Simu Liu

Simu Liu Bio

Simu Liu (born 19 April 1989) is a Chinese-born Canadian actor and author who first drew widespread attention for his leading role as Shang-Chi in the Marvel Cinematic Universe film Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021). He is also widely recognized for playing Jung Kim on the CBC Television sitcom Kim’s Convenience, appearing as one of the Ken dolls in the fantasy comedy Barbie (2023), and publishing his memoir We Were Dreamers in 2022. Liu has built a career that bridges superhero blockbusters, indie shorts, and television, while also stepping behind the camera as a writer, producer, and director.

Early Life and Background

Simu Liu was born on 19 April 1989 in Harbin, China, the son of Zhenning Liu and Zheng Liu. His parents met while attending university in Beijing, where they both studied engineering. His father later traveled to the United States to pursue a PhD, and Liu spent his earliest years in Harbin with his grandparents, in a small apartment that often lacked running water, before emigrating to Canada to rejoin his parents.

The family first settled in Kingston, Ontario, where his father was completing his doctoral studies at Queen’s University, and Liu attended Sydenham Public School. He was later raised in Mississauga, Ontario, and went on to attend University of Toronto Schools. Liu has written about the difficult years after his arrival in Canada, recalling a strict household shaped by his parents’ own experiences during China’s Cultural Revolution. He has described a demanding upbringing focused on academics, with high expectations that he came to view as heavy and at times unfair.

Path to Celebrity

After high school, Simu Liu studied business administration at the Ivey Business School at the University of Western Ontario, following a more traditional path than the one he would later pursue. He initially worked as an accountant at Deloitte, but was laid off in April 2012 after nine months. The job loss pushed him to reconsider his direction, and he soon decided to train and work as an actor and stuntman.

His early screen appearances included work as an extra and stunt performer, including a credit on Guillermo del Toro’s Pacific Rim and a role in Avicii’s music video for “I Could Be the One.” He also appeared in Nikita (2012) and Beauty and the Beast (2014), and took stunt work on Sick: Survive the Night (2012) and the TV miniseries Heroes Reborn. These small, often uncredited jobs became the foundation for a professional career that formally began in 2012.

Simu Liu Career

Early Career (2012-2018)

Simu Liu’s first significant recurring role came in 2015, when he was cast as a series regular in seven episodes of the Omni Television crime drama Blood and Water (2015-2016), playing Paul Xie. The performance earned him his first industry nominations, including a Canadian Screen Award and an ACTRA Award in 2017. That same year, he was cast in his first main role as Jung Kim on Kim’s Convenience, the CBC Television sitcom adapted from the stage play of the same name.

While building his television résumé, Liu continued to take on supporting and stunt work. He had a recurring role on the NBC prequel series Taken (2016) as Faaron, appeared in Slasher season 2 and the CityTV miniseries Bad Blood in 2017, and had a guest role on The Expanse in 2018. In 2017, he won the ACTRA Award for Outstanding Ensemble with his Kim’s Convenience castmates, and the show itself won Best Comedy Series at the 2018 Canadian Screen Awards.

Breakthrough (2019-2021)

Liu’s profile rose sharply in 2019 when Disney announced at Comic-Con that he had been cast as the title hero Shang-Chi in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s first film with an Asian-led cast. Liu had publicly asked about the role on Twitter in December 2018, after the project was first revealed. Following delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the film was released in theaters on 3 September 2021 to strong reviews and major box-office success, cementing Liu as a global leading man.

Alongside the Marvel role, Liu continued to expand his presence across film, television, and writing. He published a column in Variety in March 2021 addressing anti-Asian hate crimes, became a UNICEF Canada Ambassador in October 2020, and in 2021 became the first East Asian man to cover Men’s Health magazine in over a decade. In November 2021, he became the fourth actor of Chinese descent to host Saturday Night Live.

Notable Works and Milestones

His signature works include Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021), Kim’s Convenience (2016-2021), and Barbie (2023), with additional credits on Blood and Water, Taken, The Expanse, and What If…? (2024). Liu is also the author of the memoir We Were Dreamers: An Immigrant Superhero Origin Story, published by HarperCollins on 17 May 2022, and was named to Time magazine’s list of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2022.

Simu Liu Award Nominations

Simu Liu has received several notable award nominations across his career in film and television. His earliest recognition came in 2017 with nominations at the Canadian Screen Awards and the ACTRA Awards for his work in Blood and Water. Along with his Kim’s Convenience castmates, he was nominated for the ACTRA Award for Outstanding Ensemble in 2018 and 2019, and he received a Dora Mavor Moore Award nomination for Outstanding Ensemble in 2016 for the Factory Theatre remount of Banana Boys.

Simu Liu Awards Won

Liu has earned recognition from Canadian and international institutions for his work in television, hosting, and public advocacy. In 2017, he and his Kim’s Convenience castmates won the ACTRA Award for Outstanding Ensemble, and the series itself won Best Comedy Series at the 2018 Canadian Screen Awards. In January 2023, he received the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television’s Radius Award at the 11th Canadian Screen Awards, and later that year he won the Canadian Screen Award for Best Host in a Live Entertainment Special for hosting the 2022 Juno Awards.

Simu Liu Family

Simu Liu is the son of Zhenning Liu and Zheng Liu, both of whom met as engineering students in Beijing before pursuing graduate study abroad. His father completed doctoral work at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario, and both parents built careers as aerospace engineers in Canada. Liu was raised in Mississauga, Ontario, after spending his earliest years in Harbin, China, with his paternal grandparents.

Personal Life

Since 2022, Simu Liu has been in a relationship with digital marketing manager Allison Hsu. The couple announced in May 2025 that they were engaged. Outside of acting, Liu founded his own production company, 4:12 Entertainment, in 2018, and in 2023 joined the direct-to-consumer soup dumpling brand MìLà as its chief content officer. He is also an active UNICEF Canada Ambassador, advocating for youth and Asian communities.