Jessica Lu
Jessica Lu in 2014
Born	Schaumburg, Illinois, U.S.
Alma mater	Columbia College Chicago
Occupation	Actress
Years active	2009–present

Jessica Lu is an American actress. She is best known for her portrayal of Ming Huang on the MTV television series Awkward.

Early life

Jessica Lu was born and raised in Schaumburg,^[1] a northwest suburb of Chicago, Illinois. Her parents are from South Korea, with her father being Chinese and Japanese, and her mother Chinese. They speak English, Mandarin and Korean at home. Her father is a photographer, and her mother, a singer. After arriving in the United States, they established a restaurant in Chicago.

Lu has been a natural performer since early childhood. At 6 years old, she started dancing, specializing in ballet, tap, and jazz. After watching Kristi Yamaguchi and Michelle Kwan compete in the 1992 Olympics, she pursued figure skating and took private lessons at 4am every morning before school. She also had singing, piano, and violin lessons. With her parents’ restaurant as her stage with a daily rotating audience, Jessica would entertain each table with a theatrical reading, violin playing, a tap dance, or a song.

After starting modeling and acting, she became a sought after child talent in Chicago. By the time she was 10 years old, she had worked on ad campaigns such as Calvin Klein, Oshkosh, Marshall Fields, Got Milk?, and Chicago Place, as well as commercials for McDonald's, Ford Motors, Orville Redenbacher's, Samsung, and Kaiser Permanente.

Lu graduated with honors from Columbia College Chicago^[1] with a degree in Musical Theater Performance.

Career

Lu moved to Los Angeles, California in 2008. Soon after, she was cast in the role of Ming Huang on the critically acclaimed MTV series Awkward. Other work followed, in both drama and comedy, including roles such as an insufferable hipster opposite Kathy Bates on FX's American Horror Story: Hotel, for which Popsugar listed 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 The A.V. Club 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; and a lovesick teenager with a terminal illness on FOX's Red Band Society.

In 2018, Lu played tech genius CEO Alexis Barrett on NBC's Reverie,^[1] 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, for her “tender performance”. Jessica co-starred on the CBS television drama God Friended Me as Joy.

Filmography

Theater

• Flower Drum Song — Lead
• West Side Story — Supporting
• Ragtime! — Supporting/Ensemble