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Monday, September 3, 2007

Lauren Tom
Lauren Tom (born August 4, 1961) is an American actress and voice actress.

Biography
Tom, a Chinese American, was born in Chicago, Illinois and raised Catholic in a largely Jewish neighborhood. In an article for Detour Magazine, Tom describes an experience she had as a child where other children were teasing her about her Chinese heritage. This caused her to become a rather introverted person which, in turn, is what originally inspired her to get into dancing.

Theater
Tom had several small parts in movies including Nothing Lasts Forever, Wall Street, See No Evil, Hear No Evil, and Blue Steel; but her biggest role to date was as a waitress in the Robin Williams/Tim Robbins film Cadillac Man. This role led to being a guest on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. Tom landed a starring role in the film The Joy Luck Club in 1993, which led to roles in such other films such as When a Man Loves a Woman and North.
Since the mid-90s, Tom has starred in few films (focusing her work, primarily, in the voiceover business), with the exceptions of a supporting role in the 2003 hit comedy Bad Santa and the critically-acclaimed 2004 film In Good Company.

Television
Tom began vocal work in the animated series Superman: The Animated Series (as Angela Chen). From there Lauren had minor roles on Pinky and the Brain and Extreme Ghostbusters before landing her lasting roles on King of the Hill and later Futurama.
She has also lent her voice to Rocket Power, Max Steel, Batman Beyond, Justice League Unlimited, Kim Possible, Numbuh Three and Numbuhs 44 and 44 on Codename: Kids Next Door, Teen Titans, Yan Lin, Susan, Alchemy on W.I.T.C.H., Jake's mom, Councilor Chang on American Dragon: Jake Long, and Avatar the Last Airbender (as Joo Dee).
Other animated movies Tom has voiced include Mulan II, Kim Possible: The Secret Files, Kim Possible Movie: So The Drama, Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker, and Futurama: Bender's Big Score.

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