Lilan Bowden

Lilan Bowden was born to a Taiwanese mother and American father. She attended Castro Valley High School where she had joined an improv club and graduated in 2002.[3] Bowden attended University of California, Irvine where she continued to perform in comedy. After graduating, she moved to Los Angeles and joined the Upright Citizens Brigade. She also began writing videos with her writing partner Wilder Smith, featured on Funny or Die during this time.[4]

Bowden began auditioning for roles which was made difficult due to her mixed race heritage. "The roles you get as a minority usually cluster in certain category...I felt like every year I was going out and testing for at least one pilot where I was the sassy, ethnic best friend...I still think that we have a lot of work to do as far as entertaining someone who’s not white for the lead role of TV shows."[5] She suddenly auditioned for the show Andi Mack and got the role of Bex, the single young mother of the title. "I feel like I hit the jackpot!...It’s so exciting to be a part of a female dominant cast that is an Asian American family and doesn’t fit the model minority." She added that she finds the positive message of the show enticing and feels that she earned the role through perseverance.[4]

Bowden is set to direct upcoming film Becoming Eddie.[6]

• Lilan Bowden at IMDb
• Lilan and Wilder website