Maggie Q

Margaret Denise Quigley, known professionally as Maggie Q, is an American actress and former model. Born on May 22, 1979, she first achieved fame in Hong Kong action cinema before establishing a prominent career in Hollywood. She is widely recognized for her starring roles in major action films, high-profile television dramas, and popular film franchises.

Q was born and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii. Her mother is Vietnamese, and her father is American of Polish and Irish descent, having met while her father served in the Vietnam War. Raised Catholic, she attended Mililani Uka Elementary School, Wheeler Intermediate School, and Mililani High School, where she competed in cross country, track and field, and swimming. After graduating in 1997, she earned an athletics scholarship to a private university to study veterinary science, but financial constraints led her to pause her education to earn money.

At age 17, Q began modeling in Tokyo, Japan, before relocating to Hong Kong. There, she adopted her stage name and was mentored by action star Jackie Chan, who trained her in martial arts and stunt work. She made her acting debut in the 1998 Asian television drama House of the Dragon, followed by her film debut in Model from Hell in 2000. That same year, she appeared in the action thriller Gen-Y Cops, which led to appearances in Chan's films Manhattan Midnight and Rush Hour 2. In 2002, she starred as an assassin in the Hong Kong action movie Naked Weapon.

Q made her Hollywood breakthrough in 2006, playing IMF agent Zhen in Mission: Impossible III. She subsequently appeared as Mai Linh in Live Free or Die Hard (2007), Maggie in Balls of Fury (2007), Cao Ying in Three Kingdoms: Resurrection of the Dragon (2008), and Tina in Deception (2008). From 2010 to 2013, she played the titular rogue assassin on the CW action-thriller series Nikita. During this period, she also voiced Wonder Woman on the animated series Young Justice from 2012 to 2019.

In 2014, Q played Tori Wu in the dystopian science-fiction film Divergent, later reprising her role in the sequels Insurgent (2015) and Allegiant (2016). She starred as Detective Beth Davis in the CBS drama Stalker and portrayed FBI special agent Hannah Wells in Designated Survivor from 2016 to 2019. Her film credits also include the feature The Crash and the 2021 action movie The Protégé. In 2020, she was cast in the comedy series Pivoting, and in 2025, she began starring as Detective Renée Ballard in the Prime Video series Ballard.

Beyond her screen work, Q co-produced the 2005 animal treatment documentary Earthlings and appeared in a CAUSE USA public service announcement in 2004. An outspoken animal rights activist and vegan, she has participated in campaigns for PETA Asia, receiving their Person of the Year award in 2008, and serves as an ambassador for the Animals Asia Foundation.