Olivia Munn
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Olivia Munn
Munn at the 2018
San Diego Comic-Con.
Born Lisa Olivia Munn
July 3, 1980 (age 38)
Oklahoma City,
Oklahoma, U.S.
Alma mater University of OklahomaOccupation
Years active 2004–present
Lisa Olivia Munn (born July 3, 1980) is an American actress and model. She began her professional career in television journalism before becoming an actress. In 2006, Munn starred as Mily Acuna on the series
Beyond the Break. She co-hosted
Attack of the Show!from 2006 to 2010 and was a correspondent on
The Daily Show from 2010 to 2011.
Munn has also had supporting roles in various films and television series since 2004. She played the character Sloan Sabbith on the television series
The Newsroom from 2012 to 2014, and has appeared in the films
Magic Mike (2012), the horror film
Deliver Us from Evil (2014), the comedy
Mortdecai (2014), and
X-Men: Apocalypse (2016) as
Psylocke. In 2017, she provided the voice of Koko in
The Lego Ninjago Movie, and also had a lead role on the
History Channel series
Six (2017).
Contents
Early life[edit]
Lisa Olivia Munn was born July 3, 1980
[1] in
Oklahoma City,
Oklahoma. Her father, Winston Barrett Munn, is an American of English, Irish and German descent.
[2] Her mother, Kimberly Schmid, was born and raised in Vietnam, and is of Chinese descent.
[3][4] Her mother was a Vietnamese refugee who fled to Oklahoma in 1975 after the
Vietnam War.
[5] After college, her mother married Winston.
[6][7][8]
When Munn was two years old, her parents divorced and her mother remarried to a member of the
United States Air Force. Although the family relocated many times, Munn was predominantly raised on
Yokota Air Base near
Tachikawa in
Tokyo, Japan,
[9][10] where her stepfather was stationed. During this time, she appeared in a number of local theater productions and later became a model in the Japanese fashion industry.
[11] She has said that her stepfather was "verbally abusive" and demeaning.
[12] Munn has two brothers, John, a physicist, and James a custom motorcycle shop owner. She also has a sister named Sara, who is a lawyer.
[13]
Her mother and stepfather divorced when Munn was a teenager, and she moved back to Oklahoma with her mother, where she attended
Putnam City North High School for her junior and senior years of high school.
[14][15] After graduating, Munn attended the
University of Oklahoma, where she earned a
B.A. in
journalism with a minor in
Japanese and dramatic arts.
[3][16]
Career[edit]
2004–2009: Beginnings[edit]
Munn signing autographs for
Attack of the Show! at the 2007 Comic Con
After graduating, she became an intern at
the NBC affiliate in
Tulsa,
[17] and later moved to
Los Angeles to pursue an acting career. In 2004, Munn interned at
Fox Sports Networks and worked as a
sideline reporterfor college football and women's basketball. She has gone on to say that she disliked the experience, explaining, "I was trying to be something I wasn't, and that made me really uncomfortable on live TV."
[10]Soon after she moved to Los Angeles, Munn was cast in a small role in the
direct-to-video horror filmScarecrow Gone Wild. She appeared in rock band
Zebrahead's music video for their song "Hello Tomorrow" as the love interest of the lead singer
Justin Mauriello.
[18] Munn also appeared in
National Lampoon's Strip Poker, which was filmed at
Hedonism II, a
naturist resort in
Negril,
Jamaica, with
Kato Kaelin. The films aired on
DirecTV and
In Demand pay-per-view.
In late 2005, Munn began her role as teen surfer Mily Acuna over two seasons of the television drama
Beyond the Break on
The N network.
[19] She enjoys surfing and continues to practice the sport.
[20] She originally auditioned for the role of Kai Kealoha, but the producers wanted a "local girl".
[21] She also appeared in the film
The Road to Canyon Lake.
[22]
In 2006, Munn moved on to the
G4 network, where she began co-hosting
Attack of the Show! with
Kevin Pereira on 10th April. She replaced departing host Sarah Lane. The network, devoted to the world of video games and the video games lifestyle, was at first hesitant to hire Munn. Although she admits video games were her "weak point", she was confident in her technical knowledge.
[23] On the show, Munn was featured with journalist
Anna David in a segment called "In Your Pants", which deals with sex and relationship questions from viewers. While working on
Attack of the Show!, Munn hosted
Formula D, a now defunct program about American
drift racing, and an online
podcast called
Around the Net, formerly known as
The Daily Nut, for G4. Munn left
Attack of the Show! in December 2010 and was replaced by
Candace Bailey.
