Chantal Thuy is a Canadian American actress known for her role as Grace Choi in Black Lightning.

Chantal Thuy
Born
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
NationalityCanadian
American
Alma materStella Adler Studio of Acting
OccupationActress
Height170 cm (5 ft 7 in)

Early life and education

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Thuy was born and raised in Montreal, Quebec. Her parents are refugees from Vietnam, having fled the Vietnam War by boat and eventually arriving in Quebec.[1] Her father is a former IBM engineer.[1]

Thuy is a graduate of the Stella Adler Studio of Acting in New York City. She is fluent in English, French, and Vietnamese.

Career

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Thuy is known for her portrayal of the DC Comics character Grace Choi on the CW Network show Black Lightning (2018), which ran for four seasons.[2] In October 2020, she was promoted to series regular on the series. Thuy has also appeared on television series like Madam Secretary, Pretty Little Liars and Matador.

In 2018, Thuy optioned Caroline Vu's novel, That Summer in Provincetown, about three generations of Vietnamese Canadians and is currently looking to adapt it into a screenplay.[3]

In 2021, Thuy began portraying detective Lia Kaleo on the CBS action-crime drama series Magnum P.I..[4]

In 2024 she won the Canadian Screen Award for Best Supporting Performance in a Drama Film at the 12th Canadian Screen Awards, for her performance in the film Ru.[5]

Theater

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In February 2019, Thuy co-starred in Tracy Letts' play, Linda Vista, at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles and later reprised her role on Broadway with the Second Stage Theater at the Helen Hayes Theatre.[6][7]

Her theatre credits also include Pan Asian Repertory Theater's play "We Are", Harold Clurman Lab Theatre's "The Seagull" (Nina) and "Winter's Tale" (Perdita), and reading series with the Ma-Yi Lab Theatre, African American Playwrights Exchange and Teesri Duniya Theatre. She appeared as Marie Louise-Yvette L'Amour in the play "The Lady Was Gentleman" with the Broads' Word Ensemble in Los Angeles.[8]

Personal life

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Thuy grew up Catholic but currently practices Buddhism under a Tibetan Buddhist teacher.[9][10]

Thuy announced that she became an American citizen.[11]

Filmography

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Film

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Year Title Role Notes
2005 Alex, Vampire Slayer Witch Short film
2010 Naked Eye Anna May Wong Short
2010 Penny Royal Kaila Short film
2012 Pawnbrokers Mrs. Schofield Short film
2013 La Bella Short film
2014 Inherent Vice Groupie Uncredited
2014 Halloween Judge Party guest Short film
2015 Dog Bowl Silver Lake Fox Short film
2015 LA Woman Samantha DuBois Short film
2017 Holly Holly Short film
2017 Battle for Skyark Dark seeker
2017 Promesas Shi Short film
2018 Half Magic Beautiful woman
2018 Tokyo Ghoul Rize Short film (Fan-made film)
2023 Ru

Television

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Year Title Role Notes
2011 Onion SportsDome Fake reporter 1 episode
2013 Pretty Little Liars Jacqueline "Jackie" Episode: "Now You See Me, Now You Don't"
2014 Matador Song Episode: "Dead Dreaming in Bagan"
2014 Fast Food Heights Kim Episode: "Study Abroad"
2015 Madam Secretary Nhung Chuang Episode: "Whisper of the Ax"
2016 Crossing the Rubicon: Season 1 - The Journey Kim Wong Guest role (4 episodes)
2017 High Expectasians Actress Episode: "The Audition"
2018–2021 Black Lightning Grace Choi Main Role (season 4); Recurring Role (season 1–3); (22 episodes)[12]
2021–2022 Magnum P.I. Lia Kaleo Recurring role

References

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  1. ^ a b "Black Lightning Actress Chantal Thuy: The F.A.D. Interview". Feminist Asian Dad. September 8, 2018. Retrieved November 2, 2018.
  2. ^ Bryant, Jacob (October 30, 2017). "'Black Lightning' Casts Chantal Thuy as DC Comics' Grace Choi (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Variety Media, LLC. Retrieved February 6, 2018.
  3. ^ Hong, Tae (January 30, 2019). "Chantal Thuy Smolders As The First Asian American LGBTQ Superhero On TV". Character Media. Retrieved January 1, 2020.
  4. ^ Webb Mitovich, Matt (August 27, 2021). "Magnum P.I.: Chantal Thuy Joins Season 4 as HPD Detective/New Love Interest — Get First Look". TVLine. Retrieved August 30, 2021.
  5. ^ Connie Thiessen, "Canadian Screen Awards winners: Cinematic Arts". Broadcast Dialogue, May 30, 2024.
  6. ^ Gelt, Jessica (February 14, 2019). "Nudity in the theater? The actors of 'Linda Vista' have it covered". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 17, 2019.
  7. ^ Peikert, Mark (September 13, 2019). "Black Lightning's Chantal Thuy On Making Her Broadway Debut With a Groundbreaking Character". Playbill. Archived from the original on September 14, 2019.
  8. ^ "Chantal Thuy Biography". BroadwayWorld. Retrieved April 27, 2018.
  9. ^ WW #31 Chantal Thuy, retrieved January 1, 2020
  10. ^ "Buddhist Actress Chantal Thuy Recognized among Extraordinary Asian and Pacific Island Heritage Women". Buddhistdoor Global. Retrieved February 4, 2022.
  11. ^ [1]
  12. ^ "Black Lightning Promotes Chantal Thuy to Series Regular for Season 4". TVLine.com. November 13, 2020.
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