--- name: "Lauren Tom" canonical: "https://film.one/person/lauren-tom" roles: ["Actor"] born: "4 August 1961" reviewed_on_fi1m: 3 average_fi1m_score: 79 updated: "2026-09-16T23:08:55.972099+00:00" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Lauren Tom Actor. Born 4 August 1961 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. ## Details - **Work:** Actor - **Born:** 4 August 1961, Chicago, Illinois, USA - **Active:** 1987–1999 - **Also known as:** Lauren J Tom, Lauren Chan, لورن تام - **Works often with:** Brian Sheesley, Pat Shinagawa, Wes Archer ## Fi1m on Lauren Tom > Lauren Tom has spent the best part of thirty years as two of American animation's most durable families, sometimes voicing the daughter and the mother in the same scene. It is quiet, exact work, and it deserves more notice than a voice credit usually gets. In *King of the Hill* (1997), when Connie Souphanousinphone argues with her mother Minh, both ends of the argument are Lauren Tom. Nothing in the drawing tells you, and nothing in the sound does either, which is the point. We admit we did not notice for a long time, and when we did we went back and listened to the pair of them again with something close to admiration: the daughter weary and reasonable, the mother quick and certain, and no join between them that we could find. The career behind that trick began on stage. She joined a touring company of *A Chorus Line* at 17, went on to Broadway in *Doonesbury* and *Hurlyburly*, and took small film parts on the side, including the Lady Broker in *Wall Street* (1987), a role we did not single out and nor did Oliver Stone. The part that made her name was Lena St. Clair in *The Joy Luck Club* (1993). Television followed: Julie, Ross's girlfriend, in *Friends* (1995–96), then *Grace Under Fire*, and later *Supernatural* and *Andi Mack*. From the late 1990s the microphone took over. *King of the Hill* came first, then *Futurama* (1999), where she is Amy Wong, and we rate both series among the best of their kind. *Futurama* is a first-rate joke for five seasons and a warmer, less funny one in its revivals, and she has stayed with it through all of them. Amy is wholly American; Minh is not. Tom has said she has no objection to accented parts but that "it's always nice for me to alternate it with characters that are completely American like Amy", and the alternation is what you hear across the two shows: the same performer, two quite different people, nothing forced in either. What does not work is not hers to fix. The credits read narrowly: East Asian girls and their mothers, again and again, in one cartoon after another. Her own account of voice work is that nobody can see her, so she can play anything. The evidence is that she has been asked to play a fairly small number of things, very well, for a very long time. A performer who can be a mother and a daughter in one breath could plainly manage more. If you have only ever heard her as Amy, go back to the Souphanousinphones and listen with the picture off. The show that wouldn't die keeps coming back, in her phrase, and so far she has come back with it every time. ## Biography Lauren Tom is an American actress and voice actress. Born on 4 August 1961 in Highland Park, Illinois, she began her career on stage. She appeared in the Broadway production of *A Chorus Line* and other shows including *Hurlyburly* and *Doonesbury*, and won an Obie Award for an Off-Broadway performance. Tom's film roles include a part in *Nothing Lasts Forever* (1984) and Lady Broker in *Wall Street* (1987). She gained wider recognition as Lena St Clair in *The Joy Luck Club* (1993). On television she played Julie in *Friends* (1995–96) and Linda Tran in *Supernatural* (2012–14). Her voice work includes Amy Wong in *Futurama* (1999–2013) and characters in *King of the Hill*. *Sources: en.wikipedia.org, rottentomatoes.com, moviemeter.com.* ## On Fi1m (3) - *Futurama* (1999), Fi1m 81, as Amy Wong (voice) — [page](https://film.one/tv/futurama.md) - *King of the Hill* (1997), Fi1m 82, as Connie Souphanousinphone (voice) — [page](https://film.one/tv/king-of-the-hill-1997.md) - *Wall Street* (1987), Fi1m 74, as Lady Broker — [page](https://film.one/film/wall-street.md) ## Also known for - *Rick and Morty* (2013), Additional Voices (voice), Kendra (voice), Fortune 500 Employee (voice), Birddaughter / Amy (voice), Birddaughter (voice), Blips and Chitz Employee (voice) - *Supernatural* (2005), Linda Tran, Linda Tran / Crowley - *Kung Fu Panda 2* (2011), Market Sheep (voice) - *Avatar: The Last Airbender* (2005), Joo Dee (voice) - *What If...?* (2021), Jiayi (voice) - *The Rookie* (2018), Vanessa Chen - *Pretty Little Liars* (2010), Rebecca - *Mulan II* (2004), Su (voice) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/lauren-tom