Ted Lieu was born in Taipei, Taiwan, in 1969. He earned his bachelor's degree in computer and political science from Stanford University in 1991 and his J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center in 1994.> Lieu was a Major in the United States Air Force Reserves. He previously served as an attorney in the Judge Advocate General Corps of the United States Air Force and was a Judicial Clerk in the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Lieu previously served on the Torrance City Council from 2022 to 2005, the California Assembly from 2005 to 2010, and the California Senate from 2011 to 2014.
