Lauren Tom

Lauren Tom (born August 4, 1961) is an American actress. She began her career on stage, winning an Obie Award, and gained recognition for her role in '' The Joy Luck Club'' (1993). On television, she is known for her roles in the NBC sitcom ''Friends'' (1995–96), the ABC shows '' Grace Under Fire'' (1997–98) and '' Men in Trees'' (2006–08), The CW series ''Supernatural'' (2012–14), and the Disney Channel series '' Andi Mack'' (2017–19).

In animation, Tom has voiced Amy Wong in ''Futurama'', Dana Tan on '' Batman Beyond'', Jinx and Gizmo in ''Teen Titans'' and ''Teen Titans Go!'', Minh and Connie Souphanousinphone on ''King of the Hill'', Numbuh 3 in '' Codename: Kids Next Door'', and Mrs. Maybank and Dr. Jamanpour on '' Hamster and Gretel''.

Early life

Tom was born in the Chicago suburb Highland Park, Illinois, on August 4, 1961, the daughter of Nancy (née Dare) and Chan Tom, Jr. She has a brother, Chip. Her parents were born in Chicago, and their grandparents came from Kaiping, Guangdong, China. She was raised in a largely Jewish neighborhood.

Career

Theatre

At age 17, Tom landed a spot with a touring company of ''A Chorus Line'' and was cast in the Broadway production of the show less than a year later in the role of Connie. She won an Obie Award for her Off-Broadway acting and was cast in the Broadway shows '' Hurlyburly'' and '' Doonesbury''. In Chicago, she starred in the Goodman Theater's production of '' 'Tis Pity She's a Whore''.

Film

Tom has played several supporting roles in films including ''Wall Street'', '' See No Evil, Hear No Evil'', and '' Blue Steel''. Her role as a waitress in the Robin Williams/Tim Robbins film '' Cadillac Man'' led to her being a guest on ''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson''.

Tom's lead roles in films include a key role in the 1984 film '' Nothing Lasts Forever'', and a lead in the 1993 '' The Joy Luck Club''. After this, she continued to receive supporting roles in other films such as '' When a Man Loves a Woman'' and ''North''.

Since the mid-1990s, Tom has focused primarily on voiceover roles. She has appeared in a few live-action films, including the 2003 comedy '' Bad Santa'' and the 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'', '' Vengeance Unlimited'', ''Catfish With Black Bean Sauce'', '' thirtysomething'', '' Quantum Leap'', '' Chicago Hope'', '' Homicide: Life on the Street'', '' Grace Under Fire'', ''Friends'', '' The Nanny'', '' The Middle'', '' DAG'', '' The Division'', ''Monk'', '' My Wife and Kids'', '' Barbershop: The Series'', ''Grey's Anatomy'', '' The Closer'', and '' Men in Trees''. She also had a supporting role on the 8th and 9th season of the drama series ''Supernatural'' as prophet Kevin Tran's mother, Linda Tran. In 2018, she appeared in the second season of the Amazon Prime drama series ''Goliath''. She also appeared in the 2nd season of ''Friends'' as Julie.

Voice acting

Tom began vocal work in the animated series '' Superman: The Animated Series'' playing Angela Chen. From there on, she voiced Dana Tan in '' Batman Beyond'' and had minor roles on '' Pinky and the Brain'', '' Extreme Ghostbusters'', and '' The Zeta Project'' before landing her regular roles on ''King of the Hill'', where she voiced Minh and Connie Souphanousinphone and later ''Futurama'', where she voices Amy and Inez Wong.

Since first playing the character on stage in the 1983 ''Doonesbury'' musical, Tom has periodically voiced the character Honey Huan in media related to '' Doonesbury'', most notably in a series of animated shorts satirizing the 2000 U.S. presidential election.

She has also lent her voice to '' All Grown Up!'', '' Rocket Power'', '' Max Steel'', '' Handy Manny'' as Mrs. Lee and Nelson, '' Samurai Jack'', '' Johnny Bravo'', ''Justice League Unlimited'', '' Kim Possible'', and '' Legion of Super Heroes''.

She has also voiced the villains Gizmo and Jinx on ''Teen Titans'', Yan Lin, Susan, Alchemy on '' W.I.T.C.H.'', Shun on '' Clifford's Puppy Days'', Tasumi on '' The Replacements'', Jake's mom, Counselor Chang on '' American Dragon: Jake Long'', and as Joo Dee on '' Avatar: The Last Airbender''. She also guest-starred in '' The Penguins of Madagascar'' as Chuck Charles's co-anchor, Bonnie Chang, in "Gator Watch" and "All Tied Up With a Boa".

In 2010, she provided the voice of Song, Bai Li, and Ming on the animated series '' Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness'' and played the role of Jessica in the animated film '' Scooby-Doo! Camp Scare''.

Other animated films Tom has voiced in include '' Mulan II'', '' Kim Possible: The Secret Files'', '' Kim Possible Movie: So The Drama'', '' Kung Fu Panda 2'', '' Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker'', and the four ''Futurama'' television films: '' Bender's Big Score'', '' The Beast with a Billion Backs'', '' Bender's Game'', and '' Into the Wild Green Yonder''.

She voiced Li Li Stormstout in '' World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria'' and played Hayaku on an episode of '' Turbo FAST''.

Personal life

Tom was previously married to Glenn Lau-Kee. She has since married actor Curt Kaplan in October 1999, with whom she has two sons.

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

Stage

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Tom, Lauren
1961 births
Living people
Actresses from Chicago
Actresses from Los Angeles
American actresses of Chinese descent
American film actresses
American stage actresses
American television actresses
American video game actresses
American voice actresses
Obie Award recipients
20th-century American actresses
21st-century American actresses
Catholics from Illinois