Amy Hill
Quick Facts
Biography
Amy Marie Hill (born May 9, 1953) is an American stand-up comedian, actress and voice actress known for often playing grandmother or motherly type roles in both live action and voice roles. Hill's first major role was as Yung-Hee "Grandma" Kim on All-American Girl where her character became the breakout character of the short lived television series.
Hill has been a mainstay on American television in her work, many of her roles being recurring roles the most notable roles being, Mrs. DePaulo on That's So Raven, Mama Tohru on Jackie Chan Adventures, Mrs. Hasagawa in Lilo & Stitch: The Series (reprising the same character she played in Lilo & Stitch), Ah-Mah Jasmine Lee in The Life and Times of Juniper Lee, Judy Harvey in Enlightened, Mah Mah Ling in American Dad!, Beverly Tarantino in Mom and Ms. Mannering in Preacher.
Hill is currently a series regular on the Amazon Video Web television show Just Add Magic as Mama P along with recurring in UnReal as Dr. Wagerstein on the basic cable network Lifetime and The CW romantic comedy musical Crazy Ex-Girlfriend as Lourdes Chan.
In film, she is perhaps best known for her roles as Mrs. Kwan in The Cat in the Hat, Sue in 50 First Dates, and Mrs. Ho-Kim in Next Friday. She plays Kumu the cultural curator of Robin Master's estate in Magnum P.I. on the new reboot series.
Early life
Hill was born in Deadwood, South Dakota, to Japanese national Ayako Yoneoka Hill (1914–2008) and Archie Russell Hill, a Finnish American who died after an automobile accident in 1979. She became an acclaimed actress working with the famed Asian American Theater Company in San Francisco, California. Hill is also known in the theatre world as a respected performance artist, having written and performed a number of one-woman shows, including the trilogy of Tokyo Bound, Reunion, and Beside Myself.
Career
Hill first became noticed in the industry for her involvement on Margaret Cho's short-lived sitcom All-American Girl in the role of grandmother Yung-hee, better known as Grandma or Grandma Kim. Through the run of the show her character eventually became the show's breakout character and this was noted in the show's 2006 DVD release in an interview with Hill and former co-star Margaret Cho.
A little after All-American Girl was cancelled she would later be cast in the role of Kay Ohara on Maybe This Time, which would eventually lead her to working and co-starring with TV legend Betty White and former All American Girl co-star Ashley Johnson.
Some of her notable films that she starred in are Max Keeble's Big Move, Big Fat Liar, The Cat in the Hat, Let's Go To Prison, Lilo & Stitch, and as Dr. Barrenbottom in 2013's Big Gay Love, but her most notable film role was as Sue in the film 50 First Dates.
She has had many notable guest starring roles on shows such as Night Court, Six Feet Under, Desperate Housewives, Two and a Half Men, King of the Hill, 3rd Rock from the Sun, The Sarah Silverman Program, and My Wife & Kids. She has had many notable recurring roles on TV shows as well, such as the lesbian daughter of D. L. Hughley's neighbor (played by Pat Morita) on The Hughleys, the upstairs neighbor of Monica and Rachel on Friends, Mrs. DePaulo on That's So Raven, Mama Tohru on Jackie Chan Adventures, Mrs. Hasagawa on Lilo & Stitch: The Series, Penny Candy on The Puzzle Place, Maureen Nervosa, the owner of Cafe Nervosa on Frasier, Mah Mah the adopted mother of Francine on American Dad!, Dr. Lauren Brown on General Hospital, and Suji on The Naked Truth. In the final episode of season six of Seinfeld, she played the part of Frank Costanza's long lost girlfriend during his Korean War service. She also played Pang Bing, the final antagonist of the series finale of Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness.
She also had notable regular roles on Strip Mall and one of her better known roles as "Ah-Mah" Jasmine Lee on The Life and Times of Juniper Lee. Hill has recurring roles as Beverley on Mom and Ms. Mannering on Preacher.
Awards and nominations
- Hill was nominated for a regional Emmy (Los Angeles Area) as writer/host of Get Real, an Asian American teen talkshow on KSCI.
Personal life
Hill has an adopted daughter named Penelope and they have performed in numerous shows together across the United States.
Filmography
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1985 | Dim Sum: A Little Bit of Heart | Amy Tam | |
1987 | Living on Tokyo Time | Woman in Cafe #2 | |
1988 | The Big Blue | Computer Operator | |
Scrooged | Technician | ||
1990 | Circuitry Man | Bartender | |
Ghost Dad | Nurse #1 | ||
1991 | Intimate Stranger | Madame | Television film |
1992 | Judgement | Dorothy Moys | |
Singles | Hospital Nurse | ||
1993 | Rising Sun | Hsieh | |
1995 | Tokyo Bound | Television film | |
1995 | The Last Supper | Illegal Alien Hater | |
1997 | The Magic Pearl | Additional voices | |
1998 | Yellow | Snake Ajima | |
Twelfth Night, or What You Will | Maria | Television film | |
1999 | Godzilla 2000 | Shop Owner | |
2000 | Next Friday | Mrs. Ho-Kym | |
Straight Right | Mrs. Geddes | ||
Auggie Rose | Karla | ||
Unauthorized: The Mary Kay Letourneau Story | Vili's Mother | Television film | |
2001 | On Edge | Bullhorn Woman | |
Pavilion of Women | Madame Kang | ||
Virtually Casey | Principal Ono | Television film | |
The New Women | Gaia | ||
Max Keeble's Big Move | Mrs. Rangoon | ||
2002 | Big Fat Liar | Jocelyn Davis | |
Man of the Year | The Maid | ||
Lilo & Stitch | Mrs. Hasagawa | ||
2003 | The Cat in the Hat | Mrs. Kwan | |
Cheaper by the Dozen | Miss Hozzie | ||
2004 | 50 First Dates | Sue | |
2002-2005 | Duck | Pedicurist | |
That's So Raven | Mrs. DePaulo | Recurring | |
Herbie: Fully Loaded | Female Doctor | ||
Kids in America | Mrs. Young | ||
2006 | Unbeatable Harold | Secretary | |
Let's Go to Prison | Judge Eva Fwae Wun | ||
2007 | Finishing the Game | Mrs. Tyler | |
South of Pico | Maria | ||
2009 | Legally Blondes | Miss. Chang | Direct-to-video film |
Couples Retreat | Therapist | ||
Glee | Dr. Chin | Season 1 Episode 7: Throwdown | |
2010 | Curious George 2: Follow That Monkey! | Flower Pot Lady / Irate Woman | Direct-to-video film |
2011 | Family Practice | Jenny Kim | Television film |
Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness | Mrs. Gow / Su | 2 episodes | |
2012 | White Frog | Dr. King | |
2013 | The Crumbles | Cafe Manager | |
Big Gay Love | Dr. Barrenbottom | ||
2015 | Just Add Magic | Ida "Mama P" Perez | Main role |
Man Up | Eileen | ||
Imperfect Sky | Dr. Lowe | ||
2015-2016 | Unreal | Dr. Wagerstein | Recurring character, 14 episodes |
2015–2018 | Crazy Ex-Girlfriend | Lourdes Chan | Recurring character, 8 episodes |
2016 | Punching Henry | Adjudicator | |
The Unbidden | Rachel | ||
Lego DC Comics Super Heroes: Justice League – Gotham City Breakout | Madame Mantis | Direct-to-video film | |
Catfight | Aunt Charlie | ||
2017 | Spider-Man: Homecoming | Decathlon Moderator | |
2018–present | Magnum P.I. | Teuila "Kumu" Tuileta | Main character |