Liu starred as O-Ren in director Quentin Tarantino’s martial arts films.

Lucy Liu reveals her Kill Bill costumes were secret tribute to Pulp Fiction — and it was all her idea

Liu starred as O-Ren in director Quentin Tarantino's martial arts films.

By Raechal Shewfelt

Raechal Shewfelt

Raechal Shewfelt is a writer at **. She has been working at EW since 2024. Her work has previously appeared on Yahoo and in American *Journalism Review* and *The Shreveport Times*.

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January 12, 2026 8:41 p.m. ET

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Lucy Liu stars in 'Kill Bill: Vol. 1' in 2003. Credit:

Andrew Cooper/Miramax

Turns out, that Lucy Liu's memorable look as O-Ren Ishii in the *Kill Bill *movies was a descendent of what Vincent Vega and Jules Winnfield wore in *Pulp Fiction*.

The actress explained in a recent interview with* Vogue *how it all came about.****

“Kumiko Ogawa, she was the one who designed this kimono," Liu said of her central wardrobe piece. "And this kimono almost wasn't a kimono. Originally, [director Quentin Tarantino] wanted me to wear something very different, and he wanted me to wear this kind of communist gray."

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But Liu, who had already appeared in *Charlie's Angels *and its sequel, *Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle*, as well as *Chicago*, 2003's Best Picture winner at the Oscars, suggested that he go in a different direction for the story of a former assassin who seeks justice. The 2003 film *Kill Bill: Vol. 1* and its sequel, 2004's *Kill Bill: Vol. 2,* costarred Uma Thurman.**

"When I read the script, which was so beautifully written — and Quentin is really such an artist and a visionary," Liu said. "I saw something very different. I just saw there was an elegance about her and a femininity that I wanted to retain."

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Her idea was inspired by his 1994 hit that had starred John Travolta and Samuel L. Jackson as hitmen with style.

"I said, 'Why don't we take what you are known for, like your *Pulp Fiction*?' The black ties and the white shirts and the black suits, like the simplicity of what he did. Like, why don't we take that and make that into something."

Samuel L. Jackson and John Travolta are suited up in 'Pulp Fiction' in 1994.

Linda R. Chen/Miramax

From there, O-Ren's look was born.

"For the first scene that you see O-Ren in, she's in a black kimono with a white underneath the black kimono. And so that was representing, basically, *Pulp Fiction*," Liu said. "And so for the snow garden scene, I said, 'Why don't we reverse it and make it white on the outside and black on the inside?' He was willing to say yes, and it changed the direction of how O-Ren was able to be perceived."

While the *Kill Bill* movies have gone on to become cult classics, Liu has also played roles in movies such as the animated *Kung Fu Panda* and its sequels, the romantic comedy *Set It Up*, and *Red One*, among others. She's also part of the cast of the highly anticipated upcoming sequel to *The Devil Wears Prada*.**

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