Lucille Soong

In this Chinese name, the family name is Soong.

Lucille Soong (born September 5, 1935) is a Chinese-American actress. She is best known for her main role as Jenny Huang in the television series Fresh Off the Boat (2015–2020). She has acted and appeared in films and TV series since 1959, and is the author of the autobiography Wild Orchid: From Beijing to La-La Land.

Lucille Soong
Soong in 2016
Born	(1935-09-05)September 5, 1935 China
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1959–present

Lucille Soong
Traditional Chinese	宋靜秀
Simplified Chinese	宋静秀
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Sòng Jìngxiù

Early life

She was born to a wealthy family in China on September 5, 1935, and grew up in Beijing. She and her family suffered under political campaigns after the Chinese Communist Revolution, and she moved to Hong Kong at age 21 to escape.

Career

In Hong Kong she was discovered by director Lewis Gilbert and made her first uncredited screen appearance in his 1959 film Ferry to Hong Kong. After moving to London in the 1960s she went on to have single-episode roles in British film and TV series Ghost Squad, Crane, Emergency-Ward 10 and The Champions and others.

In 1969, she starred in the soap opera Coronation Street, playing the role of Billy Walker's short-term girlfriend in 5 episodes. In the show, her character suffered abuse from his mother Annie Walker, and she soon broke up with him.

After moving to Hollywood in Los Angeles, she had minor roles in films The Joy Luck Club (1993) and The Corruptor (1999). For major role, she portrayed Pei-Pei's mom in the 2003 remake of Freaky Friday; starred as hairdresser Ming in Nora's Hair Salon (2004) and Nora's Hair Salon 2: A Cut Above (2008); and played Nhung Chan in Nine Dead (2009).

Her television credits in the United States included a recurring role in 7 episodes of the ABC prime time soap Desperate Housewives, portraying Gabrielle Solis' former maid, Yao Lin. She has also appeared on Dharma & Greg (3 episodes), Passions (4 episodes), Huff, All About the Andersons, According to Jim and others.

Soong starred on the ABC show Fresh Off the Boat. She recurred in the first season, and was promoted to main cast for subsequent seasons. She portrayed Grandma Jenny Huang, grandmother of the Huang family.

Her autobiography, Wild Orchid: From Beijing to La-La Land, was published by Dorrance Publishing Co. on May 1, 2024.

Filmography

Films

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1959	Ferry to Hong Kong	The Bride	Uncredited
1963	55 Days at Peking	Concubine	Uncredited
1964	French Dressing	Starlet	Major
1965	Genghis Khan	Concubine
1965	The Knack ...and How to Get It	Girl in Sauna	Uncredited
1965	Darling	Allie	Uncredited
1965	Marco the Magnificent	Princess Bride	Uncredited
1965	Three Weeks of Love	Girl in Hong Kong
1966	The Brides of Fu Manchu	Ling / Bride	Uncredited
1967	The Mini-Affair	Lucille	Major
1969	The File of the Golden Goose	Girl in Bath	Uncredited
1970	One More Time	Kim Lee	Major
1993	The Joy Luck Club	Popo
1999	The Corruptor	Elderly Immigrant
1999	The Debtors	Chinese Restaurant Owner
1999	My American Vacation	Friend of Grandma
2003	Freaky Friday	Pei-Pei's Mom	Major
2004	Employee of the Month	Old Korean Lady	Uncredited
2004	Nora's Hair Salon	Ming	Major
2005	Sky High	Cook
2005	Just like Heaven	Chinese Exorcist
2006	Mission: Impossible III	Shanghai Woman	Uncredited
2007	Nancy Drew	Waitress
2008	Nora's Hair Salon 2: A Cut Above	Ming	Major
2009	Nine Dead	Nhung Chan	Major
2021	Raya and the Last Dragon	Dang Hu (voice)
2025	Freakier Friday	Pei-Pei's Mom	Major; Post-production

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1963	Ghost Squad	Hotel Barmaid	Episode: "Sabotage"
1963	Man of the World	Nurse	Episode: "The Enemy"
1964	Crane	Yasuma	Episode: "Man Without a Past"
1964	Sergeant Cork	Lotus Feng / Waitress	Episode: "The Case of the Dutiful Murderer" Episode: "The Case of the Medicine Man"
1965	The Avengers	Miss Smith, Tusamo's Secretary	Episode: "The Cybernauts"
1966	Adam Adamant Lives!	Suzu	Episode: "More Deadly Than the Sword"
1967	Emergency – Ward 10	Blind Patient	Episode: "There's None So Blind" Episode: "Second Sight"
1967–1970	The Troubleshooters	Su Lan / Hostess / Suzie	3 episodes
1967	The Prisoner	Flower Girl	Episode: "A. B. and C."
1968	Hugh and I Spy	Miss Lee	Episode: "Yellow Peril"
1969	Coronation Street	Jasmine Choong	5 episodes
1969	The Champions	Tsaiyoko Naga	Episode: "The Gun-Runners"
1971	Shirley's World	Tourist Guide	Episode: "A Mother's Touch"
1994	Vanishing Son	Ling	TV movie
1996	Yesterday's Target	Dr. Kang	TV movie
1997	Fired Up	Mrs. Kim	Episode: "The Rules"
1997–2001	Dharma & Greg	Mrs. Wong / Chinese Grandmother / Mrs. Kwan	3 episodes
1998	Maggie	Cat Lady	Episode: "Just Shoot Him"
1999	Ryan Caulfield: Year One	Store Owner	Episode: "Po-Piggity and Other Racial Slurs"
2000	Strong Medicine	Mrs. Lum	Episode: "Pilot"
2000	JAG	Older Vietnamese woman	Episode: "A Separate Peace: Part 1"
2000	The Michael Richards Show	Woman #1	Episode: "USA Toy"
2001	Chasing Destiny	Hostess	TV movie
2001	Passions	Sally Chin	4 episodes
2003	All About the Andersons	Mrs. Chong	Episode: "Everyone Plays"
2004–2009	Desperate Housewives	Yao Lin	Recurring 7 episodes (Season 1, 5)
2004	Huff	Xui Shi	Episode: "That Fucking Cabin" Episode: "Flashpants"
2005	According to Jim	Manicurist	Episode: "The Race"
2006	The King of Queens	Lily	Episode: "Apartment Complex"
2007	Bones	Mai Zhang	Episode: "The Boneless Bride in the River"
2008	The Sarah Silverman Program	Mrs. Xiongnu	Episode: "The Mongolian Beef"
2009	United States of Tara	Korean Grandmother	Episode: "Inspiration"
2009	Without a Trace	Mrs. Deng	Episode: "Devotion"
2010	Dark Blue	Mrs. Chin	Episode: "Urban Garden"
2010	The League	Security Line Woman	Episode: "Vegas Draft"
2010	How to Be a Better American	Estelle	TV movie
2013	Holding Patterns	Asian Woman	TV movie
2013	Heebie Jeebies	Zu Mu	TV movie
2015–2020	Fresh Off the Boat	Grandma Huang	Recurring (Season 1) Main Cast (Season 2–6)

External links

• Lucille Soong at IMDb