Lisa Lu, Centenarian Actor and Shanghai Lifetime Achievement Honoree, Reunites With Fans at Screening of Restored ‘The Arch’
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- Lisa Lu, recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 28th Shanghai International Film Festival, joined a packed audience for a post-screening event celebrating 'The Arch' (1968) and drew extended applause with her surprise appearance.
- Lu, who turns 100 this year by traditional Chinese age reckoning, said she volunteered herself for the role after the originally cast actor turned it down: 'I was incredibly fortunate to land a part in this film.'
- Lu praised director Cecile Tang Shu Shuen's 'profound cultural literacy' and composer Lui Tsun-Yuen's score, saying the music 'elevates the entire production' by underscoring each character's inner emotions.
- 'The Arch', Tang Shu Shuen's directorial debut, drew on traditional Chinese poetry and painting and underwent a full 4K restoration in 2025, screening as part of Cannes Classics at the 78th Cannes Film Festival before its Shanghai run.
- Lu became the oldest person ever to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame — unveiled as the 2,811th star at 1708 Vine Street last year.
- Lu holds the distinction of being the only person in Hollywood with voting membership across the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, the Television Academy, and the Screen Actors' Guild, and has been designated a 'Living Legend' by the Chinese government.
- Lu is internationally known for playing matriarch Ah Ma in Warner Bros.' 'Crazy Rich Asians' (2018).
Why it matters: At 100, Lisa Lu becomes the rare figure to simultaneously hold a Shanghai lifetime honor, the oldest-ever Hollywood Walk of Fame star, and unique voting membership across all four major Hollywood guilds — positioning her as cinema's singular cross-cultural bridge between Chinese-language arthouse and Hollywood, still appearing publicly to receive applause.
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