I hated her in everything she's ever been in, until Elementary, which is ironic since I thought the idea of a female

She has been in many many lame projects but she shows up in quality cameos though. Lucky Number Sleven is not a very good movie but she is enchanting in her small role. Same in Payback etc. Her small roles are brilliant.

And yes, Elementary is great (with only a few episode exceptions). She and Johnny Lee Miller deliver the best modern Sherlock Holmes. I hate the British Sherlock show.

Lucy Liu's biggest problem is that she usually has zero chemistry with her partners. I'd say she's a person with very few social skills that learnt to conceal it by looking frosty and distant.

In Elementary, though, there's chemistry. Perhaps it's because the relationship between her character and Holmes is very unusual. I think it's probably because you have the actor playing Holmes being an actor with social skills playing a character without social skills, and Lucy Liu being an actress without social skills playing a character with social skills. That creates a strange chemistry between the characters.