Beginning in her teens, Lu was active in Chinese opera, or Kunqu, before emigrating to the United States. Beginning in the 1950s, she enjoyed a long career in American television, though the only roles she found were stereotypical roles.

During the 1958-1959 television season, Lisa had the recurring role on the cult western show Yancy Derringer as Miss Mandarin. Miss Mandarin was an old love interest of Yancy's and close friend. She is the proprietor of his favorite place to dine, the Sazarack Restaurant. Set in New Orleans in 1868.

In 1961, she had a recurring role as Hey Girl on the television series Have Gun – Will Travel . Lisa also made numerous other appearances on television, with guest starring roles on Bonanza, The Big Valley, The Richard Boone Show, The Virginian, Hawaiian Eye, The Man from U.N.C.L.E. and many more until her film career began to take off.

Her film career began to take off in the 1970s, with supporting roles in films like Demon Seed and Peter Bogdanovich's Saint Jack. During this time, she also received three Golden Horse Awards for Best Actress for her Chinese-language films The Arch, The Empress Dowager, and The Fourteen Amazons. For the remainder of her career, Lu alternated between theater and film. Today, she is best remembered by English-speaking audiences for her roles in the critically acclaimed films The Last Emperor (1987) and The Joy Luck Club (1993). In addition to her work in film, theater, and television, she is known for narrating and producing a number of documentaries.