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"Our choices are going to determine the future for our children, our children's children, and their children. I take that responsibility very seriously." Maggie Q is an American actress, model, and activist who was born and raised in Hawaii. Since entering the industry in 1998, Maggie Q has worked hard to become a household name thanks to her diverse range of talents and wide range while performing on screen.
Maggie Q has enjoyed her most high-profile work over the better part of the last decade. Maggie Q has starred in both Designated Survivor and Young Justice while also appearing in the young adult franchise, Divergent. Maggie Q has flexed her ability to perform in both raunchy comedies like Balls of Fury and incredibly physical roles like Nikita. Maggie Q is slated to appear in several films set for release in 2020 including Fantasy Island and The Argument
Life in Hawaii
Margaret Denis Quigley was born May 22, 1979, in Honolulu, Hawaii. Raised by both her mother and father, Maggie Q enjoyed a relatively quiet home life. She was born to parents of mixed descent. Her father was of Polish and Irish descent while her mother was an immigrant from Vietnam. Her parents had met while her father was serving in Vietnam during the Vietnam War. Maggie Q was raised in a Catholic household in Hawaii alongside her four other siblings.
Q would attend Mililani Waena Elementary School and Wheeler Intermediate School as a child. After enrolling at Mililani High School, Q would quickly become a popular student-athlete. Q became known for her skills in cross-country, track and field, and even the swim team. Q would win such prestigious awards as 'Best Body' in her high school yearbook. Q would go on to secure scholarships to a number of different universities thanks to her athletic prowess. This ended up being a good thing as her family was in no position to help pay for her studies. Q would head to Japan to work as a model in hopes of raising money for the rest of her tuition.
Long and Successful Career
At the urging of a good friend, Q would head to Tokyo where she would begin modeling at the age of 17. Q would struggle to cementer herself in Tokyo, and so she would head to Taipei and eventually Hong Kong. Now in Hong Kong, Maggie officially adopted the Maggie Q stage name. The reason for the change was due to the fact that the Hong Kong locals struggled to pronounce 'Quigley'. At this point in her life, Q was pretty much without hope. She was down to her last twenty dollars, and she didn't speak the local language. Fortunately, Q would be hand-selected by Jackie Chan because he saw the potential for a true action star in her abilities.
In 1998, Q would make her acting debut in the television drama, House of the Dragon. While the show didn't experience crossover appeal out West, it was a major hit throughout Asia. A few years later, Q would make her film debut in the movie, Model From Hell (2000). Q would experience brief solo fame as the officer Jane Quigley in Gen-Y Cops (2000).
In 2001, Q would land a role in a pair of Jackie Chan pictures, Manhattan Midnight (2001) and Rush Hour 2 (2001). While Q's roles were relatively small, she managed to live up to the expectation that Jackie had for her. Her success in both films would lead directly to her being cast as Charlene Ching in the film, Naked Weapon. By this point in time, Q was rounding into form as one of the most exciting young performers on the planet.
When 2006 rolled around, Q would make the turn into true Hollywood stardom with an appearance in the blockbuster film, Mission: Impossible 3. Q would star alongside Tom Cruise as the only female member of IMF. Q would shock audiences with her on-screen charisma and this would lead directly to Q's being cast in Die Hard 4.0 (2007) alongside Bruce Willis. Q would flip typecasting on its head with an appearance in the raunchy comedy, Balls of Fury just a few years later.
In 2010, Q would finally land her shot to anchor a television show. Q would be cast in the titular role of the series Nikita (2010). The series followed a rogue assassin which was based on a story by a French film with the same name. Nikita was a historically important series for Asian representation in Hollywood, even though it wasn't the first Asian American series anchored by an actress. That honor belongs to Anna May Wong in The Gallery of Madame Liu-Tsong (1951). Nikita would end up being pulled after just four seasons despite positive reviews and a loyal viewership.
In 2011, Q would star in the science fiction horror film, Priest (2011). IN 2014, Q would land a role in the hit young adult franchise, Divergent (2014). Q would portray the role of Tori in both sequels, Insurgent (2015) and Allegiant (2016). Q has also starred in Stalker (2014), Designated Survivor (2016), and Young Justice (2019) in recent years.
When Q isn't working on a project or consuming a script, she is spending much of her time fighting for animal rights. Q is a vegetarian, and she claims that giving up meat has been one of the best decisions of her life. Q was declared one of the Sexiest Vegans of 2017 according to PETA.
While Q doesn't like to share too much of her personal life, her love life has been well-documented. Q famously got engaged to her Stalker castmate, Dylan McDermott. The two held their engagement until 2019 when they ended their relationship altogether. Q is currently not attached to anyone nor does she have any children.
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