Susan Lieu is a Vietnamese-American playwright, solo performer and activist whose parents are Vietnamese refugee nail salon workers. “140 LBS” is a one-woman show on Body, Beauty + Death. It is the unfortunate true story of how Susan’s mother went in for plastic surgery and died due to a malpractice incident in San Francisco. At the time, Susan was 11 years old. The show weaves together several through-lines: the multi-generational immigrant experience; body insecurity and shame; repression and subsequent examination of personal loss; lack of accountability in the medical system.

"140 LBS" has been featured on NPR, KING5 News, and the Northwest Asian Weekly. Susan has performed elements of this show at On The Boards' Northwest New Works Festival and Bumbershoot. This show is supported by the Seattle Office of Arts & Culture, 4Culture and STG. Her full-length show will debut February 2019 at Theatre Off Jackson in Seattle. She is an alum of Harvard College, Yale School of Management, Coro Fellowship in Public Affairs and the World Economic Forum Global Shapers Program. Last but not least, she is the co-founder of Socola Chocolatier in SoMa.