresh Off the Boat.

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.

Her parents emigrated from Taipei City, the capital of Taiwan. 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. Her father was a biology and genetics professor at Virginia Commonwealth University and her mother was a computer programmer.

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

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.

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. 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. E! named her a breakout star of the 2014-15 television season.

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.

In 2015, she was nominated for Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Actress in a Comedy Series and a Television Critics Association TCA Award for Individual Achievement in Comedy. 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.

Personal life

Wu lives in Los Angeles. She has a pet rabbit named Lida Rose.

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	Mikiko Kobiyashi	Movie
2015	Childrens Hospital	Pepsi Lamarr	Episode: "Up at 5""
2015-present	Fresh Off the Boat	Jessica Huang	Series regular; 37 episodes Nominated - TCA Award for Individual Achievement in Comedy (2015, 2016) Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Actress in a Comedy Series (2015, 2016)
2016	Royal Pains	Amy Chang	Episode: "Fly Me to Kowloon"