Lisa Lu
Summary
Actress Lisa Lu was honored with the 2,811th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Monday, May 5, at 11:30 am PT at 1708 Vine Street. Lu received her star in the category of Motion Pictures.
WHO | HONOREE Lisa Lu
EMCEE Hollywood Chamber of Commerce President & CEO Steve Nissen
GUEST SPEAKERS Actress Awkwafina and Janet Yang, President of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences
WHAT Dedication of the 2,811th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
WHEN Monday, May 5, 2025 at 11:30 AM PT
WHERE 1708 Vine Street near the historic corner of Hollywood & Vine
WATCH LIVE The event was streamed live exclusively at www.walkoffame.com
Actress Lisa Lu was honored with the 2,811th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Monday, May 5, at 11:30 am PT at 1708 Vine Street. Lu received her star in the category of Motion Pictures. Joining emcee Steve Nissen were actress Awkwafina and Janet Yang, President of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences.
The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce administers the legendary Walk of Fame for the City of Los Angeles and has proudly hosted the globally iconic star ceremonies for decades. Millions of people from here and around the world have visited this cultural landmark since 1960.
ABOUT OUR HONOREE
“The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce is proud to welcome actress Lisa Lu to the Hollywood Walk of Fame,” stated Ana Martinez, Walk of Fame Producer. “Lisa Lu’s star will be unveiled near the star of James Stewart, with whom she worked on the film The Mountain Road. The film left an indelible mark on Hollywood’s cinematic history. Lisa’s star is also next the star of the legendary Anna May Wong, who was the first Asian woman to be honored with a star on the Walk of Fame. It is a fitting tribute to her talent and legacy in paving the way for diversity in film. Lisa Lu carries on this significant tradition of furthering the path to diversity in the entertainment business,” added Martinez.
Bestowed the title of a “Living Legend” by the Chinese Government, three-time Golden Horse winner, and internationally renowned actress and producer, Lisa Lu has worked in film, television, and stage for over 65 years.
Even in her nineties, Lu has not slowed down. She starred as Ah Ma, the matriarch of Singapore’s richest family in the Warner Brothers box office smash hit Crazy Rich Asians (2018), and played the title role in the feature The Disappearance of Mrs. Wu (2021). In 2022, she voiced the character of Grandma Bai in the animated feature Rally Road Racers, created by the producers of Shrek, and then starred in multiple episodes of the Hulu series Death and Other Details (2024).
On stage, she was the star of Stan Lai’s A Dream Like a Dream, an eight hour play that she did annually pre-Covid and toured in China. Lu also played Lady Bracknell in the Chinese stage production of The Importance of Being Earnest at the National Theatre in Taipei, Taiwan, as well as the role of Regina in a Cantonese version of The Little Foxes with the Hong Kong Repertory Theatre.
Lu first came to prominence when she co-starred opposite James Stewart in The Mountain Road (1960) as his love interest Madame Su-Mei Hung, the American educated widow of a general. She also appeared in multiple episodes of the television series Have Gun – Will Travel (1958-1961). In the 1970s, she starred in films like Demon Seed (1977) and Saint Jack (1979). At the age of 60, Lu was asked to reprise her role as the Empress Dowager CiXi in Bernardo Bertolucci’s The Last Emperor (1987). The film went on to win nine Oscar’s and four Golden Globes including Best Picture. From the success of The Last Emperor, Lu was offered the role of An-Mei in Wayne Wang’s seminal film The Joy Luck Club (1993) based on Amy Tan’s novel of the same name.
In her 70s and 80s, Lu continued to work in both China and the U.S. and starred in films like Roland Emmerich’s disaster epic 2012 and Ang Lee’s Lust, Caution (2007). Her film Apart Together (2010), a Chinese film directed by Golden Bear winner Wang Quan An, was the opening film for the 2010 Berlin Film Festival (and won the festival’s Silver Bear Award for best screen play). She also received the Best Actress Award for her role in Apart Together at the 2011 Wan Xiang Chinese Film Festival in London.
Lu is the recipient of three Golden Horse Awards (Taiwan’s equivalent of the Oscars) for: Best Actress, The Empress Dowager (1973), Best Supporting Actress, The 14 Amazons (1972) and Best Actress, The Arch (1970). She is also a recipient of the Magnolia Award (China’s equivalent of the Tony Awards) for Best Actress and Best Translation, for Neil Simon’s Plaza Suite (1992).
Lu’s numerous honors include the United Nations International Culture of Peace Award (2000), the Los Angeles Chinese American Museum History Maker Award (2009), and a commemorative postage stamp issued in China in 2006. In 1999, she was awarded the Lifetime Achievement for the Arts Award for Most Outstanding Asian Artist by the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts and the Chinese-American Arts Council. Lu is also named by The World Journal as one of the “100 most outstanding Chinese persons living in North America in the last century”; and she is also listed as one of the “100 Chinese Motion Picture Stars from 1905 to 1995,” “commemorating a century of motion picture history in China.
Lu is the only person in Hollywood who has voted at the AMPAS (The Oscars), The Hollywood Foreign Press Association (The Golden Globes), The Television Academy (The Emmy’s) and the Screen Actors’ Guild (SAG).
Lu has worked tirelessly with Voice of America, United Nations International Culture of Peace and the LA Chinese-American Museum.