[24] Munn appeared in the
Rob Schneider film
Big Stan (2007). She played Schneider's character's receptionist Maria.
[10] Munn had a significant role in the horror film
Insanitarium in which she played a nurse at an insane asylum.
2010–present: Breakthrough[edit]
Munn at the 2013
Harper's BazaarWomen of the Year Awards
She had roles in the films
Date Night (2010) and
Iron Man 2 (2010).
Robert Downey, Jr. praised Munn for her improvisation skills and led the crew in a round of applause.
[25] Munn hosted
Microsoft's Bing-a-thon, an advertisement on
Hulu for the Microsoft search-engine
Bing, on 8 June 2009, alongside
Jason Sudeikis.
[26]Munn appeared in
ABC Family's
Greek, portraying Cappie's love interest, Lana. In May 2010,
NBCannounced that Munn would star on the television series
Perfect Couples. The half-hour romantic comedy premiered on January 20, 2011.
[27] The series was cancelled before it completed its first season run.
[28]
On June 3, 2010, Munn debuted in her new role as a correspondent on
Comedy Central's
The Daily Show.
[29] Her hiring prompted criticism from
Irin Carmon of
Jezebel, who questioned Munn's credentials and said the show's production was
sexist for hiring Munn, whom Carmon said was a
sex symbol.
[30] Carmon said Munn's hiring was a perpetuation of the show production office's history as a male-dominated atmosphere marginalizing and alienating to women.
[31] A group of thirty-two female
Daily Show production staff members said Carmon's piece as inaccurate and misinformed. Munn said that Carmon's assertion was an insult both to her and to the rest of the
Daily Show staff.
[32][33] She went on to appear in 16 more episodes as a correspondent, with
TV Guide naming her signature segment "Tiger Mothering," in which she mocked the high expectations of Chinese mothers, in part by interviewing her own mother.
[34] Her last episode as a correspondent aired September 2, 2011. She returned for a brief segment in host
Jon Stewart's final show on August 6, 2015.
In 2010, Munn guest-starred on NBC's comedy-drama
Chuck as a
CIA agent.
[35] In 2011, Munn appeared in the comedy film
I Don't Know How She Does It (2011) as Momo. In 2012, Munn had a leading role in
The Babymakers, a minor role in
Freeloaders, and appeared in
Magic Mike, directed by
Steven Soderbergh. She played Sloan Sabbith on
HBO's drama series
The Newsroom. She also appeared as Angie, Nick's stripper girlfriend, in three episodes in Season Two of FOX's sitcom
New Girl.
[36]
Munn served as a correspondent in "True Colors," the May 12, 2014 episode of the Showtime documentary series
Years of Living Dangerously, in which she interviewed Washington State Governor
Jay Inslee about his efforts to reduce CO2 emissions in his home state. As of June 2014, Munn has been hired as the main promoter of Proactiv acne cleanser products starring in several commercials and one infomercial for the product. The commercials show Munn experiencing acne herself. Since January 2015, she has been the voice of the character Phoebe Callisto on the
Disney Junior animated series
Miles from Tomorrowland. In 2016, Munn was cast as
Elizabeth Braddock / Psylocke (one of
Apocalypse's Four Horsemen) in
X-Men: Apocalypse and will reprise the role in 2019's
X-Men: Dark Phoenix.
Beginning in 2017, she has a starring role in the television series
Six as a
CIA operative.
[37]
In print[edit]
Munn with
Deliver Us from Evil co-star
Joel McHale at the 2014 WonderCon
Munn has appeared in advertising campaigns for
Nike,
Pepsi and
Neutrogena. She appeared on the Fall 2006 cover of
Foam magazine in September, in
Men's Edge magazine in August, and was featured in a pictorial in
Complex in November 2006, where she later became a columnist.
[38] In February 2007, she appeared as "Babe of the Month" in a non-nude pictorial in
Playboy magazine.
[21]She discusses this shoot in her book
Suck it, Wonder Woman.
[39]
Munn also appeared in the July/August 2007 issue of
Men's Health. In September 2007, she was featured in the Italian
Vanity Fair for their "Hot Young Hollywood" Issue. Munn appeared in the Winter/Spring 2009 issue of
Men's Health Living.
[40] She was featured as the cover girl for the July/August 2009 issue of
Playboy, and later on the cover of the January 2010 and February 2011 issues of
Maxim. Munn appears on the cover of the January 2012 issue of
FHM magazine.
[41] She was voted #2 by readers on
Maxim's list of their Hot 100 Women of 2012.
