Maggie Han

{{Infobox person

| name = Maggie Han

| caption =

| other names =

| birth_date = {{birth year and age|1959}}

| birth_place = Providence, Rhode Island, U.S.

| death_date =

| death_place =

| occupation = {{hlist|Actress|model}}

| years_active = 1985–1996

| nationality = American

}}

Maggie Han (born 1959) is an American retired actress. Her career began with modeling jobs in the United States and France and progressed to acting in film and television productions.{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/movies/person/30081/Maggie-Han/filmography|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150711041736/http://www.nytimes.com/movies/person/30081/Maggie-Han/filmography|url-status=dead|archive-date=2015-07-11|department=Movies & TV Dept.|work=The New York Times|date=2015|title=Maggie Han filmography|accessdate=2016-01-10}} She is best known for playing Yoshiko Kawashima in The Last Emperor and Cheryl the lawyer in the NBC sitcom Seinfeld.

Biography

Maggie Han was born in Providence, Rhode Island. Her parents were retired music professors who immigrated to the United States from South Korea.{{cite web|url=https://www.jaehakim.com/entertainment-reviews/film-reviews/emperor-star-maggie-han-has-leg-up-on-other-actresses/|title='Emperor' star Maggie Han has leg up on other actresses|first=Jae-Ha|last=Kim|publisher=Chicago Sun-Times|date=1988-01-08|accessdate=2016-01-10}} She grew up enthralled by feminist literature and stated that she developed an "aversion to the idea of marriage and a family." At the age of 16, Han enrolled at Harvard University and majored in American history. Upon the suggestion of a stranger, she contacted a local modeling agency and began working part-time. After receiving an increasing number of job offers, Han decided to model full-time in Paris.

She modeled for six years in Paris and later New York and has described one of her more memorable experiences as being a photo-shoot in a war-torn area of Lebanon.{{cite web|url=https://www.thecrimson.com/article/1983/9/12/there-and-back-again-pi-quit/|title=There and Back Again|last=Han|first=Margaret|date=1983-09-12|publisher=The Harvard Crimson|accessdate=2016-01-10}} In 1983, Han returned to Harvard to continue working on her degree. While there, she became an award-winning reporter for the Harvard Crimson newspaper. During this time she got a deal to do part-time modeling for the pantyhose company L'eggs and appeared in several commercials for them. In 1985, Han received an offer to audition for the miniseries Space. To make her acting debut in that series, she again dropped out of Harvard but stated that returning for a second time was a possibility. Afterward, she moved to Los Angeles to pursue further acting roles, including Sandy in several episodes of LA Law and Eastern Jewel in The Last Emperor, her film debut.

Filmography

class="wikitable sortable"
Year ! Title ! Role ! class="unsortable" \| Notes
1985 \| Space \| Cindy Rhee \| 3 episodes
rowspan="2" \| 1986 \| Head of the Class \| Shayeeda \| 1 episode
LA Law \| Sandy \| 3 episodes
rowspan="2" \| 1987 \| The Last Emperor \| Yoshiko Kawashima \|
Crime Story \| Ginnie Chan \| 1 episode
1988 \| Mr. Belvedere \| Tami Suzuki \| 2 episodes
1988–1989 \| Murphy's Law \| Kimiko Fannuchi \| 5 episodes
rowspan="3" \| 1990 \| Murder in Paradise \| Dr. Diane Mahona \|
Crazy People \| Connie Vega-Margolis \|
Dark Avenger \| Rae Wong \|
1991 \| Teech \| Cassie Lee \| Regular
rowspan="2" \| 1993 \| Seinfeld \| Cheryl Fong \| 2 episodes
Black Tie Affair \| Cookie \| Regular
rowspan="2" \| 1994 \| Diagnosis Murder \| Sunshine \| 1 episode
Junior \| Lab Assistant \|
1995 \| Open Season \| Cary Sain \|
1996 \| Murder, She Wrote \| Nobu Hitaki \| 1 episode

class="wikitable sortable"

Year

! Title

! Role

! class="unsortable" | Notes

1985

| Space

| Cindy Rhee

| 3 episodes

rowspan="2" | 1986

| Head of the Class

| Shayeeda