Li had her first break in the acting world starring in the Tony Award winning
Rodgers and Hammerstein's
South Pacific (2008) at New York's
Lincoln Center. Following on from this early success, she won roles on a variety of TV shows and films including
Blue Bloods (2010),
Damages (2011),
The Following (2013), Cédric Klapisch's
Chinese Puzzle (2013) and
Mistress (2014). Li expanded her visibility and presence on a global level by landing major television roles in
Neil LaBute's
Billy and Billie (2015) and
Minority Report (2015) on
Fox. In 2016, Li was cast in the recurring role of
FBI recruit Iris Chang on the
ABC thriller series
Quantico. In the same year, she joined the
NBC procedural
Chicago P.D. in the fourth season. On July 26, 2017, it was announced by
Deadline Hollywood that Li would join as a series regular in the second season of the
Fox television series
The Exorcist as Rose Cooper. On January 15, 2019, it was announced that Li had been cast in the series regular role of Jenny Wah on the
Netflix supernatural crime drama series
Wu Assassins. In December 2020, she was cast in
Damien Chazelle's film
Babylon, playing a role inspired by
silent film actress
Anna May Wong. The film received polarizing reviews, though her performance attracted some praise. In April 2024, Li was cast as shopkeeper Grace Chow in
Ryan Coogler's
Sinners, which premiered in 2025, receiving critical acclaim and giving Li the
Gotham Independent Film Awards Ensemble Tribute Award with the film cast. In April 2026, it was announced that Li had been cast as Miriam, the mother of Yara and Lev, in the
third season of the
HBO drama series
The Last of Us. She was also cast as Min in the fourth season of the
Netflix series
The Night Agent. ==Filmography==