She's ​​​​​​​Sexy & She Knows It

Witty and fearless, movie star Olivia Munn is Hollywood’s new superhero – melding sexy with smarts, she’s kicking butt with her own stunts and speaking out for women

- Jane Taylor

If there’s an actress in Hollywood who’s confident and self-assured, and willing to be a voice for women in a #MeToo world, it’s Olivia Munn. The 38-year-old actress, who stars in the new Predator movie, has never had a problem being sexy and assured in her Asian curves – thanks to a multi-faceted CV that allows her to be comfortable in her own body.

With her exotic looks, Olivia ran the risk of being hindered by the sex symbol label. But the star, who graduated with a journalism major and whose first job was at a local TV news station, says, “I never had a problem with it because I first became known doing a tech show. I was this nerdy geek girl who was also seen as being sexy.

“So it was never just about my looks and I think that made it a lot easier for me to work on The Daily Show With Jon Stewart, and then get hired for The Newsroom because there are all these different sides of me that people got to appreciate. Basically I think I was projecting myself as a sexy and confident woman who also had a sense of humour and could make people laugh. I never felt typecast in one kind of role.”

Born in Oklahoma in the US to an American father of English, German and Irish heritage and Vietnamese-Chinese mother, Olivia spent her formative years in Japan where her stepfather, a US Air Force officer, was stationed. With the frequent military family relocations, it was natural Olivia spent much of her young life trying to fit in as she was always the “new girl” in school. “I wouldn’t say I was awkward, but there was an awkwardness of just trying to blend in. I just wanted to blend in enough so that people didn’t bother me,” she recalls.

GROWING UP DIFFERENT