Essential Constance Wu Facts For Every Fan

The following article mentions suicide.

Constance Wu has been a force in Hollywood ever since she landed her breakthrough role in the popular ABC sitcom "Fresh Off the Boat" in 2015. Her star then continued to rise thanks to the 2018 romantic comedy "Crazy Rich Asians," which became a major hit at the box office. The film not only made Wu a household name but was also a huge win for Asian American representation in Hollywood, which Wu was proud of. She said to The Guardian, "The fact that I was able to play humanized Asian-American characters was historic, not because of me, but because of the paucity of content that was before."

From there, Wu went on to star opposite Jennifer Lopez in another hit movie, "Hustlers," a crime drama where she got to prove that she had range as an actor outside of comedies. The Richmond, Virginia, native has since returned to TV in 2022 with the Prime Video series "The Terminal List" where she stars alongside Chris Pratt. She has also released her highly anticipated memoir/book of essays, "Making A Scene," where she reflected on some of the challenges she's faced in her life. She told "Today," "​My book aims to celebrate the ordinary and to ask us to look at our own stories with curiosity rather than judgment." 

Wu clearly has had an interesting enough life to write about yet she's kept the personal aspects of it relatively private over the years. So let's break down what you don't know about Constance Wu.

Constance Wu has been vocal about representing the Asian American experience in Hollywood. The "Wish Dragon" actor is a first generation American in her family, having been born in Richmond, Virginia, to parents who immigrated from Taiwan. While they went on to find success, her dad as a science professor and her mother as a computer programer, Wu remembers them working extra hard because of where they came from. In terms of her father, the actor told The New York Times, "Both my paternal grandparents were illiterate bamboo farmers, so he really worked his way up and then got a Ph.D., full ride and everything, from universities in America."

According to BuzzFeed, Wu grew up in a predominantly white area. Because of that, she turned to community theater to feel a sense of belonging. She told the outlet, "There's something really beautiful and comforting about that to a little Asian kid in the white suburbs who gets to have this communal experience where there's no bullying."

Although Wu clarified she didn't experience much bullying, she did feel different from the other kids at times, like when dealing with problems at school. She explained to "The Off Camera Show," "There's this weird thing that sometimes happens to the kids of immigrants ... sometimes you feel like you have to protect them from the things they don't understand."

It appears that Constance Wu always knew she was meant to get into show business. She even once told People, "Being an actor wasn't a choice. It's part of my identity." It was also something she'd been working toward since she was a child, in that, as mentioned above, she took part in community theater. She recalled to GQ, "I was a theater actress when I was 10. I always did it because I enjoyed it." Wu later attended the famous Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute before going to college in New York to study acting while auditioning for roles.

Although it seemed like Wu was always on the path to stardom, she admitted to Vulture, "At one point I quit acting for a little bit to study psycholinguistics — somewhat a more practical career." While she said it wasn't fitting for her, Wu did pursue it pretty seriously, telling GQ that she completed three semesters of post-bachelor degree studies. She also revealed, "I applied for a graduate program in speech language pathology at Columbia and was accepted."

However, it was apparently only because Wu had gotten dumped by her boyfriend at the time that she impulsively decided to move to Hollywood. In the end though, Wu knew it was always going to be acting for her. She dished to The Guardian, "There was no other choice for me in terms of career. I'm really sensitive, and in an office culture ... sometimes that does not inspire respect or confidence."

"Fresh Off the Boat" may have given Constance Wu her breakthrough role but it seems it came with a price. One was being stuck under contract. In response to the show's Season 6 renewal, Wu tweeted (via The Guardian), "So upset right now that I'm literally crying. Ugh. F**k." Wu went on to get major backlash for that, even though she was just upset about missing other opportunities. She explained in her book, "Making A Scene," "I'd have to drop everything else — all the exciting jobs that the network had given us permission to pursue."

While that damaged Wu's reputation, she was also upset with how it hurt her "FOTB" co-stars. "I wanted to make sure they knew I acted out of a moment of passion that was not reflective of how I feel about them," she said in The Guardian. Her on-screen husband, Randall Park, had her back though, with Wu writing, "I don't have enough words to ever express my enormous gratitude for his grace and patience."

Unfortunately, that wasn't the only drama that Wu faced on the TV series. As she told USA Today in 2022, she'd been sexually harassed and berated by a male producer. She recalled, "I was the only one that he was harassing on a daily basis and intimidating and implying that he could fire me if I didn't do what he said." Wu even believes her angry tweets were the result of her repressed feelings from that abuse.

