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Saturday, September 19, 2009

MAGGIE Q







Margaret Denise Quigley, better known as Maggie Q (born May 22, 1979), is an American actress and former fashion model. She initially gained fame in Hong Kong. She began acting in Hong Kong and elsewhere in East Asia. Because of her non-Chinese heritage, many of her Asian film appearances are in English or dubbed in Chinese languages. She has, however, stated that she took Mandarin and Cantonese lessons during her career in Asia and is able to speak both languages in varying degrees. Among her first appearances in film was the lead roles in the Hong Kong action thrillers Gen-Y Cops and Naked Weapon, in which she played the martial artist assassin Charlene Ching. She has also played the titular role of Harmony in the German-Singapore telemovie collaboration Das Haus Der Harmonie, opposite leading Singaporean actress Fann Wong. In 2006, she starred alongside Tom Cruise in Mission: Impossible III. She played Zhen, the only female member of his IMF team. In 2007, she appeared in the Bruce Willis movie Live Free Or Die Hard, the fourth film in the Die Hard franchise and in Balls of Fury. In 2008, Maggie played fictional Cao Ying, a granddaughter of the warlord Cao Cao in Three Kingdoms: Resurrection of the Dragon, in her first Chinese ancient costume performance. She also stars in the video game in the Need for Speed franchise Need for Speed: Undercover as Inspector Chase Linh who is the player's only contact to the Tri-City Police. She changed her name to Maggie Q in order for it to be more easily pronounced by Chinese audiences. Maggie Q, who is vegan, is a strong supporter of PETA Asia-Pacific. She featured in two advertisements for the organization in 2007. In addition, Maggie was responsible for the removal of real fur from the costumes/set of the Chinese film Three Kingdoms. In 2007, PETA Asia-Pacific named Maggie Q its 'Person of the Year'. In 2008, the organization named Maggie Q one of the best-dressed celebrities of the year