Maggie Q Biography

Hawaiian born actress Maggie Q earned her big break in 2006 when she had a notable role in the third installment of the Mission: Impossible series. She then went on to establish her name through projects such as Live Free or Die Hard and Balls of Fury.

Margaret Denise Quigley, known popularly as Maggie Q, was born May 22, 1979 in Honolulu, Hawaii. She is of Polish and Irish descent on her father’s side, while she received her Vietnamese heritage from her mother.

She obtained her education at Mililani High School, after which she traveled the world. Most notably, she visited Hong Kong and Japan. These trips weren’t purely for entertainment, however, as she was simultaneously launching her modeling career.

Making the jump into acting, Q’s first sizable role came in 2000 with Gui Ming Mo opposite Simon Yam. Poorly received by audiences, she quickly moved on to Tejing Xinrenlei 2. The sequel featured fellow actors Paul Rudd, Mark Hicks, and Teresa Herrera.

In 2001, she also had a supporting role in Manhattan Midnight opposite Brendan Aucoin and Stacia Crawford.

Her first foray into the international blockbuster, however, came with Rush Hour 2 in 2001. She shared screen time with stars Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker. With her popularity in the American market growing, Q’s career within the Asian market continued to flourish.

Realizing her greatest chance at acclaim was in those blockbuster productions, Chan and Q team up again to complete 2004’s Around the World in 80 Days. The action comedy also starred Steve Coogan and Jim Broadbent.

Q received a sizable amount of attention for her work with Fann Wong in Barbara Wood—Das Haus der Harmonie in 2005, and this helped earn her the role that truly propelled her from the Asian market into international film stardom.

In 2006, she appeared as Zhen in the JJ Abrams directorial project Mission: Impossible III. Featuring an all-star cast, the film included Tom Cruise, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Ving Rhames, Billy Crudup, Michelle Monaghan, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, and many others.

But her greatest exposure came one year later with Live Free or Die Hard. Playing the villain along with Timothy Olyphant, they duked it out with Bruce Willis and Justin Long for the well-received fourth installment of the John McClane series.

Most recently, Q took a role in the slapstick comedy Balls of Fury. Met with mediocre reviews, it featured Dan Fogler, Christopher Walken, and George Lopez.

Q has currently completed filming for Deception, and she is in post-production for Three Kingdoms: Resurrection of the Dragon.

In her personal life, Q has been romantically linked to Daniel Wu and Die Hard costar Long.

She also made headlines recently when she was implicated in a sex scandal that involved her and friend, fellow actor Edison Chen. Others actresses named in the scandal include Gillian Chung and Cecilia Cheung.