Born Maggie Quigley in Honolulu, exotic actress Maggie Q first made a name for herself in Hong Kong cinema, starring in such actioners as Gen-X Cops 2 and Naked Weapon. Her first appearance in a state-side film came with a bit part in 2001's Rush Hour 2, but her first large U.S. role wouldn't come until 2006's Mission: Impossible III. With a genuine American blockbuster under her belt, Q soon landed a number of Hollywood films. In 2007 alone, she could be seen in the sports comedy Balls of Fury, the action sequel Live Free or Die Hard, and the suspense thriller The Tourist. Q would also go on to star in the successful 2010 TV reboot Nikita. Nikita ran for four season; when the series ended, she wasted no time picking up a recurring role in the Divergent movie series, playing Tori Wu, and landing another TV series, Stalker.
Maggie Q
Share on
Biography by AllMovie
Movie Highlights
/_derived_jpg_q90_310x470_m0/arndwrld80days_vodkeytt_ca.jpg)
Factsheet
- Is half Vietnamese; parents met while her American father was stationed in Vietnam.
- Moved to Hong Kong at 18 to pursue modeling and acting work.
- Learned her lines for her feature debut, The Legendary Tai Fei (1999), phonetically because she did not speak Cantonese.
- Shortened her last name to Q after Asian audiences had trouble pronouncing Quigley.
- First major U.S. film role was opposite Tom Cruise in Mission: Impossible III (2006).
- Lost hearing in one ear after a stunt explosion blew out her eardrum.
- Named Person of the Year in 2007 by PETA Asia-Pacific and is a PETA spokesperson.
- First series-regular role came in 2010, when she was cast as the title character in CW spy drama Nikita.