Interview - Linda Wu

Linda Wu (née Linda Gale Gee) was born in 1947 to Albert and Jane Gee in Bellaire, Texas. She has a sister named Janita, who is four years older. Her father was the owner of the famous Poly-Asian Restaurant in Houston, Texas. After graduating from Bellaire High School, Mrs. Wu attended the University of Texas at Austin and graduated in 1969 with a degree in home economics. Upon graduation, she married Ted Wu, whose work took them to the Philippines and Hong Kong. When the couple moved back to San Antonio for Mr. Wu to attend law school, Linda worked as a fashion buyer for Joske's, a now defunct department store. She transferred to the Houston Joske's after her husband graduated and got a job offer in Houston. In 1981 when her first child, Ted Wu Jr., was two years old, she became a real estate broker. She had another child, Kristen Wu, in 1983. Now retired, she remains active within Houston's Asian American community by serving on the boards of organizations such as the Houston Taipei Society, Dance of Asia America, and the Chinese Community Center. She was also the president of the Chinese American Citizens Alliance (CACA) in 2011, a position both of her parents once held. She has been involved with the Miss Chinatown Houston Pageant for 30 years and continues to volunteer for the Pageant today.

View interview transcript PDFFull interview materials on Rice Digital Scholarship