Natasha Liu Bordizzo’s Parents: Facts about Her Chinese Mom Italian Dad

Natasha Liu Bordizzo is a Sydney-born actress of bi-ethnic identity who initially leaned more toward one culture. She was born and raised to parents she described as “the most conservative people.”

In May 2021, Natasha Liu Bordizzo posted a half-shot picture of a middle-aged Asian woman basking in the daylight with her eyes closed. The woman wore a gray sweater with floral detailing on the shoulders and a reddish blouse underneath.

With her short dark hair parted sideways, she tied a red Scottish scarf around her neck and appeared content with her arms at her side. She stood in a forest located somewhere in Sydney, Australia.

Bordizzo captioned, “Mama,” with a white heart emoji alongside the serene photo. Apart from this appreciation post for her mother, the actress has guarded her parents’ privacy as she has guarded her own. However, she has been candid about her relationship with them.

Bordizzo opened up about her relationship with her parents in a 2022 interview. “As a child growing up in Australia, I just gravitated toward my white parent, my dad, because he was the one that was ‘correct,’ in terms of what made sense culturally,” she said.

Bordizzo admitted she was trying to fit in. She hadn’t learned Mandarin, her Chinese mother’s native tongue, until she booked her first acting role as Snow Vase in the 2016 film, “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny,” with Michelle Yeoh.

Learning the language opened her eyes to her mother’s experiences as an Asian woman. “I just gained so much respect and empathy for my mum and everything she went through,” Bordizzo shared.

Piggybacking off the previously discussed interview, Bordizzo noted a shift in her relationship with her mom after learning Mandarin. “I have become closer to her, woman to woman and Asian woman to Asian woman; there’s been that shift,” she said.

The actress added that “it’s been interesting” to reconcile her bi-ethnic identity as an Australian “through that shift.” Moreover, her deepened understanding of her mother helped her realize, “It’s really a shame that so many people don’t ever meet their parents properly.”

Since joining the Hollywood scene, Bordizzo has had to live on the road, finding little homes wherever she goes: “in a friend in Shanghai, a cozy cafe in New York, or a quiet park in Los Angeles.”

On the contrary, her parents have worked more conservative jobs. In 2018, she shared that her dad drove a library bus for his local community, and her mom worked as a doctor in a nursing home. “My parents are the most conservative people. […] They can’t fathom the type of life I lead,” she remarked.

When she was around nine or ten, her parents gave her a choice between ballet and martial arts. A self-proclaimed tomboy at the time, Bordizzo chose martial arts and now holds a Black belt in Taekwondo. The discipline and focus she learned seeped into other aspects of her life.