Lucy Liu, 38

Actress currently shooting ABC's new drama Cashmere Mafia, premiering Nov. 27.

Mission: Accompanied UNICEF to the Democratic Republic of the Congo in June to probe violence against women and children. Visited six countries over nine days as part of her third UNICEF mission.

Why this cause: "I wanted to work internationally with children."

On safety: "I felt very secure. It's just a very different world when you are surrounded by a military escort wherever you go."

On staying focused: "You try to stick to a global idea of what you're doing instead of helping people individually. You have to look at the bigger picture."

On returning to celeb life: "You do want to find relevance in your life. Especially when you go on a trip like this, it really changes you."

On doing more: She paints and makes photo collages, and donates proceeds from art shows to UNICEF. "And if I do (uncredited cameos), I have the production company donate the money to them."

What's next: "We're going to go to the Middle East at some point. There is a terrible refugee crisis in Iraq going on — in Syria and Jordan specifically."