Lisa Wu is an American television personality, actress, realtor, screenwriter and designer. She is best known for appearing on reality series ''

The Real Housewives of Atlanta ''The Real Housewives of Atlanta'' (abbreviated ''RHOA'') is an American reality television series that premiered on Bravo on October 7, 2008. Developed as the third installment of ''The Real Housewives'' franchise, it has aired fourteen season ...

'' and ''

Hollywood Divas ''Hollywood Divas'' is an American reality television series that premiered on October 8, 2014, on TV One cable network. The show chronicles the lives of five African-American actresses. The series highlights the ups and downs of black actresses ...

''.

Early life

Lisa was born and raised in

Inglewood, California Inglewood is a city in southwestern Los Angeles County, California, in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 107,762. It was incorporated on February 14, 1908. The city is in the South Bay ...

as one of nine children. Her father, Stanley Wu, is a first-generation

Chinese-American Chinese Americans are Americans of Han Chinese ancestry. Chinese Americans constitute a subgroup of East Asian Americans which also constitute a subgroup of Asian Americans. Many Chinese Americans along with their ancestors trace lineage from m ...

and her mother, Victoria Brislis-Wu, was of

Afro-Caribbean Afro-Caribbean people or African Caribbean are Caribbean people who trace their full or partial ancestry to Sub-Saharan Africa. The majority of the modern African-Caribbeans descend from Africans taken as slaves to colonial Caribbean via the ...

descent. She has said that her family was often the target of discriminatory comments in their neighborhood.

Career

Wu started her career as a

backup dancer A backup dancer also known as background dancer is a performer who dances with or behind the lead performers in a live musical act or in a music video. Their movements (especially where there are many moving together) improve the visual aesthetic ...

for musical artists and bands such as

Public Enemy "Public enemy" is a term which was first widely used in the United States in the 1930s to describe individuals whose activities were seen as criminal and extremely damaging to society, though the phrase had been used for centuries to describe p ...

EPMD EPMD is an American hip hop duo from Brentwood, New York. The duo's name is a concatenation of the members' names "E" and "PMD" or an acronym for "Erick and Parrish Making Dollars", referring to its members: emcees Erick Sermon ("E" a.k.a. ...

, and Candyman. Shortly after this, she joined the rap group 9tene. After leaving music, Wu wrote, produced, and acted in the film ''Black Ball'' (2003). She remained in the film industry for many years as a screenwriter, producer, and an actress. Wu was cast in the inaugural season of

Bravo Bravo(s) or The Bravo(s) may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music Groups and labels *Bravo (band), a Russian rock band * Bravo (Spanish group), represented Spain at Eurovision 1984 *Bravo Music, an American concert band music publishing company ...

's ''

''. She appeared in the main cast for the first two seasons (2008–09) and was a guest for the third season (2010–11). She ultimately made guest appearances further on in the ninth, tenth, and fourteenth seasons, respectively. Wu is the author of a novel called ''When The Cake is Made''. The novel was published in 2010 following her departure from ''RHOA''. Since her departure from ''RHOA'', Wu has continued her career as an actress and producer. From 2014 until 2016, she was a cast member with four other actresses working on a short film, ''The White Sistas'', on the TV One series ''

''.

Personal life

One of nine children, Wu's elder brother, Meho, is deceased, and Wu was seen grieving over his death in a Season 2 episode of ''RHOA'', during the build-up to an anniversary of his death. From 1992 until 2002, Wu was married to

Keith Sweat Keith Sweat (born July 22, 1961) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and an early figure in the new jack swing musical movement. He is known for his collection of hits including "I Want Her", " Make It Last Forever", "I'll Give A ...

. The couple have two sons, Jordan (b. 1995) and Justin (b. 1998). In 2005, Wu married

Ed Hartwell Edgerton "Ed" Hartwell II (born May 27, 1978) is a former American football linebacker. He played college football at Western Illinois and was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens in the fourth round of the 2001 NFL Draft. Hartwell was also a member ...

, and the couple had one son, Ed, Jr. Ed Hartwell filed for divorce on August 24, 2011; it was finalized October 7, 2011, with the court document giving her name as Sharon Millette Hartwell.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wu, Lisa Living people 1973 births American actresses of Chinese descent American film actresses American film producers American people of Caribbean descent American people of Chinese descent American television actresses African-American television personalities African-American actresses The Real Housewives of Atlanta The Real Housewives cast members American women film producers People from Inglewood, California People from Atlanta 21st-century African-American people 21st-century African-American women 20th-century African-American people 20th-century African-American women