Adele Lim

{{Infobox person

| name = Adele Lim

| birth_name =

| image = Adele Lim by Gage Skidmore.jpg

| caption = Lim at the 2013 San Diego Comic-Con

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|df=y|1975|08|15}}

| birth_place = Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia

| nationality = Malaysian

| education = Emerson College

| occupation = Screenwriter, Producer

| known_for = Crazy Rich Asians

Raya and the Last Dragon
Joy Ride

}}

Adele Lim (born 15 August 1975) is a Malaysian screenwriter, producer, and director. She is best known for being a co-writer on Crazy Rich Asians, the first film by a major Hollywood studio to feature a majority cast of Asian descent in a modern setting since The Joy Luck Club in 1993, and Raya and the Last Dragon in 2021, an animated fantasy adventure inspired by Southeast Asian culture. She also directed and produced the 2023 comedy Joy Ride.

Early life

Lim was born in Malaysia{{cite web |url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1004604/ |title=Adele Lim |publisher=IMDb |access-date=29 August 2018}} and is of Malaysian Chinese descent. She attended Malaysia's Sri Aman Girls School in Petaling Jaya, in Petaling District, in the state of Selangor. She started writing as a teenager and undergraduate in the lifestyle section of a local daily.{{Cite news|url=https://www.thestar.com.my/opinion/columnists/so-aunty-so-what/2017/05/17/rooting-for-this-crazy-movie-heres-how-an-international-bestseller-got-a-grand-malaysian-treatment|title=Rooting for this CRA-zy movie|last=Wong|first=June H.L.|date=17 May 2017|work=the Star Online|access-date=12 August 2019}} She graduated from Emerson College in Boston with a degree in TV/film in 1996 and currently resides in Los Angeles, California.{{Cite news|url=https://www.pressreader.com/malaysia/the-star-malaysia-star2/20121212/281668252288918|title=It's in the script|last=Begum|first=Mumtaj|date=12 December 2012|work=The Star|access-date=8 October 2019}}{{cite news|url=https://vogue.sg/adele-lim-100-tigers-productions/|title=Meet Adele Lim, the Malaysian screenwriter making waves of representation in Hollywood|last=Lye|first=Jesslyn|work=Vogue Singapore|date=17 January 2024|access-date=7 October 2024}}

Career

Lim started her career as a script coordinator for Xena: Warrior Princess, getting the job despite her resume being, as she described, "nonexistent".{{Cite news|url=https://www.asiaone.com/print/News/Latest%2BNews/Showbiz/Story/A1Story20130208-400904.html|title=TV dramas are nothing without writers|last=S. Indramalar|first=Ann|date=8 February 2013|work=The Star/Asia News Network|access-date=8 October 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191008075415/https://www.asiaone.com/print/News/Latest%2BNews/Showbiz/Story/A1Story20130208-400904.html|archive-date=8 October 2019|url-status=dead}} She has written for TV series such as One Tree Hill, Life Unexpected, Reign, Star-Crossed, Private Practice and Lethal Weapon.

In 2018, Lim was the co-screenwriter for the 2018 movie Crazy Rich Asians.{{cite web |url=http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-crazy-rich-asians-adele-lim-20180810-story.html |title='Crazy Rich Asians': Adele Lim brought experience, authenticity to the script |last=Yamato |first=Jen |work=Los Angeles Times |date=10 August 2018 |access-date=21 August 2018}}{{cite web |url=http://www.awardsdaily.com/2018/08/19/adele-lim-representation-matters-says-the-malaysian-co-writer-of-crazy-rich-asians/ |title=Adele Lim "Representation Matters" Says the Malaysian Co-Writer of Crazy Rich Asians |publisher=awardsdaily.com |last=Tangcay |first=Jazz |date=21 August 2018 |access-date=29 August 2018}} Director Jon M. Chu asked her to rewrite the existing screenplay. In her rewrite she notably added the climactic scene of mahjong between Constance Wu and Michelle Yeoh's characters.{{Cite web |last=Babiak |first=Laura |date=7 July 2023 |title=Who to Watch: Adele Lim, Director of 'Joy Ride' |website=The New York Observer |url=https://observer.com/2023/07/who-to-watch-adele-lim-director-of-joy-ride/}} Lim left writing on the sequel, following reports that she was offered significantly less pay (around $110,000) than her male co-writer Peter Chiarelli ($800,000 to $1 million). Warner Brothers defended the offer, citing the difference in experience between the two.{{Cite web|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/crazy-rich-asians-screenwriter-adele-lim-exits-sequel-pay-disparity-dispute-1236431/|title = 'Crazy Rich Asians' Co-Writer Exits Sequel Amid Pay Disparity Dispute (Exclusive)|website = The Hollywood Reporter|date = 4 September 2019}}{{Cite web|url=https://themuse.jezebel.com/crazy-rich-asians-co-writer-left-sequel-after-learning-1837872782|title=Crazy Rich Asians Co-Writer Left Sequel After Learning White Male Colleague Earned Around 10 Times Her Salary|last=Sherman|first=Maria|website=The Muse|date=4 September 2019 |language=en-US|access-date=4 September 2019}}

