Internet friends, it’s no secret that we at FYA are just a liiiiiittle bit excited for the upcoming adaptation of Divergent. We’ve already squeed over the actors playing Four (Theo James), Tris and Christina (Shailene Woodley and Zoë Kravitz), Peter (Miles Teller), and the rest of the Dauntless initiates. And when Jennie confirmed that Maggie Q, who plays Tori (and Mekhi Phifer, who plays Max), is just as awesome in person as I hoped she’d be, I knew Maggie Q would be perf for Your New Fake Girlfriend.
Fake Girlfriend Name: Margaret Denise Quigley
Name says: Super classy! In a story that Maggie has had to tell countless times but graciously does so anyway, her last name was shortened when she started working in Asia. Clearly with no Diddy-like desire to rebrand herself, Maggie’s stuck with the moniker — a great choice, since Maggie Q just screams ‘action star’, right?
Date of Birth: May 22, 1979
Age says: Maggie was a YA in the ’90s, so she speaks our pop culture language, in addition to the eight (!!!) real ones that she speaks: Russian, French, Arabic, Polish, Czech, Cantonese, and a last one that wasn’t named but iffy sources say is Vietnamese. And English, obvs.
Place of Birth: Honolulu, Hawaii
Birthplace says: Maggie’s had a lot of spam musubi in her youth, back in her non-vegetarian/vegan days, though not so much with the surfing. Those priorities suit me just fine, seeing as my history of incoordination predicts that I’d be terrible at surfing, and I’ve actually made spam musubi without ever having visited Hawaii.
Educational Background: Public schools in Mililani; multi-sport athlete (cross country, track and field, and swim); won senior class title of “Best Body”
Education says: Maggie’s always been good at athletics, with one of her high school coaches commending her work ethic and humility. And that high school superlative… well, it’s not surprising.
Where You Have Seen Her:
After high school, Maggie pursued modeling, which took her to Tokyo, Taipei, and Hong Kong, where she had her big break as a model and an actor, eventually becoming a superstar across Asia.
Then North America finally clued in, casting Maggie in action flicks like Mission: Impossible III, Live Free or Die Hard, and Priest.
Maggie also just wrapped up the fourth and final season of Nikita, which has proven that she can pack an emotional punch just as well as a physical one. Maggie’s Nikita handles a lot of weapons, but the only guns she needs are the ones attached to her shoulders. DAY-UM. (Video here.)
Yeah — you BETTER run, Julie Cooper!
Where You’ll See Her Next:
Maggie has a couple of movies coming out this year: the intriguingly titled A Conspiracy on Jekyll Island, anddddd a little ol’ movie called Divergent. By the looks of it, she DEF. brought her fierceness to portray Tori.
She’s also been announced to play “one of history’s most powerful pirates and head of the most successful crime syndicate in China” in a miniseries. Um, YES PLEASE.
Why You’ll Adore Her:
In case you missed the memo, Maggie is TOUGH. She does most of her own stunts — all of ’em on Nikita — sometimes sustaining injuries, er, chest-wise.
Maggie’s a huge animal activist and advocate of adopting rescue dogs, at one point having eight of her own. Here are some photos of her with puppers.
She’s not too cool for learning sweet dance moves on cheesy Chinese variety shows. (Skip to 4:30 for her entrance, and 16:25 for dancing.)
She’s not afraid to speak her mind — although it’s hard to imagine her being afraid of anything.
“Not only do I not want to be stereotyped as this Asian girl who fights – gee, what a wonder – but also I have more to offer than that.”
“I’m just totally into being strong. There’s something about wanting to get a jar or whatever out of a high cupboard, or moving a sofa over because my dog’s bone rolled under it, and not having to call anyone for help. There’s comfort in that.”
“I like to be challenged. I like people who do not believe in me. The more people doubt you, the bigger the surprise is going to be when they are proven wrong in the long run. I respond very well to such pressure.”
SHE REALLY IS DAUNTLESS, Y’ALL. Someone give this lady a movie franchise of her own already!
