Lauren Tom

Lauren Tom (born August 4, 1961) is an American actress and voice actress.

Biography

Early life

Tom, a Chinese American, was born in Chicago, Illinois and raised Catholic in a largely Jewish neighborhood, but that wasn't the largest difference she had to overcome. Tom, in an article for Detour Magazine,^[1] 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 managed to land a spot with a touring company of A Chorus Line. She was then cast in the Broadway version of the show less than a year later.^[2] Lauren 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 such directors as Peter Sellers and Joanne Akalaitis.

Film

Lauren 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 would come in the form of a waitress in the Robin Williams/Tim Robbins film Cadillac Man. This role lead to Tom flying out to Los Angeles to be a guest on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. This trip would turn into a permanent one, as Tom would stay in L.A. to live. Tom landed a starring role in the film The Joy Luck Club in 1993, which lead to roles in other films such as When a Man Loves a Woman, North, and her memorable turn as Ross' girlfriend Julie on Friends.

Since the mid-90s, Tom has starred in few films (focusing her work, primarily, in the voiceover business), but she did have 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. Since that performance she has portrayed many different characters in several live action shows: thirtysomething, Quantum Leap, Chicago Hope, Homicide: Life on the Street, the aforementioned role on Friends, Grace Under Fire, a starring role in Dag. The Division, Monk, My Wife and Kids, 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 and Extreme Ghostbusters before landing her lasting roles on King of the Hill and later Futurama.

Other animated series Lauren Tom has leant her voice to include Rocket Power, Batman Beyond, Justice League Unlimited, Kim Possible, Numbuh Three and Numbuhs 44, 44 on Codename: Kids Next Door, Teen Titans, W.I.T.C.H., Jake's mom, Councilor Chang on American Dragon: Jake Long, and Avatar the Last Airbender (as Joo Dee).

Other animated movies Tom has voiced in 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.

References

Wikipedia information about Lauren Tom This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Lauren Tom". It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer). Help contribute to Americola and edit this article.