Julia Ling, born Xiao Wei Lin, is an American actress. Her television work includes recurring roles on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...

series such as '' ER'', ''

Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip ''Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip'' is an American comedy-drama television series created and primarily written by Aaron Sorkin. The series was about the production of a live comedy series, similar to ''Saturday Night Live''. Produced by Warner B ...

'', and as a series regular on ''

Chuck Chuck is a masculine given name or a nickname for Charles or Charlie. It may refer to: People Arts and entertainment * Chuck Alaimo, American saxophonist, leader of the Chuck Alaimo Quartet * Chuck Barris (1929–2017), American TV producer * C ...

''.

Early life and education

Ling was born in

Temple City, California Temple City, officially the City of Temple City, is a city in Los Angeles County, California located northeast of downtown Los Angeles and at the base of the San Gabriel Mountains. Temple City is part of a cluster of cities, along with Pasadena ...

. Her grandparents originally from

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

, fled to

Cambodia Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailand t ...

during the

Second Sino-Japanese War The Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945) or War of Resistance (Chinese term) was a military conflict that was primarily waged between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. The war made up the Chinese theater of the wider Pacific Th ...

. Ling's parents grew up in Cambodia, and later fled to the United States during the

Cambodian genocide The Cambodian genocide ( km, របបប្រល័យពូជសាសន៍នៅកម្ពុជា) was the systematic persecution and killing of Cambodians by the Khmer Rouge under the leadership of Communist Party of Kampuchea genera ...

, shortly before her birth. At age 6, Ling won the "Best Storyteller Award" by Chinese World News for storytelling. Ling's artwork was featured on the front page of

Pasadena Star News The ''Pasadena Star-News'' is a paid local daily newspaper for the greater Pasadena, California area. The Pasadena ''Star-News'' is a member of Southern California News Group (formerly the Los Angeles Newspaper Group), since 1996. It is also part ...

and in magazines and festivals. By age 9, Ling was performing award-winning solo dances throughout California, and her umbrella dance had aired on national television. At

Temple City High School Temple City High School (also known as TCHS) is a four-year comprehensive secondary school located in Temple City, California, in Los Angeles County. The high school was awarded the California Distinguished School award in 1996 and in 2019, and a ...

, as a scholar athlete, she competed in dance, tennis and swimming. At UCLA, Ling majored in biomedical chemical engineering. She was Treasurer of the Chemical Engineering Society, Vice President of the Engineering Society of UCLA, and honorary member of the Society of Women Engineers.

Career

Ling has starred in over 20 independent films and had numerous TV roles. She made her TV debut in 2003 on ''

Buffy the Vampire Slayer ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' is an American supernatural fiction, supernatural drama television series created by writer and director Joss Whedon. It is based on the Buffy the Vampire Slayer (film), 1992 film of the same name, also written by W ...

'', and later starred in the recurring role of Kim Tao on NBC's ''

''. She played Anna Wu on NBC's ''

'' for 3 seasons. Her other major guest and recurring roles on television include stints on ''

House A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...

'', '' ER'', ''

Grey's Anatomy ''Grey's Anatomy'' is an American medical drama television series that premiered on March 27, 2005, on ABC as a mid-season replacement. The series focuses on the lives of surgical interns, residents, and attendings as they develop into se ...

'', ''

The O.C. ''The O.C. '' is an American teen drama television series created by Josh Schwartz that originally aired on the Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox network in the United States from August 5, 2003, to February 22, 2007, running a total of four seaso ...

'' and '' The Deep End''. In 2007, Ling competed in the martial arts competition Jackie Chan Disciples. She was selected as a "Top Four Finalist" representing the U.S. at the International Finalists tournament in China. Her performance also won her the "Best Acting Award". She was unable to compete in China because of her role on ''Chuck''. In 2008, Ling voiced and filmed her first live action series for the video game ''Command and Conquer: Red Alert 3''. In 2020, Ling appeared as a guest on the ''

'' marathon fundraiser episode of ''

The George Lucas Talk Show ''The George Lucas Talk Show'' is an improvised talk show in New York City hosted by comedian Connor Ratliff, who appears as George Lucas, the creator of '' Star Wars'', and he interviews real guests as themselves in a panel format. He is join ...

.''

Filmography

All credits are from

IMDb IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, ...

Film

Television

Video games

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ling, Julia American actresses of Chinese descent American film actresses American television actresses American video game actresses Living people 21st-century American actresses People from Temple City, California 1983 births University of California, Los Angeles alumni Actresses from California