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Tia Carrere - Biography |
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Born in Honolulu, Hawaii of Filipino
heritage, Carrere longed to be a singer as a child. Although she was
eliminated during the first round of her 1985 Star Search appearance at
the age of 17, she was spotted by the parents of a local producer while
shopping at a Waikiki grocery store and was cast in the b-movie Zombie
Nightmare.
Following this initial success, Carrere relocated to Los Angeles and,
after working several months as a model, landed a first ever role in the
U.S. TV series Airwolf in early 1985. Her first major break though was in
the daytime soap opera General Hospital. She played the role of Jade Soong
Chung from 1985 to 1987. She also had a guest appearance on The A-Team,
which was supposed to lead to her joining the cast. Unfortunately, her
General Hospital obligations prevented her from joining the team. Her
character was dropped after one episode, and was never mentioned again.
She also made guest appearances on the shows MacGyver ("The Wish Child")
as a sexy karate instructor as well as a different assassin character in a
later episode ("Murderer's Sky"), on Anything But Love as the adopted
daughter of Marty Gold (Richard Lewis), and Married... with Children as
Piper Bauman, a rival of Kelly Bundy's who attempted to steal a modeling
job from her.
After appearing in the 1991 action film Harley Davidson and the Marlboro
Man and Showdown in Little Tokyo, she emerged into the public spotlight
when cast as Cassandra, a rock singer and love interest of Mike Myers'
character Wayne in Wayne's World (1992) - a role she reprised the next
year in Wayne's World 2. A trained singer, Carrere performed all of her
own songs in the two films, and the Wayne's World soundtrack features her
vocals. She turned down a role in Baywatch to audition for Wayne's World.
In 1992 People magazine named her to its annual "50 most beautiful people"
list.
On November 22, 1992, Carrere married Italian/Lebanese producer Elie
Samaha (she has since appeared in several of his films - none of which
have achieved widespread success). Other roles in prominent films followed
her role in Wayne's World, however, including the parts of terrorist Juno
Skinner in True Lies (a 1994 Arnold Schwarzenegger action film), robber
Gina Walker in The Immortals (1995), and secretary Victoria Chappell in
High School High (a 1996 parody).
From 1999 to 2002, Tia Carrere starred as archeology professor Sydney Fox
in Relic Hunter, a syndicated action-adventure series strongly reminiscent
of the Indiana Jones and Tomb Raider films and video games. At this time,
Carrere was featured in lad mag Maxim magazine. Relic Hunter lasted for a
total of three television seasons before its cancellation. Carrere then
provided the voice of Lilo's sister "Nani" in the animated film Lilo and
Stitch (2002) and its spinoffs, as well as the voice of Queen Tyr'ahnee
from the 2003 Duck Dodgers animated series. She also starred as Ari, a
space marine-turned pirate in the 1995 adventure/puzzle game Daedalus
Encounter.
She participated as a contestant on the popular reality show Dancing with
the Stars but after landing on her bottom more than once, she was
eliminated on February 3, 2006, placing 6th in the competition overall.
Despite using a body double for her sex scenes in Showdown in Little
Tokyo, and her often expressed aversion to on-screen nudity, Carrere posed
nude for the January 2003 issue of Playboy magazine. The photos were
re-published in the German December 2006 issue of the magazine. In 2007,
she is set to have a recurring role on Curb Your Enthusiasm.
On October 17, 2007, Carrere appeared in an episode of Back to You.
On October 30, 2007, Carrere appeared in the season premiere of Nip/Tuck.
Carrere has continued to nurture her singing career. In 1993, her first
solo album, Dream, was released, and went platinum in the Philippines.
That same year, she was featured on the soundtrack of Batman: Mask of the
Phantasm, performing the ending theme, "I Never Even Told You". In August
of 2003, Carrere was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award by Philippine
president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. Her second album, Hawaiiana, was
released in June 2007 and takes Carrere back to her Hawaiian roots with
two-time Grammy Award winner Daniel Ho accompanying her on classic solo
slack-key guitar and ukulele.
Carrere divorced her husband Elie Samaha in February of 2000; she married
again, this time to photojournalist Simon Wakelin on December 31, 2002.
They have a daughter, Bianca, born September 25, 2005. At present, she
lives in Toronto, Canada. |
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Tia Carrere - Personal Quotes |
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“I’m waxed clean — hairless as
the day I was born. But don’t say ‘Tia has no pubic hair.’ That’s so
clinical. Use a nice euphemism. Say ‘She’s mowed her secret garden’
or ‘She’s cleared the way to the Promised Land.’ Because that’s what
it is, right?” |
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Tia Carrere - Filmography |
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Dark Honeymoon (2007) ....
