Lucy Liu has played everything from razor-sharp assassins to Christmas-saving heroes, but at home, she’s simply “Mom.”
The 57-year-old actress opened up about parenting in a recent PEOPLE interview, joking that her 10-year-old son, Rockwell Lloyd, “does not know how cool” she is.
“But he knows that I can make a killer piece of chicken, and I can heat up a nice lasagna,” Liu quipped. “You know, basic mom stuff.”
A Star Whose Son Has Barely Seen Her Work
Despite Liu’s decades-long career, Rockwell hasn’t watched much of it. His lone live-action Liu experience so far is Red One, her 2024 holiday adventure.
“I think the first thing he’s ever seen — and probably the only thing he’s ever seen — live-action-wise is Red One,” she shared. “He was 9, and he was probably just a little bit under the gun to watch that. But now, after he’s gotten over some of the scary creatures, he really loves it.”
Liu, who received her Hollywood Walk of Fame star in 2019 with Rockwell by her side, said she hopes her son is “proud” of her.
“I love him dearly. He is my greatest teacher. I say that all the time because I’ve never learned so much in such a short period of time,” she reflected. “And I thought I knew it all when I was 16. Wow! What’s happening?”
Liu welcomed Rockwell via surrogate in 2015, a choice she previously described as both practical and intuitive. In 2016, she told PEOPLE, “It just seemed like the right option for me because I was working and I didn’t know when I was going to be able to stop.”
In 2023, she reiterated that she didn’t treat motherhood as a research project. “I didn’t have a plan,” she told The Cut. “I didn’t mull it over too much. I didn’t do a lot of research, I just pulled the trigger… When the child is here, I’m just going to figure it out.”
A Chinese American Story Told by a Chinese American Team
Now, Liu is back on the big screen in Rosemead, a quietly devastating drama about a mother confronting the violent impulses consuming her teenage son. The film marks the feature debut of director Eric Lin and is crafted entirely by an Asian American creative team — a rarity even today.
Rosemead premiered at Tribeca, winning Best Narrative Feature at the Bentonville Film Festival and the audience award at Locarno, where Liu also received a Career Achievement Award.
The film’s momentum has pushed it into one of the year’s most notable specialty-box-office openings. Vertical reported $50.2K from its exclusive NYC run at AMC Lincoln Square, a strong showing for a small-scale indie built on community support rather than corporate machinery.
“I’m so moved by the incredible support Rosemead has received from audiences,” Liu said. “When Mynette Louie, Andrew Corkin, and I set out to make this film, our hope was to spark conversation and maybe even open a few hearts. To feel that connection with everyone this weekend means more than I can express.”
Producer Mynette Louie added, “Theatrical releasing is critical to the survival of independently financed films… We cannot rely on corporations to help us tell the wide range of our underrepresented stories that appeal universally.”
A Career That Keeps Returning to Iconic Roles
Liu’s career has always balanced indie credibility with genre-defining blockbuster moments. Alongside Rosemead’s art-house ascent, she’s also part of a broader cinematic conversation: Lionsgate’s reprise of Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair — which reunites audiences with Liu’s unforgettable O-Ren Ishii, the deliciously dangerous villain who first announced Liu’s ferocity to global audiences.
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That reprise ran in multiplexes alongside other veteran titles, reminding viewers that Liu’s body of work spans both intimate, personal drama and high-wattage pop culture moments.
Behind the Name “Rockwell”
Liu also shared where her son’s name came from — not from a family tree, but from a storefront.
“I was on location, and Rockwell was the name of a store. At the time, I remember thinking, ‘That’s a really great name,’” she said.
Read more: Lucy Liu Wins Réalta Award For ‘Rosemead’ at Belfast Film Festival
And while some people shorten it to Rocky, Rockwell himself has opinions: “When he was 4, he corrected somebody. He said, ‘My name is Rockwell,’” Liu laughed. “But I’m sure by the time he’s in high school, people will be calling him all kinds of names.”
The Joys of Growing Up Together
Liu has often spoken about discovering joy in the simple, fleeting moments of parenthood.
“I didn’t realize how quickly babies progress,” she told PEOPLE when Rockwell turned one. “They’re just this little lump of flesh, and then all of a sudden… they’re observing you and they’re smiling and they’re interacting. It’s a magical experience.”
As Liu steps into a new chapter — as a mother, an actor, and a producer championing Asian American stories — Rosemead feels like both a professional milestone and a personal reflection.
