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Lynn Chen is `Outstanding Newcomer`

Lynn Chen, Asian-American actress, was the people?s choice as she took home the `Outstanding Newcomer` Award at the 2006 Asian Excellence Awards. Sponsored by Remy Martin, the ceremony took place at The Wiltern Theater on January 19th, and will air nationally on the AZN network on January 29th at 8pm ET/ 5pm PT. This is the first time this show will be televised, after airing for 5 years. The awards honor and recognize the achievements made by Asians and Asian-Americans.

Lynn Chen began performing at the age of five, as a singer with the Children?s Chorus at The Metropolitan Opera House and on Broadway in the revival of `South Pacific`. On television, she has had guest starring and recurring roles in a variety of shows, including `Law and Order`, `Numbers`, and `All My Children`. She received rave reviews for her performance as a lesbian ballet dancer in Sony Pictures Classics? `Saving Face`, which played at Sundance, in addition to a number of other high-profile film festivals, including the Toronto International Film Festival. Most recently, she finished the indie drama `Mentor`, starring Rutger Hauer and Matt Davis, and will begin filming two more features later this month.

Chen is one of only a handful of Asian-American actresses in her age group who has taken on a major role in Hollywood, making her film debut in the 2005 award-winning and critically ac-claimed `Saving Face`. She beat out fellow nominees Katie Leung (`Harry Potter`), Rex Lee (`Entourage`) and Grace Park (`Battlestar Gallactica`) in an online poll of more than 60,000 total votes. The award was presented by Hollywood pioneers Nancy Kwan and James Shigeta. After her acceptance speech, Chen walked off the stage, stunned: `I can?t believe I was just up there with two legends, and in front of people whose careers I`ve followed religiously ... I?m already so proud to be a part of this community and I really appreciate being acknowledged.` Other honorees included Lucy Liu, Quentin Tarantino, Kimora Lee Simons, and Linkin Park.