Jessica Lu

Jessica Lu
File:Jessica Lu & Devyn Smith (14516670146).jpg Lu (left) and Devyn Smith (right) at VidCon on June 27, 2014
Born	Jessica Lu (1985-04-18) April 18, 1985 Schaumburg, Illinois, United States
Alma mater	Columbia College Chicago
Occupation	Actress model spokesperson
Years active	2009–present

Jessica Lu (April 18, 1985) is an American actress, model, and spokesperson. She is best known for her portrayal of Ming Huang on the MTV television series Awkward.

Early life and education

Lu was born in Schaumburg, Illinois on April 18, 1985 and is of Chinese descent. She has a younger brother, Andy. As a child, she attended Hanover Highlands Elementary School located in Hanover Park, Illinois, Robert Frost Junior High in Schaumburg, Illinois, and James B. Conant High School in Hoffman Estates, Illinois. Jessica grew up in the Chicago suburb of Schaumburg, Illinois, where she spent her childhood and high school days developing her love of theater and the performing arts. She went on to attend Columbia College Chicago in Chicago, Illinois, where she starred as the lead role in the musical Flower Drum Song, before graduating with an honors degree in Musical Theatre Performance. She is of Chinese and Japanese descent.

Theater

As a student at Columbia College Chicago, Jessica starred as the lead role in the musical, Flower Drum Song. She also played supporting roles in the musicals West Side Story and Ragtime.

Television

Jessica Lu previously starred as the down-to-earth Ming Huang on the critically acclaimed MTV series Awkward. Jessica has also appeared in the TV series Law & Order: LA, CSI, and 90210.

Film

In 2009, Jessica performed in the film short, The Kari Files, as well as the full-length feature film Fame. She portrayed Whitney in Mortal Kombat: Rebirth in 2010.

In 2013, Jessica played in Joey Graceffa's YouTube series: Storytellers. 2015 starred on the side of Scott Glenn, Stephen Tobolowsky, and Kristen Hager in the Thriller film The Barber.

Modeling

Jessica has modeled in print ads for Got Milk?, OshKosh B'Gosh, Claire's, Parisian, Lands' End, Chicago Place, and Carson Pirie Scott. Her modeling career also includes commercial work for Kaiser Permanente, Samsung, McDonalds, Ford Motors, and Orville Redenbacher's.

Advocacy and charity work

Jessica is an advocate for Love Is Louder Than the Pressure to Be Perfect, which addresses the issues of bullying, depression and discrimination as well as the Trevor Project, an organization providing crisis intervention and suicide prevention services for the LGBTQ community.

Personal life

Jessica resides in Los Angeles with her dog, Oprah, and her cat, Lucky.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2010	Mortal Kombat: Rebirth	Whitney	Short film
2014	About Last Night	Ad executive

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2009	Life	Riceburner Girlfriend	Episode: "Re-Entry"
2009	90210	Catholic School Girl #2	Episode: "The Dionysian Debacle"
2009	CSI: Crime Scene Investigation	Lily	Episode: "Appendicitement"
2010	Law & Order: LA	Kai Ng	Episode: "Hollywood"
2011-2014	Awkward	Ming Huang	Series regular, seasons 1-3 (36 episodes)
2012	The New Normal	Tabitha	Episode: "Pilot"
2014	Two and a Half Men	Jean	Episode: "Alan Shot a Girl"
2014	Salvation	Hayley Stern	TV movie
2015	Red Band Society	Mae	Episodes: "We'll Always Have Paris" and "Waiting for Superman"
2015	Weird Loners	Molly	Episode: "Pilot"
2015-2016	American Horror Story: Hotel	Babe	2 episodes

Web

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2013-2014	Storytellers	Mai Himura

Theater

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

External links

• Jessica Lu at the Internet Movie Database