[42][43]
Munn's book
Suck It, Wonder Woman: The Misadventures of a Hollywood Geek (
ISBN 0-312-59105-5) was released on July 6, 2010. In a review for
Time Out New York, Olivia Giovetti said that the book offers glimpses into Munn's life, but does not go into depth.
[44]
Charity work[edit]
In 2011, Munn teamed up with Dosomething.org's Green Your School Challenge. She was a spokesperson for the campaign by filming a PSA regarding the challenge, and sat on the panel of judges that evaluated the entries.
[45]
Munn helped
PETA with a campaign that ultimately freed a sick elephant from a touring circus. Her blog for
The Huffington Post[46] was credited with encouraging fans to contact the
USDA on the elephant's behalf.
[47] Munn posed for PETA's "I'd Rather Go Naked Than Wear Fur" campaign in April 2010,
[48][49] and again in January 2012.[
better source needed]
[50] In February 2013, Munn fronted a PETA release of new footage showing cruelty to animals in Chinese fur farms.
[51]
Personal life[edit]
Munn was in a relationship with
Green Bay Packers quarterback
Aaron Rodgers from 2014 to 2017.
[52]
In regard to her faith and work in
Deliver Us from Evil, Munn has said that "I didn't believe in the supernatural before this movie." However, the viewing of footage from the
New York City Police Department of real-life
exorcisms changed her mind, and she has stated that "I'm a full believer [now]."
[53][54]
Munn is a
black belt in
taekwondo.
[55]
In November 2017, Munn accused film director
Brett Ratner of repeatedly
sexually harassing her over a period of several years.
[56]
Filmography[edit]
Film roles
Year Title Role Notes 2004
Scarecrow Gone WildGirl #12004
National Lampoon's Strip PokerHerself2005
The Road to Canyon LakeAsian mob girl2007
Big StanMaria2008
InsanitariumNancy2009
The Slammin' SalmonSamara Dubois2010
Date NightClaw Hostess2010
Iron Man 2Chess Roberts[57]2010
Jedi JunkiesHerself2011
I Don't Know How She Does ItMomo Hahn2012
Magic MikeJoanna2012
The BabymakersAudrey Macklin2012
FreeloadersMadeline2014
UnityNarrator
Documentary2014
Deliver Us from EvilJen Sarchie2015
MortdecaiGeorgina Krampf2016
Ride Along 2Maya Cruz2016
Zoolander 2Herself2016
Lifeline[58]Emma
Short film2016
X-Men: ApocalypseElizabeth Braddock / Psylocke2016
Office Christmas PartyTracey Hughes2017
The LEGO Ninjago MovieMisako "Koko"Voice role2018
Ocean's 8Herself
[59]Uncredited2018
The PredatorCasey BracketPost-production2019
Dark PhoenixElizabeth Braddock / PsylockePost-production
Television roles
Year Title Role Notes 2006–10
Attack of the Show!HerselfCo-host2006–07
Beyond the BreakMily AcunaRecurring role; 9 episodes2008–09
SasukeHerselfCompetitor; 2 episodes2009
GreekLana4 episodes2009
Dave Knoll Finds His SoulGirl #1
Television film2010
Accidentally on PurposeNicoleEpisode: "Face Off"2010–11
The Daily ShowHerselfCorrespondent2010
ChuckGretaEpisode: "
Chuck Versus the Anniversary"2010–11
Perfect CouplesLeighMain role; 13 episodes2011
Robot ChickenDr. Liz WilsonVoice role; episode: "Kramer vs. Showgirls"2012–14
The NewsroomSloan SabbithMain role; 25 episodes2012
Paulilu MixtapeKatieEpisode: "Ghost Tits"2012–13
New GirlAngie3 episodes2013
The High Fructose Adventures of the Annoying OrangeFudgieVoice role; episode: "Orange Say Knock You Out"2013
David Blaine: Real or MagicHerselfTV special2015
Miles from TomorrowlandCaptain Phoebe Liang CallistoVoice role; main role2015
Repeat After MeHerselfEpisode 1.042016
Lip Sync BattleHerselfEpisode: "Olivia Munn vs. Kevin Hart"2017
Project RunwayGuest judgeEpisode: "One Size Does Not Fit All"2018
23rd Critics' Choice AwardsHerselfHost2018
America's Got TalentHerselfGuest judge2018
SixGina ClineMain role; 10 episodes2018
My HouzzHerselfEpisode: "My Houzz: Olivia Munn's Surprise Renovation for Her Mom"