Disney recruited Lim to develop the animated feature film Raya and the Last Dragon, which released in 2021. She served as screenwriter alongside Qui Nguyen.{{Cite news|url=https://www.star2.com/entertainment/2018/10/12/adele-lim-working-disney-film/|title=Malaysia-born screenwriter Adele Lim working on Disney film|last=Chan|first=Kenneth|date=12 October 2018|work=The Star|access-date=17 August 2019|archive-date=17 August 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190817103733/https://www.star2.com/entertainment/2018/10/12/adele-lim-working-disney-film/|url-status=dead}}

In her feature directorial debut, Lim directed and produced comedy film Joy Ride, starring Ashley Park, Sherry Cola, Stephanie Hsu, and Sabrina Wu.{{Cite news |last=Vincentelli |first=Elisabeth |date=6 July 2023 |title='Joy Ride' Review: A Raunch-Com Roller Coaster |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/06/movies/joy-ride-review.html |access-date=8 July 2023 |issn=0362-4331}} The movie premiered at SXSW in March 2023.{{Cite web |last=Tangcay |first=Jazz |date=18 March 2023 |title='Joy Ride': Adele Lim on Her SXSW Directorial Debut and Telling a Story About Messy, Thirsty Friends 'On Our Terms' |url=https://variety.com/2023/film/festivals/joy-ride-adele-lim-interview-sxsw-1235556761/ |access-date=8 July 2023 |website=Variety |language=en-US}}

She has given support to young writers as mentor and speaker for the Coalition of Asian Pacifics in Entertainment (CAPE).{{Cite news |last=Ramos |first=Dino-Ray |date=19 March 2019 |title=CAPE Teams With Adele Lim, Daniel Chun, Walter Hamada And Others For Annual New Writers Fellowship |work=Deadline Hollywood |url=https://deadline.com/2019/03/cape-new-writers-fellowship-coalition-of-asian-pacifics-in-enteratinment-adele-lim-daniel-chun-representation-inclusion-diversity-1202578391/ |access-date=17 August 2019}}

In 2024, Variety reported that she signed on to direct The Princess Diaries 3 with Anne Hathaway reprising her role.{{cite web |author=Angelique Jackson | url=https://variety.com/2024/film/news/princess-diaries-3-adele-lim-to-direct-1236168384/ | title=Anne Hathaway Confirms Return for 'Princess Diaries 3' With Director Adele Lim |website=Variety | date=4 October 2024 |access-date=5 October 2024}}

Filmography

= Film =

class="wikitable plainrowheaders sortable" style="margin-right: 0;"
scope="col" \|Title ! scope="col" \|Year ! scope="col" \|Role ! scope="col" \|Notes
scope="row" \| Crazy Rich Asians \| 2018 \|rowspan=2\| co-writer \|Nominated: Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy
scope="row" \| Raya and the Last Dragon \| 2021 \|Nominated: Academy Award for Best Animated Feature
scope="row" \| Joy Ride \| 2023 \| Directorial debut, story writer and producer \|

class="wikitable plainrowheaders sortable" style="margin-right: 0;"

scope="col" |Title

! scope="col" |Year

! scope="col" |Role

! scope="col" |Notes

scope="row" | Crazy Rich Asians

| 2018

|rowspan=2| co-writer

|Nominated: Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy

scope="row" | Raya and the Last Dragon

| 2021

|Nominated: Academy Award for Best Animated Feature

scope="row" | Joy Ride

| 2023

| Directorial debut, story writer and producer

= Television =

class="wikitable"

!Year

!Title

!Role

!Notes

2000

|Xena: Warrior Princess

|Script Coordinator

|Episode: "Punch Lines"

2001

|State of Grace

|Script Coordinator

2001–2002

|Digimon: Digital Monsters

|Writer (English Dub)

|Seasons 2–4; 20 episodes (English Dub){{Cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0210418/fullcredits?ref_=tt_cl_sm#cast|title=Digimon: Digital Monsters (1999-2003) Full Cast & Crew|website=IMDb|access-date=15 August 2019}}

2002

|John Doe

|Co-Writer

|Episode: "Mind Games"

2003–2004

| rowspan="2" |Las Vegas

|Story Editor

|22 episodes; Writer: 3 episodes

2004–2005

|Executive Story Editor

|24 episodes

2006