Anya Wu was born on February 17, 1976, in Taiwan, and by the age of six, she had relocated with her family to the United States. She was raised in New York City, where her singing talent was discovered by a record company, leading to her return to Taiwan to prepare for her album's release.
During her time in Taiwan, she became the first female DJ in local clubs, capturing significant media attention, including coverage from Hong Kong. Her magazine interview caught the eye of Director Jingle Ma, who convinced Golden Harvest to relocate her to Hong Kong and sign her.
By the time Golden Harvest found her, Ma had already started filming "Moi Moi Cha," and instead, her debut film became "Born to Be King," the final installment of the "Young & Dangerous" series, where she played the role of Nanako, the wife of Jordan Chan.
With the support of Golden Harvest, Anya's profile rapidly increased, and she went on to have larger roles in several of the studio's post-millennium efforts. She appeared in "For Bad Boys Only" alongside Ekin Cheng and took on more action-oriented roles in "Sharp Guns" and "Fire Ghost," opposite Stephen Fung and Nicholas Tse.
She became one of the top up-and-coming actresses in both Hong Kong and Taiwan, gracing numerous magazine covers, print ads, and TV shows in both regions. In 2002, she worked on the "remake/sequel" to "Naked Killer," titled "Naked Weapon," as Kat, best friend of Maggie Q's character Charlene.
Anya also recently worked on a stage play, "Glengarry Glenross," in the challenging role of Blake, which has traditionally been played by a man. The performance was a huge success, with sold-out tickets and an added show. She later starred in Tsui Hark's thriller "Vampire Hunters" as Sasa.
After Golden Harvest's talent agency liquidation, Anya decided to return to her native Taiwan and focus on TV series. She starred in "Pink Godfather" and Taiwan's version of "Sex and the City," where she played the role of Samantha. After a year, she realized her focus was still on films and joined the growing industry in China, where she currently works on co-productions with Chinese and foreign production companies, utilizing her fluency in Chinese and English.
