Making a Scene

"Illuminating." --The Washington Post * "Candid and relatable." --Time *"Riveting and personal." --Mindy Kaling * "Captivatingly immediate." --The Skimm *

A "poignant, frank, and intimate" (The New York Times) memoir by actress Constance Wu about family, love, sex, shame, trauma, and how she found her voice.

Growing up in the friendly suburbs of Richmond, Virginia, Constance Wu was often scolded for having big feelings or strong reactions. "Good girls don't make scenes," people warned her. And while she spent most of her childhood suppressing her bold, emotional nature, she found an early outlet in community theater--it was the one place where big feelings were okay--were good, even. Acting became her refuge, and eventually her vocation. At eighteen she moved to New York, where she'd spend the next ten years of her life auditioning, waiting tables, and struggling to make rent before her two big breaks: the TV sitcom Fresh Off the Boat and the hit film Crazy Rich Asians.

Here Constance shares private memories of childhood, young love and heartbreak, sexual assault and harassment, and how she "made it" in Hollywood. Raw, relatable, and enthralling, Making a Scene is an intimate portrait of the pressures and pleasures of existing in today's world.

ISBN-13: 9781982188542

Media Type: Hardcover

Publisher: Scribner

Publication Date: 10-04-2022

Pages: 336

Product Dimensions: 5.40(w) x 8.30(h) x 1.20(d)

Constance Wu is the Golden Globe Award–nominated star of Crazy Rich Asians and Hustlers. Her breakthrough role was starring as Jessica Huang in the television comedy Fresh Off the Boat (2015–2020). She has been nominated for the Screen Actors Guild award, two Television Critics Association awards, and four Critics Choice awards. Time has honored her as one of the 100 Most Influential People of the Year. She lives on the east side of Los Angeles with her partner, Ryan Kattner, their daughter, and their pet bunny rabbit, Lida-Rose.

Table of Contents

Introduction 1

Lucky Bucks 7

Montana Gold 33

Snap and Whistle 49

Impeach the President 67

Of Course She Did 77

Exploring an Orange 93

Welcome to Jurassic Park 115

Betty and Syd 125

Making a Scene 131

Little Cassandra 149

Poor Shark 157

Real Love 169

You Do What I Say 179

The Utmost Sincerity 221

Dressing Wounds 239

An Apology 261

Pisha, Masha, and Me 265

Unfinished Mansions 281

Acknowledgments 319

Show More