Adele Lim is a Malaysian screenwriter, producer, and director. After an early career in television, she achieved wider recognition for co-writing Crazy Rich Asians (2018), which was notably the first film by a major Hollywood studio to feature a majority cast of Asian descent in a modern setting since 1993's The Joy Luck Club.
Lim's subsequent films were the animated fantasy Raya and the Last Dragon (2021) and her directorial debut, the buddy comedy Joy Ride (2023).
Early life Lim was born in Malaysia and is of Malaysian Chinese descent. She attended Malaysia's Sri Aman Girls School in Petaling Jaya, in Petaling District, in the state of Selangor. She started writing as a teenager and undergraduate in the lifestyle section of a local daily. She graduated from Emerson College in Boston with a degree in TV/film in 1996 and currently resides in Los Angeles, California.
Career Lim started her career as a script coordinator for Xena: Warrior Princess, getting the job despite her resume being, as she described, "nonexistent". She has written for TV series such as One Tree Hill, Life Unexpected, Reign, Star-Crossed, Private Practice and Lethal Weapon.
In 2018, Lim was the co-screenwriter for the 2018 movie Crazy Rich Asians. Director Jon M. Chu asked her to rewrite the existing screenplay. In her rewrite she notably added the climactic scene of mahjong between Constance Wu and Michelle Yeoh's characters. Lim left writing on the sequel, following reports that she was offered significantly less pay (around $110,000) than her male co-writer Peter Chiarelli ($800,000 to $1 million). Warner Brothers defended the offer, citing the difference in experience between the two.
Disney recruited Lim to develop the animated feature film Raya and the Last Dragon, which released in 2021. She served as screenwriter alongside Qui Nguyen.
In her feature directorial debut, Lim directed and produced comedy film Joy Ride, starring Ashley Park, Sherry Cola, Stephanie Hsu, and Sabrina Wu. The movie premiered at SXSW in March 2023.
She has given support to young writers as mentor and speaker for the Coalition of Asian Pacifics in Entertainment (CAPE).
In 2024, Variety reported that she signed on to direct The Princess Diaries 3 with Anne Hathaway reprising her role.
Following years of development, Lim returned to the Crazy Rich Asians franchise as the showrunner of the revamped sequel television series for HBO Max, where she would be the showrunner.
Filmography Film TitleYearRoleNotes Crazy Rich Asians 2018co-writer Raya and the Last Dragon 2021Joy Ride 2023 Directorial debut, story writer and producer
Television +YearTitleRoleNotes2000Xena: Warrior PrincessScript CoordinatorEpisode: "Punch Lines"2001State of GraceScript Coordinator2001–2002Digimon: Digital MonstersWriter (English Dub)Seasons 2–4; 20 episodes (English Dub)2002John DoeCo-WriterEpisode: "Mind Games"2003–2004Las VegasStory Editor22 episodes; Writer: 3 episodes2004–2005Executive Story Editor24 episodes2006Pepper Dennis Co-producer5 episodes; Writer: 2 episodes2006–2007One Tree Hill11 episodes; Writer: "All These Things That I've Done"2008Producer13 episodes; Writer: "Its Alright Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)"2008–2009Life on MarsSupervising Producer17 episodes; Writer: 3 episodes 2010Life UnexpectedConsulting Producer2 episodesSupervising Producer9 episodes2010–2011 Co-executive Producer11 episodes2011–2012Private Practice22 episodes; Writer: 2 episodes2012MissingConsulting Producer7 episodes; Writer Episode: "The Three Bears"2014Star-CrossedExecutive Producer12 episodes; Writer: 2 episodes2014–2015Reign Co-executive Producer22 episodes; Writer: 3 episodes2016–2017Lethal Weapon17 episodes; Writer: 2 episodes2018DynastyWriterEpisode: "A Well-Dressed Tarantula"
References
External links
Adele Lim in Writers Guild of America West