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Meet The Australian Actress With A Cult Following In China

Natasha Liu Bordizzo is one to watch
Georges Antoni

Natasha Liu Bordizzo is a trooper. The Australian actress was battling a nasty flu when she arrived at the marie claire fashion shoot on a gloomy autumn morning in Dural, north-west Sydney.

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But the icy winds didnโ€™t stop her stripping down into a sheer pink full-length gown by Burberry. โ€œIt was probably the most painful look to wear because of the temperature, but it was so stunning,โ€ says Bordizzo, who also found a silver lining to her illness.

โ€œI caught the flu while I was filming in New Zealand. I did a car scene with Daniel Radcliffe where we had to yell at each other for two days straight, so I was joking that itโ€™s the best flu Iโ€™ve ever had because I got it from Harry Potter. I was savouring every moment.โ€

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(Credit: Georges Antoni)

Bordizzo, a diehard Harry Potter fan, plays Radcliffeโ€™s ex-girlfriend in the upcoming action comedy Guns Akimbo. Best known for her roles in Detective Chinatown 2 (which is the third-biggest film of all time at the Chinese box office) and The Greatest Showman (as a member of the circus troupe alongside Hugh Jackman), the former law student has come a long way since the day she was scouted at Central train station in Sydney four years ago. โ€œMy life has changed exponentially. I donโ€™t even remember much before that day anymore,โ€ admits Bordizzo, who is now 23.

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(Credit: Georges Antoni)

As well as filming Guns Akimbo in New Zealand, Bordizzoโ€™s career has taken her to India, where she filmed Hotel Mumbai with Dev Patel, and remote Western Australia for the Aussie comedy The Naked Wanderer. Next up,sheโ€™s heading back to Beijing, where she has a cult following. โ€œWhen I go to the airport [in China], I need to be picked up by a security guard. Everyone recognises me there now. I feel very welcomed,which is lovely, aside from the weirdness of it,โ€ says Bordizzo, who splits her time between China, LA and Sydney, where her parents still live. โ€œMy parents are the most conservative people; Dad drives a library bus for the local community and Mum is a doctor at a nursing home.They canโ€™t fathom the type of life I lead.โ€

To cope with the โ€œweirdnessโ€of fame, Bordizzo practises martial arts. โ€œDoing taekwondo has given me a mental strength and taught me perseverance. Every time I get up again after being whacked down in a dojo [martial arts hall] translates to wanting to get up again in life,โ€ explains Bordizzo, who is a black belt in taekwondo. Did we mention sheโ€™s a trooper?

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