Miranda
"Untitled Liz Meriwether Project" .... Paula Poland (1 episode)
- Pilot (????) TV episode .... Paula Poland
"Curb Your Enthusiasm" .... Cha-Cha / ... (3 episodes, 2007)
- The Bat Mitzvah (2007) TV episode .... Cha Cha
- The Bathroom Monitor (2007) TV episode .... Cha-Cha
- Meet the Blacks (2007) TV episode .... Cha-Cha
"Nip/Tuck" .... Mistress Dark Pain (1 episode, 2007)
- Carly Summers (2007) TV episode .... Mistress Dark Pain
"Back to You" .... Maggie (1 episode, 2007)
- A Night of Possibilities (2007) TV episode .... Maggie
"The O.C." .... Dean Torres (1 episode, 2006)
- The Gringos (2006) TV episode .... Dean Torres
Saints Row (2006) (VG) (voice) .... Lin
Leroy & Stitch (2006) (TV) (voice) .... Nani
"Lilo & Stitch: The Series" .... Nani (3 episodes, 2003-2006)
- Lax: Experiment # 285 (2006) TV episode (voice) .... Nani
- Sprout: Experiment 509 (2003) TV episode (voice) .... Nani
- Fibber: Experiment 032 (2003) TV episode (voice) .... Nani
"American Dragon: Jake Long" .... Yan Yan (1 episode, 2005)
- Fu and Tell (2005) TV episode (voice) .... Yan Yan
"Duck Dodgers" .... The Martian Queen / ... (15 episodes, 2003-2005)
... aka Duck Dodgers in the 24½th Century (USA: long title)
- A Lame Duck Mind (2005) TV episode (voice) .... Martian Queen
- Too Close for Combat/Fins of War (2005) TV episode (voice) ....
Martian Queen
- The Kids Are All Wrong/Win, Lose or Duck (2005) TV episode (voice)
.... Cheerleader
- Of Course You Know, This Means War and Peace: Part 1 (2005) TV
episode (voice) .... Martian Queen
- Of Course You Know, This Means War and Peace: Part 2 (2005) TV
episode (voice) .... Martian Queen
(10 more)
Supernova (2005) (TV) .... Lisa Delgado
Lilo & Stitch 2: Stitch Has a Glitch (2005) (V) (voice) .... Nani
... aka Lilo & Stitch 2 (USA)
Aloha, Scooby-Doo (2005) (V) (voice) .... Snookie/Local Woman #1
Back in the Day (2005) .... Loot
Torn Apart (2004) .... Vicki Westin
"Johnny Bravo" .... Beautiful Woman / ... (1 episode, 2004)
- Wilderness Protection Program (2004) TV episode (voice) ....
Beautiful Woman/Female Elephant/Woman
"Megas XLR" .... Darklos (1 episode, 2004)
- Department of Megas Violations (2004) TV episode (voice) ....
Darklos
Stitch! The Movie (2003) (V) (voice) .... Nani
... aka Disney's Stitch! The Movie (USA: complete title)
Stitch Experiment 626 (2002) (VG) (voice) .... Nam
... aka Disney's Stitch: Experiment 626 (USA)
Lilo & Stitch (2002) (voice) .... Nani
"Relic Hunter" .... Sydney Fox (66 episodes, 1999-2002)
... aka Relic Hunter - Die Schatzjägerin (Germany)
... aka Sydney Fox l'aventurière (France)
- So Shall It Be (2002) TV episode .... Sydney Fox
- Fountain of Youth (2002) TV episode .... Sydney Fox
- The Warlord (2002) TV episode .... Sydney Fox
- Pandora's Box (2002) TV episode .... Sydney Fox
- Faux Fox (2002) TV episode .... Sydney Fox
(61 more)
The Night of the Headless Horseman (1999) (TV) (voice) .... Katrina
Van Tassel
Five Aces (1999) .... Karen Haggerty
Merlin: The Return (1999) .... Maxwell
Meet Prince Charming (1999) .... Samantha Feld
"Hercules" .... Marigold (1 episode, 1998)
... aka Disney's Hercules (USA: complete title)
- Hercules and the Golden Touch (1998) TV episode (voice) ....
