18 of the Best Sandra Oh Movies and TV Shows to Watch After The Chair
Grey's Anatomy is just the beginning.
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Sandra Oh rose to fame in 2005 as Grey's Anatomy's resident truth-teller and physician, Dr. Cristina Yang. However, the 50-year-old Korean-Canadian actress made a name for herself long before then, landing her first major role in the 1995 movie, Double Happiness.
Many years and a historic Golden Globe win later, Oh's star power has only increased, thanks, in part, to her incredible performance in the BBC thriller series, Killing Eve, which earned her an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series in 2019 and 2020. Killing Eve is a much-lauded show, which to date, has received a total of 19 nominations, including Best Drama in 2020. Her latest project is Netflix's university drama, The Chair. Already binged that? Check out our list of the best movies and TV shows that showcase Sandra Oh's talent.
Double Happiness (1995)
Starring: Callum Keith Rennie, Stephen Chang, and Alannah Ong
Sandra's Role: Jade Li, a woman who has to choose between her desires for love and stardom or her desire to please her demanding, suffocating, ultra-traditional Chinese father.
Last Night (1999)
Starring: Don McKellar, Roberta Maxwell, Robin Gammell, Sarah Polley, and Trent McMullen
Sandra's Role: Sandra, a young woman who's stranded in downtown Toronto on New Year's Eve. Instead of counting down to a new year, Sandra and other Canadians are preparing for the end of the world in this apocalyptic drama. But, in her final hours, she's comforted by a stranger, Patrick Wheeler (Don McKellar).
The Princess Diaries (2001)
Starring: Julie Andrews, Anne Hathaway, Héctor Elizondo, Heather Matarazzo, and Mandy Moore
Sandra's Role: Vice Principal Gupta, the meme-worthy educator at Grove High School. Though her screen time is limited in the charming Disney film, her scene-stealing moment on the phone ahead of Queen Clarisse Renaldi's (Andrews) arrival still has people talking and getting "back in formation."
Arli$$ (1996-2002)
Starring: Robert Wuhl, Jim Turner, and Michael Boatman
Sandra's Role: Rita Wu, a smart and dedicated personal assistant attempting to shatter the glass ceiling in the male-dominated world of sports. In the now-defunct HBO series, Rita goes above and beyond her duties answering phones and tending to her boss and sports agent Arliss Michaels (Wuhl).
Long Life, Happiness & Prosperity (2002)
Starring: Valerie Tian, Ric Young, Tseng Chang, Russell Yuen, and Christina Ma
Sandra's Role: Kin Ho Lum, a lonely single mother living in Vancouver with her mischievous 12-year-old daughter, Mindy (Tian). Mindy tries to resort to magic and spells to improve her mom's love life, resulting in Kin finding happiness in Alvin (Yuen).
Under the Tuscan Sun (2003)
Starring: Diane Lane, Lindsay Duncan, and Raoul Bova
Sandra's Role: Patti, the pregnant lesbian friend of Frances. Frances (Lane) is a writer and heartbroken divorcee from San Francisco who, at the behest of Patti, goes to Tuscany, Italy, looking for love. Frances takes her friend up on her offer, using the ticket Patti previously purchased before getting pregnant. The romantic comedy is based on Frances Mayes's 1996 memoir of the same name.
Sideways (2004)
Starring: Paul Giamatti, Thomas Haden Church, and Virginia Madsen
Sandra's Role: Stephanie, a free-spirited, local pourer in California's Napa Valley wine country. She's funny and occasionally hooks up with the sordid Jack Cole (Haden Church), who treks through California during a midlife crisis in this delightful adaptation of Rex Pickett's novel.
Ramona and Beezus (2010)
Starring: Joey King, Selena Gomez, John Corbett, Bridget Moynahan, Ginnifer Goodwin, and Josh Duhamel
Sandra's Role: Mrs. Meachum, Ramona (King) and Beezus Quimby's (Gomez) authoritative third-grade teacher from the Beverly Cleary book series. "My relationship with Ramona is that we might not understand each other at the very beginning, but at the end we come to a nice understanding," Oh said about her character in a 2010 interview.
