American actress
Elizabeth Fong Sung (Chinese: 孫芳; pinyin: Sūn Fāng; 14 October 1954 – 22 May 2018) was a Chinese-American actress, director, and screenwriter. She was also a revered acting teacher and mentor to young performers and filmmakers in the Asian-Pacific community.
Early life and education
Sung was born and raised in British Hong Kong and studied ballet at a young age before coming to the United States.[1]
She attended the Juilliard School and earned a BFA in dance. She was a member of the Alvin Ailey Dance Company. Sung also earned an MFA in directing from the American Film Institute.[2]
Career
From 1994-96, Sung appeared on the American soap opera The Young and the Restless as Luan Volien.[3] She directed the short film Requiem, which was based on her childhood in Hong Kong and her journey to New York City as a ballet student. It won a CINE Golden Eagle Award in 1996.[3]
Her other notable television appearances included roles on Hawaii Five-O, The Sopranos, Bones, Curb Your Enthusiasm, NCIS: Los Angeles, and Charmed.[citation needed] She starred in The Joy Luck Club, Memoirs of a Geisha, and Lethal Weapon 4.[4]
Sung appeared in the Asian-American comedies including Anita Ho,[5] Front Cover,[6] and Vivian Bang's White Rabbit that screened at the Sundance Festival in 2018.[7]
Personal life and death
Sung was married to writer and actor Peter Tulipan.[8] She was fluent in both Cantonese and Mandarin.[2][4] Her brother, Philip, died in 1985 from AIDS.[8]
Sung died on 22 May 2018, aged 63.[9] Her cause of death initially had not been released,[10] but it was later revealed Sung died from lymphoma.[11]
