Lauren Tom (born August 4, 1961) is an American actress.
Biography
Early life
Tom, a
Chinese American, was born in
Highland Park, Illinois, the daughter of Nancy (
née Dare) and Chan Tom, who worked in the
frozen food business. She was raised
Catholic. In an article for
Detour Magazine, Tom describes an experience she had as a child where other children were teasing her about her Chinese heritage. This caused her to become a rather introverted person which, in turn, is what originally inspired her to get into dancing.
Theater
At the age of 17, Tom landed a spot with a touring company of
A Chorus Line. She was cast in the Broadway version of the show less than a year later. She won an
Obie Award for her off-broadway acting, and she's been in such other Broadway shows as
Hurlyburly and
Doonesbury. During her six years in
New York Theatre, Tom worked with directors
Peter Sellars and
Joanne Akalaitis.
Film
Tom had several small parts in movies including
Nothing Lasts Forever,
Wall Street,
See No Evil, Hear No Evil, and
Blue Steel; but her biggest role to date was as a waitress in the
Robin Williams/
Tim Robbins film
Cadillac Man. This role led to being a guest on
The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. Tom landed a starring role in the film
The Joy Luck Club in
1993, which led to roles in such other films such as
When a Man Loves a Woman and
North.
Since the mid-90s, Tom has starred in few films (focusing her work, primarily, in the voiceover business), with the exceptions of a supporting role in the 2003 hit comedy Bad Santa and the critically-acclaimed 2004 film In Good Company.
Television
Lauren Tom's first role in television was that of
Miko Wakamatsu on
The Facts of Life. She subsequently appeared on
The Equalizer,
thirtysomething,
Quantum Leap,
Chicago Hope,
Homicide: Life on the Street,
Grace Under Fire, Ross' girlfriend Julie on
Friends and a starring role in
DAG,
The Division,
Monk,
My Wife and Kids,
The Nanny,
Barbershop: The Series,
Grey's Anatomy,
The Closer, and
Men in Trees.
Voice acting
Tom began vocal work in the
animated series Superman: The Animated Series (as Angela Chen). From there Lauren had minor roles on
Pinky and the Brain ,
Extreme Ghostbusters and
The Zeta Project before landing her lasting roles on
King of the Hill and later
Futurama.
She has also lent her voice to Rocket Power, Max Steel, Batman Beyond, Justice League Unlimited, Kim Possible, Numbuh Three and Numbuhs 44 and 45 on Codename: Kids Next Door, Teen Titans, Yan Lin, Susan, Alchemy on W.I.T.C.H., The Replacements (TV series),Legion Of Super-Heroes (TV series), Jake's mom, Counselor Chang on American Dragon: Jake Long, and Avatar the Last Airbender (as Joo Dee).
Other animated movies Tom has voiced include Mulan II, Kim Possible: The Secret Files, Kim Possible Movie: So The Drama, Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker, and Futurama: Bender's Big Score. She also stars as her character Amy Wong in the new feature length Futurama movie, The Beast with a Billion Backs.
References
External links
