Constance Wu

Early life and education

Constance Wu was born in Richmond, Virginia, to a Taiwanese American family. She is the third of four daughters. Her parents had emigrated from Taiwan. Her father, Fang-Sheng Wu, is a biology and genetics professor at Virginia Commonwealth University, and her mother is a computer programmer. Wu said that her paternal grandparents were very poor, working as bamboo farmers, and did not have the opportunity to get an education, so they were unable to read and write.

She graduated from Douglas S. Freeman High School, in Henrico County, Virginia, where she performed in local theater. She participated in a six-month program during high school at the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute. Wu later graduated from State University of New York at Purchase's Conservatory of Theatre Arts with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in acting in 2005.

After college, Wu studied psycholinguistics in New York for three semesters of post-bachelor studies. She then applied to and was accepted by Columbia University to pursue graduate studies in speech pathology. But before she entered Columbia, Wu decided to leave New York to continue acting and moved to Los Angeles. She has cited Academy Award-winning director Ang Lee as an influence.

Career

2006–2016: Early work and ''Fresh Off the Boat''

In New York City, Wu got roles onstage and in independent movies. She made her screen debut with a supporting role in Stephanie Daley (2006). She later had 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 had a recurring role as Laudine Lee on the ABC soap opera One Life to Live in 2007. In an interview, Wu stated that she impulsively moved to Los Angeles from New York in 2010 after a heartbreak. In Los Angeles, she was cast in Sound of My Voice, directed by Zal Batmanglij. From 2012 to 2017, Wu starred in the web series EastSiders. She won two Indie Series Awards, both for Best Ensemble - Drama in 2014 and 2016. She was also nominated for two Indie Series Awards, one for Best Supporting Actress - Drama and the other for Best Guest Actress - Drama in those same years.

In 2015, 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 fellow Asian storytellers. In 2014, after landing a role in one unsuccessful comedy pilot, Wu won the lead 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. For her role as Jessica Huang, she received four nominations for the Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Actress in a Comedy Series, tying with Amy Poehler as the second most nominated actress in the category behind Julia Louis-Dreyfus. She was also nominated for two TCA Awards for Individual Achievement in Comedy.

2017–present: Film breakthrough and stage work

In 2017, she appeared in the Hulu anthology series, Dimension 404, and was included on the annual Time 100 list of the most influential people in the world. In February 2017, Wu was cast as the female lead in Jon M. Chu's adaptation of Crazy Rich Asians, based on the bestselling novel of the same name by Kevin Kwan. The film was released in the United States and Canada on August 15, 2018, by Warner Bros., and was the first major Hollywood studio film to feature an all-Asian cast since 1993's The Joy Luck Club. The film was a critical and commercial success, and emerged as the highest-grossing romantic comedy in a decade, grossing over $238 million. Wu received critical acclaim for her performance and was nominated for a Golden Globe Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, a Satellite Award, two Critics' Choice Movie Awards, and two NAACP Image Awards. She is the first Asian woman in over 40 years to be nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy, and the fourth-ever female Asian nominee. Wu is signed on to reprise her role as Rachel Chu in both sequels to Crazy Rich Asians titled China Rich Girlfriend and Rich People Problems, which were originally set for back-to-back filming in 2020, although production on them has not yet begun.

In November 2018, Wu starred in a short animated film Crow: The Legend as Skunk. The following year, the actress starred alongside Jennifer Lopez in the crime comedy film Hustlers, which follows a group of former strippers in Manhattan who rob wealthy men. Wu worked at a strip club undercover to prepare for the role. The film opened on September 13, 2019, and became a box office success, grossing over $157 million worldwide and receiving positive reviews from critics. Also in 2019, Wu starred in the independent drama film I Was a Simple Man. In June 2019, it was announced that Wu would play the lead role in a film titled Goodbye Vitamin, based on the debut novel of Rachel Khong. The film will be distributed by Universal Pictures and Wu will serve as an executive producer on the film.

In March 2021, Wu was cast in the Amazon Prime thriller series The Terminal List. More recently, she signed a first look TV deal with Entertainment One. She plays Mrs. Primm in the new movie Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile, which was released in theaters October 7, 2022. In late 2022, she starred in the U.S. debut of the play 2:22 A Ghost Story at the Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles. In 2023, she had a recurring voice role as Daphne Blake in the Max animated series Velma created by Mindy Kaling. That same year she acted in the horror comedy rock musical Little Shop of Horrors opposite Corbin Bleu off Broadway . In 2024 she acted in the drama film The Friend alongside Naomi Watts and Bill Murray. On August 26, 2024, it was announced that Wu has joined the cast of Shit. Meet. Fan. alongside Neil Patrick Harris, Jane Krakowski, and Debra Messing in an off Broadway play written and directed by Robert O'Hara.

In October 2024, Wu was announced as a producer for a potential limited series based upon R. F. Kuang's 2023 novel Yellowface that had been optioned by Lionsgate Television.In December 2025, she was a guest narrator at Disney's Candlelight Processional at Walt Disney World.

Other ventures

Activism and philanthropy

In 2017, Wu worked with Miry's List, an organization that provides essential kits to newly arrived immigrants and refugee families in Southern California, stating in an interview with Teen Vogue that she wants to be active in her care of "people with the courage to make an immigrant journey in search of peace, safety and well-being for their families."

In 2023, Wu was one of the actors to sign an open letter praising President Joe Biden advocating for the release of the October 7th hostages. She signed alongside Gal Gadot, Bradley Cooper, Madonna, Bob Odenkirk, Taika Waititi, Tyler Perry, and Zoe Saldaña.

Writing

Wu released her first book, the memoir Making a Scene, in October 2022.

Personal life

Relationships

Wu lives in Brooklyn in New York. In December 2011, Wu met actor Ben Hethcoat, whom she dated until February 2018. In November 2018, Wu spoke out about online harassment and criticism she had received for dating Hethcoat, who is white. In August 2020, Wu gave birth to her first child, a girl, with her boyfriend Ryan Kattner, frontman of the band Man Man. On February 21, 2023, Wu announced her second pregnancy in an Instagram story, and on July 20, 2023, she revealed she gave birth to her second child, a son.

Mental health, cyberbullying and harassment

In May 2019, after Fresh Off the Boat was renewed for its sixth and final season, Wu made several social media posts expressing her unhappiness with the renewal, including commenting "Dislike" on the show's Instagram post announcing the renewal and tweeting, "So upset right now that I'm literally crying. Ugh. Fuck". Several days later, Wu clarified that she had been angry at the show's renewal because it had forced her to drop out of another project that she was "really passionate about," one that would have been an artistic challenge compared to her role in Fresh Off the Boat. She further stated that she loved her cast mates and harbored no animosity towards them. The posts sparked backlash on social media.

In July 2022, Wu revealed that the controversy, and specifically several private messages from "a fellow Asian actress" who told Wu that she had "become a blight on the Asian American community", had prompted her to attempt suicide; she was found by a friend and saved. Wu abstained from social media for the subsequent three years and decreased her acting workload to "focus on [her] mental health", which included entering psychotherapy.

In September 2022, Wu stated in interviews that she was the target of sexual harassment by an unspecified producer of Fresh Off the Boat which had contributed to her initial reaction to the news of the show's renewal.

Filmography

Film

Television

Theater

Music videos

• "Family Feud" (2017) by Jay-Z featuring Beyoncé

Bibliography

• Making a Scene (2022)

Awards and nominations

Wu has earned several accolades, including nominations for a Golden Globe Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, two Critics' Choice Movie Awards, four Critics' Choice Television Awards, and two TCA Awards.

References

References

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