Lynn Chen (Chinese: 陳凌; pinyin: chén líng) is a Taiwanese-American actress and singer. She is best known for playing Vivian Shing in the film Saving Face, a role for which she won the "Outstanding Newcomer Award" at the 2006 Asian Excellence Awards.[1] She writes the popular food blog The Actor's Diet. Chen was named a 2013 "New Change Agent" by Marie Claire.[2]
Lynn Chen | |
|---|---|
| Born | Queens, New York |
| Alma mater | Wesleyan University |
| Occupation(s) | Actress, singer, filmmaker, blogger |
| Years active | 2001–present |
| Spouse | Abe Forman-Greenwald |
Early life
editChen was born in Queens, New York and raised in Cresskill, New Jersey.[3] Her mother is an opera singer and father was the founding president of The Kunqu Society, Inc.[4] She has one brother; he is also in the music field. Her parents came to America from Taiwan in the late 1960s. Chen attended Wesleyan University, where she studied Women's Studies and Music.[5][6]
Career
editChen has appeared in Alice Wu's film Saving Face as Vivian Shing opposite Michelle Krusiec (playing Wilhemina Pang, Shing's love interest) and Joan Chen. For her role in that film, she won the "Outstanding Newcomer Award" at the 2006 Asian Excellence Awards.[7]
Television
editIn 2014, Chen appeared on the episode "Proof of Concept" of Mike Judge's HBO show, Silicon Valley as Grace Melcher. Before Saving Face, Chen appeared on TV shows such as All My Children (as reoccurring character Regina), Law & Order (as Jenny Wu), Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (as Helen Chen), and a 2002 episode of Saturday Night Live hosted by Jon Stewart as a Vietnamese Girl. She has also appeared on the TV Shows Law & Order: Trial by Jury (as Lin – Kressel's Assistant), Numb3rs (as Bree Eng), NCIS: Los Angeles (as Nurse Lisa), and the pilot for the show The Singles Table (as Lexi Park).[8][9] In 2015 she played a nurse in the pilot episode of The Walking Dead spinoff series Fear the Walking Dead.[10][11]
Feature films
editChen has also appeared in feature films such as Neil LaBute's Lakeview Terrace (2008) opposite Samuel L. Jackson (as Eden), David Langlitz's Mentor (2006) opposite Rutger Hauer (as Susan), Quentin Lee's The People I've Slept With (2009) (as Juliet, the sister of Karin Anna Cheung's character), Richard Wong's Yes, We're Open (2012) (as Sylvia, the wife of Parry Shen's character), Dave Boyle's White on Rice (2009) (as Ramona), Dave Boyle's Surrogate Valentine (2011) and Daylight Savings (2012) (as Rachel), Tom Huang's Why Am I Doing This? (2009) (as Katie), Kedar Korde's Xs & Oxs (2007) (as Gwen), Jennifer Sharp's I'm Through with White Girls (The Inevitable Undoing of Jay Brooks (2007) (as Candace), and Mark Levin's Little Manhattan (2005).[12][13][14] She wrote and directed the 2020 film I Will Make You Mine, which was the third in the Surrogate Valentine trilogy and was a selection of the 2020 South By Southwest Film Festival.[15]
Web series and online content
editShe currently appears on a web series entitled Nice Girls Crew directed by Tanuj Chopra (Sundance Film Festival Humanitas Prize Winner Punching at the Sun) and written by Chopra and Christine Kwon.[16] The web series also stars her Saving Face co-star Michelle Krusiec as well as Sheetal Sheth.[17] She also appears on an episode of Andrea Lwin's web series, Slanted (as Samantha). Chen has also written and produced a short film entitled Via Text (2011), which was directed by her husband Abe Forman-Greenwald.[18][19]
Filmography
editFilm
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Fortune | Jen | Short |
| 2002 | Up to the Roof | DJ Night 1 | Short |
| 2004 | Saving Face | Vivian Shing | |
| 2005 | Fly Me Home | Short | |
| 2005 | Little Manhattan | Girl on the Street | |
| 2006 | Mentor | Susan | |
| 2006 | Desperate Housewife | Gynecologist | Short |
| 2007 | I'm Through with White Girls | Candace | |
| 2007 | X's & O's | Gwen | |
| 2008 | Lakeview Terrace | Eden | |
| 2009 | Why Am I Doing This? | Katie | |
| 2009 | White on Rice | Ramona | |
| 2011 | Surrogate Valentine | Rachel | |
| 2011 | Via Text | Short | |