Marigold
"Veronica's Closet" .... Kim (1 episode, 1998)
- Veronica's on the Herb (1998) TV episode .... Kim
Scar City (1998) .... Candy
... aka S.C.A.R. (New Zealand: English title)
... aka Scarred City
Dogboys (1998) (TV) .... D.A. Jennifer Dern
... aka Dressés pour tuer (Canada: French title)
... aka Tracked (USA: video title)
Kull the Conqueror (1997) .... Akivasha
Natural Enemy (1997) (TV) .... Christina D'Amelio
Top of the World (1997/I) .... Rebecca Mercer
... aka Cold Cash
... aka Showdown
High School High (1996) .... Victoria Chapell
Hollow Point (1996) .... Diane Norwood
... aka Arsenal de pointe (Canada: French title)
... aka Rysk Roulette
"Murder One" .... Beverly Nichols (3 episodes, 1995-1996)
- Chapter Fourteen (1996) TV episode .... Beverly Nichols
- Chapter Six (1995) TV episode .... Beverly Nichols
- Chapter Two (1995) TV episode .... Beverly Nichols
Desert Breeze (1996) (TV)
Nothing But the Truth (1995) (TV) .... Simone Gideon
Jury Duty (1995) .... Monica
The Daedalus Encounter (1995) (VG) .... Ari
My Teacher's Wife (1995) .... Vicky Mueller
The Immortals (1995) .... Gina Walker
"Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child" (1995) TV series
(unknown episodes)
True Lies (1994) .... Juno Skinner
Treacherous (1994) .... Dr. Jessica Jamison
Hostile Intentions (1994) .... Nora
Wayne's World 2 (1993) .... Cassandra Wong
Quick (1993) .... Janet Sakamoto
... aka Crossfire (UK: video box title)
Rising Sun (1993) .... Jingo Asakuma
"Tales from the Crypt" .... Scarlett (1 episode, 1992)
... aka HBO's Tales from the Crypt
- On a Dead Man's Chest (1992) TV episode .... Scarlett
Wayne's World (1992) .... Cassandra
Intimate Stranger (1992) (TV) .... Mina
Little Sister (1992) .... Adrienne
... aka Mister Sister (UK)
Showdown in Little Tokyo (1991) .... Minako Okeya
Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man (1991) .... Kimiko
"Married with Children" .... Piper Bowman (1 episode, 1990)
- Kelly Bounces Back (1990) TV episode .... Piper Bowman
"Quantum Leap" .... Chu-Hoi (1 episode, 1990)
- The Leap Home: Part 2 (Vietnam) - April 7, 1970 (1990) TV episode
.... Chu-Hoi
Instant Karma (1990)
... aka Almost a Virgin (UK: video title)
"Friday the 13th" .... Michiko Tanaka (1 episode, 1990)
... aka Friday the 13th: The Series
... aka Friday's Curse (UK: repeat compilations title)
- Year of the Monkey (1990) TV episode .... Michiko Tanaka
Fatal Mission (1990) .... Mai Chang
... aka Enemy (USA)
"Anything But Love" .... Cey (1 episode, 1989)
- Those Lips, Those Thais (1989) TV episode .... Cey
Oro fino (1989)
... aka Fine Gold (International: English title) (USA)
The Road Raiders (1989) (TV) .... Diane
"MacGyver" .... Lisa Chan / ... (2 episodes, 1986-1988)
- Murderers' Sky (1988) TV episode .... Tiu
- The Wish Child (1986) TV episode .... Lisa Chan
Aloha Summer (1988) .... Lani Kepoo
"Noble House" (1988) (mini) TV mini-series .... Venus Poon
... aka James Clavell's Noble House
"Tour of Duty" .... Lang (1 episode, 1987)
- Dislocations (1987) TV episode .... Lang
Zombie Nightmare (1986) .... Amy
"The A-Team" .... Tia (1 episode, 1986)
- The Sound of Thunder (1986) TV episode .... Tia
"General Hospital" (1963) TV series .... Jade Soong Chung, R.N.
(unknown episodes, 1985-1987)
"Airwolf" .... Kiki Tinabi (1 episode, 1985)
... aka Lobo del aire (USA: Spanish title)
- Annie Oakley (1985) TV episode .... Kiki Tinabi
Covenant (1985) (TV) .... Girl at Golden Calf
"Cover Up" .... Miss. Philippines (1 episode, 1985)
- Who's Trying to Kill Miss Globe? (1985) TV episode .... Miss.
Philippines |
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Tia Carrere - Related Links |
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Wikipedia: Tia Carrere
YouTube: Tia Carrere
Tia Carrere at Celebs, Inc.
Tia Carrere at Babemania.com
Top Celebrities Sites:
The Celebrity
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