Simu Liu

Liu was born in Harbin, China, on 19 April 1989, son of Zhenning and Zheng Liu. His parents met while attending university in Beijing, where they both studied engineering. His father, Zhenning, went to the United States to study for a PhD whilst his mother worked in Beijing, and Liu was raised until age 5 by his grandparents in Harbin, China, "in a small apartment, without running water for much of the day," in circumstances he recalled as "idyllic and happy." Liu later emigrated to rejoin his parents in Canada, who supplemented their scholarships with dish-washing jobs and eventually became successful aerospace engineers. He first arrived in Kingston, Ontario where his father was fulfilling his doctoral studies at Queen's University. Liu was later raised in Mississauga, Ontario.

In his memoir, We Were Dreamers, Liu wrote of the deprivation and trauma his parents had experienced growing up in China's Cultural Revolution, and their subsequent "tiger parenting" style, saying he felt they "wanted to rid [his] life of joy or happiness", and recalling "the weight of what he describes as impossible expectations, 'to be the star child, the studious academic, the obedient son'", being "belittled and physically punished" for perceived failings. Liu's parents "hothoused him in maths at the age of five and set 'homework' that included reading biographies of scientists and studying algebra". Upon his arrival in Kingston, Liu attended Sydenham Public School. He later attended University of Toronto Schools and studied business administration at the Ivey Business School at the University of Western Ontario.

Liu initially worked as an accountant at Deloitte but was laid off in April 2012 after nine months. He began to explore other career options and decided to pursue a career as an actor and stuntman. Liu became distant from his parents after losing his accounting job and entering acting, but after discussing the matter with his parents, the family reconciled and became closer as a result.