| 2012 | Daylight Savings | Rachel | |
| 2012 | Yes, We're Open | Sylvia | |
| 2012 | The People I've Slept With | Juliet | |
| 2013 | Abby White, Interracial Relationship Counselor | Linda | Short |
| 2014 | Teacher in a Box | Ms. Malloy | Short |
| 2014 | Sutures | Audrey | Short |
| 2015 | Dying to Kill | Tracy | |
| 2016 | Parachute Girls | Ellie | Short |
| 2016 | Chee and T | Lindo Chong | |
| 2016 | Baby and Me Yoga | Dana | Short |
| 2017 | Rice on White | Linda | Post-production |
| 2017 | Growing Apart | Loa | Short, completed |
| 2019 | Go Back to China | Carol Li | |
| 2020 | I Will Make You Mine | Rachel | Also writer and director |
| 2021 | Pooling to Paradise | Jenny | |
| 2021 | See You Then | Naomi Liu |
Television
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Law & Order | Jenny Wu | "Teenage Wasteland" |
| 2001 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Helen Chen | "Inheritance" |
| 2002 | Saturday Night Live | Vietnamese Girl | "Jon Stewart/India.Arie" |
| 2003 | All My Children | Regina | Recurring role |
| 2005 | Law & Order: Trial by Jury | Lin | "The Abominable Showman" |
| 2005 | Numb3rs | Bree Eng | "Soft Target" |
| 2007 | The Singles Table | Lexi Park | "Pilot", "The Housewarming Party" |
| 2010 | NCIS: Los Angeles | Nurse Lisa | "Anonymous" |
| 2012 | Slanted | Samantha | "Paying Your Dues" |
| 2012–13 | Nice Girls Crew | Sophie | Web series |
| 2014 | Silicon Valley | Grace Melcher | "Proof of Concept" |
| 2015 | Fear the Walking Dead | Nurse | "Pilot" |
| 2015 | The Lees of Los Angeles | Peggy Lee | "1.1" |
| 2016 | Parker and the Crew | Parker's mom | TV film |
| 2016 | Caring | Vicky | TV series |
| 2019 | Shameless (US) | Mimi | Recurring role |
| 2021- | Grey's Anatomy | Dr. Michelle Lin | Recurring role; 4 episodes |
Video games
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Call of Duty: Black Ops III | Goh Xiulan |
References
edit- ^ "lynn chen". lynn chen.
- ^ New Change Agents Lisa Lee Lyn Chen Archived August 11, 2014, at the Wayback Machine, Marie Claire. March 25, 2013. Retrieved April 20, 2013.
- ^ Chang, Althea D. "Asian American and Female in American Television and Films: Lynn Chen from All My Children"[permanent dead link], AsianLife Magazine. Retrieved September 30, 2007. "As a young student in Cresskill, NJ, she was defined by her acting, so she eventually wanted to try something new."
- ^ Honoring Fu-Yen and Lynn Chen, AAJA V3Con, http://v3con.com/2012/08/15/honoring-fu-yen-and-lynn-chen/ Archived March 13, 2013, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Lynn Chen, Actress and Blogger".
- ^ "Chen '98 Explores Emotions of Directorial Debut for Filmmaker Magazine".
- ^ "How Blogger and Actress Lynn Chen Learned That Looks Don't Really Matter". Beautylish.
- ^ TV Guide, Lynn Chen, http://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/lynn-chen/163250
- ^ Lynn Chen Interview, http://usasians-articles.tripod.com/articles-lynn-chen4.html
- ^ Cooper, Patrick (March 9, 2015). "AMC Orders Two Seasons of 'The Walking Dead' Spin-Off: "Fear the Walking Dead"".
- ^ "AMC Announces Two Season Order for 'WALKING DEAD' Spin-off Series". Archived from the original on April 2, 2015. Retrieved March 9, 2015.
- ^ Lynn Chen, Notes on the Road, http://notesontheroad.com/lynn-chen.html Archived May 31, 2013, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ AboutMe, LynnChen, http://about.me/lynnchen
- ^ Lynn Chen, TaiwaneseAmerican.org, 100 Passionate People, http://taiwaneseamerican.org/100people/lynn-chen/
- ^ Kennedy, Lisa (June 2, 2020). "'I Will Make You Mine': Film Review". Variety. Retrieved January 6, 2022.
- ^ CAAM, Nice Girls Crew, "CAAM | Nice Girls Crew | SFIAAFF30". Archived from the original on November 8, 2013. Retrieved September 13, 2013.
- ^ CAAM, Nice Girls Crew Season 1, http://caamedia.org/blog/2012/11/05/nice-girls-crew-season-1-on-youtube/
- ^ Lynn Chen in 'Via Text', Angry Asian Man, http://blog.angryasianman.com/2011/10/lynn-chen-in-via-text.html
- ^ Via Text, Cast/Crew, "Via Text". Archived from the original on October 6, 2014. Retrieved September 13, 2013.