Grey's Anatomy (2005)
Starring: Ellen Pompeo, Chandra Wilson, James Pickens, Jr., and Patrick Dempsey
Sandra's Role: Dr. Cristina Yang, the no-nonsense and highly intelligent doctor at Seattle Grace Hospital. Cristina starts her medical journey as a surgical intern, eventually becoming a cardiothoracic surgical fellow. Though Oh left the show after season 10, her witty remarks and friendship with Pompeo's character, Meredith Grey, left a lasting legacy on the ABC drama.
Tammy (2014)
Starring: Melissa McCarthy, Susan Sarandon, Kathy Bates, Allison Janey, and Dan Aykroyd
Sandra's Role: Susanne, the wife of Tammy's (McCarthy) lesbian cousin Lenore (Bates). Susanne and Lenore reside in a beautiful home and are the carefree proprietors of a thriving dog food business. Oh only appears briefly in the McCarthy-led comedy, but her support for the down-on-her-luck Tammy is felt in each scene.
Catfight (2017)
Starring: Anne Heche, Alicia Silverstone, Amy Hill, Tituss Burgess
Sandra's Role: Veronica Salt, a rich wine lover who lives in New York. She ends up engaging in a knock-down, drag-out fight with her former college friend and now rival, Ashley (Heche), during a chance encounter at an event they both attend. The brawl, unfortunately, leaves Veronica in a coma in the dark comedy.
American Crime: Season 3 (2017)
Starring: Felicity Huffman, Regina King, Timothy Hutton, Lili Taylor, and Richard Cabral
Sandra's Role: Abby Tanaka, a local North Carolina woman who runs a local shelter. Due to a lack of space and resources, Abby has to turn away those in need, including farm workers who are being illegally trafficked and abused. Oh appeared as a series regular in season 3 of this ABC anthology.
Meditation Park (2018)
Starring: Pei-Pei Cheng, Tzi Ma, and Don McKellar
Sandra's Role: Ava, the daughter of devoted wife and mother, Pei-Pei, who is forced to confront her husband after finding another woman's undergarments in his laundry. Ava helps her mother make sense of her life amid the looming threat of infidelity.
Killing Eve (2018-)
Starring: Jodie Comer, Sean Delaney, Fiona Shaw, Kim Bodnia, and Owen McDonnell
Sandra's Role: Eve Polastri, a spy who hunts down a psychopathic assassin named Villanelle (Comer). In the chase, Eve becomes obsessed with her prey, engaging in a dangerous game of cat and mouse that has murderous consequences.
Over the Moon (2020)
Starring: Ken Jeong, John Cho, Margaret Cho, Phillipa Soo
Sandra's Role: Mrs. Zhong, the stepmother of a young girl named Fei-Fei, who builds a rocket ship to meet the goddess of the moon while grieving her mother.
Raya and the Last Dragon (2021)
Starring: Kelly Marie Tran, Awkwafina, Gemma Chan, Daniel Dae Kim, Benedict Wong
Sandra's Role: Virana, the chief of the antagonistic Fang tribe. In the animated film that's based in the fantastical land of Kumandra, a young woman named Raya attempts to save her home by tracking down the last dragon—the only being who can help save her land from an evil monster named Druun.
Invincible (2021-)
Starring: Steven Yeun, J.K. Simmons, Zazie Beetz, Gillian Jacobs
Sandra's Role: Debbie Grayson, the wife of the world's most powerful superhero, Omni-Man. Together they share a 17-year-old son Mark Grayson, who's developing his own otherworldly powers.
The Chair (2021)
Starring: Bob Balaban, Holland Taylor
Sandra's Role: Dr. Ji-Yoon Kim, a tenured professor who must overcome the realties of becoming the first woman of color to be named chair to the English department of the esteemed, fictional Pembroke University.
Michelle is the Culture & News Writer for OprahMag.com, where she writes about celebrities (she considers herself an expert on Beyoncé and Reese Witherspoon), plus the latest in pop-culture news, binge-worthy TV shows, and movies. The transplanted Southerner turned ambitious New Yorker lives her best life by listening to hip-hop and Pod Save America, watching The Office on repeat, quoting Oprah-isms, eating dessert before dinner, and avoiding avocado. Seriously, she doesn’t get the hype.
It should say, “Michelle is the former Culture & News Writer for Oprahmag.com...”
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