Constance Wu faced major fallout in 2019 after she took to social media to express her disappointment over the renewal of "Fresh Off the Boat." She reflected in "Making A Scene," "I became a headline, a meme, a springboard for righteous opinion. An ungrateful girl making a scene." In addition to bad press, Wu was getting serious heat behind the scenes. She recalled one instance where a former co-star reached out and berated her. Wu wrote, "[She told] me that nothing I could ever do would make up for my atrocious behavior and disgusting ingratitude. How I had sullied the one shining beacon of hope for Asian Americans."

In the wake of the backlash, Wu considered attempting suicide. She revealed, "I realized I needed a wound to prove it, to prove that I hurt as bad as everyone said I deserved to hurt," adding, "That's how I ended up clutching the balcony railing of my fifth-floor apartment." Fortunately, a friend found Wu and took her to the hospital, where she got the help she needed.

Wu left social media after the ordeal but returned three years later in 2022 to share her story. She tweeted, "I put my career aside to focus on my mental health." Yet Wu wanted to use her experience to help others. She explained, "[Asian Americans] don't talk about mental health enough... there's a lot of avoidance around the more uncomfortable issues within our community."

If you or anyone you know is having suicidal thoughts, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline​ by dialing 988 or by calling 1-800-273-TALK (8255)​.

Long before she landed the lead role in "Crazy Rich Asians," Constance Wu felt a major connection to the book. And when it was eventually adapted for the silver screen, she almost couldn't believe it. Wu recalled to People, "I had never seen an Asian-American woman be the leading role in a movie." Yet Wu almost didn't get to do the film because of a scheduling conflict with her show, "Fresh Off the Boat." While she was initially upset about it, she realized she was just happy the movie was being made. Per Us Weekly, she recounted at Vulture Festival, "I was like, 'Cool, another actress will get that ... I want there to be more Asian actors out there.”"

However, Wu had a change of heart and reached out to director Jon Chu. She, of course, got a shot at trying out for the role after all, but that process came with its own challenges. "I was threatened. Asian Americans don't often get the opportunity to audition for a lead role," she said to Us Weekly.

Wu, of course, nailed the audition, and the rest is history. She explained to E!'s Ryan Seacrest, "For someone like me who's Asian American, I had grown up never seeing ... a major studio tell a story that centered my experience. ... To be something like that for young women today ... that has been so meaningful to me."

It's widely known that Constance Wu played a stripper in the 2019 movie "Hustlers," yet what fans might not know is that she went undercover as one before filming. Wu revealed on "The Kelly Clarkson Show," "I did work at a strip club to get ready for 'Hustlers.' ... I gave lap dances to strangers. ... I made $600." If you're wondering how a famous person could get away with that, Wu explained, "I put fake tattoos on my neck and changed my hair." She reiterated why she wasn't recognized to Vulture too, saying, "Nobody expects this sitcom mother of three boys to be in a strip club."

That wasn't the only thing Wu did for the part though. "I installed a pole in my living room. I took pole classes," she told the outlet. Wu not only paid for those lessons herself but also frequented clubs during her own downtime. "That's what I spent my Christmas Eve doing ... we went to five different clubs," she said.

Despite her preparations, Wu told The Guardian that she still didn't feel like a good dancer. Although the role required her to step outside of her comfort zone, she knew the story was one worth telling. She said on NPR, "I think a lot of people, they think, 'Oh, she must have wanted to do this sexy, cool, fun movie.' But it's just about a woman who is deeply lonely."

While Constance Wu was willing to open up about some of her life in her book, "Making A Scene," it seems she's often kept her romantic relationship private. What is known though is that "The Feels" star did date actor/producer Ben Hethcoat between 2015 and 2018. That's because Wu had posted about him on social media, even once tweeting (via Bustle), "Best boyfriend in the world took me to @TheBunnyMuseum today for Valentine's Day." Although it's unclear why they broke up, Wu shared she received hate online for dating someone who is not Asian. She told The Hollywood Reporter, "They make this assumption that every single one of my boyfriends has been white based on the one boyfriend they saw on my social media."

As of 2022, Wu is dating Ryan Kattner, who according to E! News, works in Hollywood as a composer and screenwriter. He's also a rocker who goes by the stage name Honus Honus and fronts a band called Man Man. While not much is known about their relationship, they did have a baby together in 2020. Kattner also posted about Wu's book on his Instagram, giving his other half some public support.

Wu hasn't only dated fellow artists, or supportive men for that matter. She told The Guardian that she once had a boyfriend who didn't want her to be an actor. She recalled, "He said: 'I just want a partner with a stable job.' I tried it... And that relationship did not end up working out."

Constance Wu surprised fans in 2020 when she welcomed a daughter with her boyfriend, Ryan Kattner. That's because the "Next Gen" actor never publicly revealed that she was even expecting and had remained out of the spotlight long before the COVID-19 pandemic following her Twitter drama. Yep, Constance Wu had a totally secret pregnancy. While she has yet to reveal her daughter's name, she did share some details about her little one on "The Tonight Show," dishing, "She's the best! She has a full head of hair, she has a blue butt." Regarding the latter detail, she elaborated, "It happens in a lot of Asian babies. ... It's where your butt is blue for the first two years of your life, and then it just goes away," adding, "I just think it's a very special thing."

Wu also credited her daughter with changing her life. She gushed to The Hollywood Reporter, "I actually feel like I'm more myself than I've ever been because [motherhood] really makes you enjoy the present moment rather than always hustling to be someone or get somewhere or do something."

That doesn't mean Wu didn't return to work on the TV series "The Terminal List," even though she found it more difficult. "I missed my baby. It was the hardest day to stay at work because it was so emotional," she said. She shared that she had turned to her co-star, Chris Pratt, for support since he too was a father to a new baby.

It shouldn't come as a surprise that Constance Wu has an impressive net worth considering that she was on the popular network TV series "Fresh Off the Boat" for half a decade. Wu was working pretty consistently in Hollywood before that too, and continued to find roles after it ended in 2020. According to Celebrity Net Worth, Wu's net worth is estimated at $6 million, which will probably only increase from book sales with the release of her 2022 memoir, "Making A Scene."

And, of course, there's her successful movie career. "Crazy Rich Asians" and "Hustlers" did very well at the box office with the latter raking in $157.5 million. "Crazy Rich Asians" grossed a whopping $238 million worldwide, and according to The Hollywood Reporter, was the most lucrative rom-com in almost a decade at the time of its 2018 release. Wu's expected to get a nice paycheck for its sequel too, since she's clearly box office gold.

Wu has not always been rolling in the dough. She recalled to Vulture, "Before I got 'Fresh Off the Boat'...I was in tens of thousands of dollars in debt: credit card. Car. Personal. Student loans." Wu had to work extra hard to get by, telling The Cut, "I was still waiting tables, nannying, being a personal assistant, struggling to make ends meet." Of course, her continuing to audition through it all paid off and quite well we may add.

It's clear that Constance Wu is very passionate about what she believes in; the actor has always been outspoken about diversity and Asian American representation in Hollywood. "We're not here to do the taxes of the white person, or to be the chipper best friend to the white person," she said in Time. She found her work in "Crazy Rich Asians" particularly important, telling Variety, "It was made with the people who understood the experience... that gave it an authenticity that Asian-American audiences really responded to, because we don't have representation."

Wu has also spoken out against the whitewashing of Asian stories like when Scarlett Johansson starred in "Ghost in the Shell," which is a movie based on a Japanese heroine. "It was particularly heinous because they ran CGI tests to make her look more Asian," Wu told The Hollywood Reporter, comparing it to blackface. She also denounced the film "The Great Wall," tweeting (via CNN), "Our heroes don't look like Matt Damon."

In addition, Wu has been a longtime advocate of the "Time's Up" movement, per Vogue, and has taken part in LA's Women's March, where she highlighted the injustices Asian American women face. Per HuffPost, she said, "I march today for Asian American women who have been ignored, or judged or fetishized or expected to be a certain way to fulfill a certain idea of what a sweet girl should be."

It appears that Constance Wu stays pretty busy, yet she seemingly still finds time for her hobbies, which include reading. According to Vogue, "The Lyle, Lyle Crocodile" actor used to frequently share what she was reading with her Instagram followers back when she was active on social media. She's advocated for public libraries too, filming public service announcements for The American Library Association. In 2016, Wu also served as a Guest Judge for Book of the Month, where she shared a novel and dished, "I was a very bookish kid."

Wu's pet bunny, Lida-Rose, is also a big part of her life and, per Hello Giggles, she used to often post their adorable adventures on social media. She even told AdWeek, "Some people tell me I should have an Instagram just for my bunny." When it comes to her fascination with the animal, Wu explained, "Bunny rabbits, with their gentle brightness and light, have a way of calming me and making me appreciate the little miracles of life."

Outside of books and bunnies, it seems that Wu likes to spend her free time doing what she gets paid to do, which is acting. She revealed to The Guardian, "It's more fun for me than going to a party. When I have a day off, I go to acting class ... just because it's fun." While Wu loves to act and is best known for it, it's clear that there's a lot more to her than what fans see on screen.