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Kelly Hu Profile |
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Birth Date: February 13, 1968
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Birth Place: Honolulu, Hawaii, USA
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Birth Name: Kelly Ann Hu
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Height: 5'5"
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Biography |
Kelly Hu was born February 13, 1968, in Honolulu,
Hawaii, of Cantonese/English/Hawaiian lineage. Her parents
divorced when she was only six years old, and, living with
her mother Juanita, Kelly benefited from an upbringing as
diversified as her background.
While her mother enrolled her in ballet classes and the
Sears Charm School, Kelly indulged in other interests on the
side, taking karate lessons from her older brother. By age
thirteen, she decided to pursue a modeling career, and her
fighting skills were sufficiently developed for her brother
to make some quick cash betting on her bouts with
neighborhood kids. It was this blend of natural beauty and
martial-arts proficiency that determined Kelly's path.
At the age of fifteen, hoping to give an early boost to her
modeling career, Kelly entered the Miss Teen Hawaii pageant.
The results exceeded even Kelly's expectations, as she went
on to win the pageant and qualify for the national
competition. In 1985, Kelly was crowned Miss Teen USA,
becoming the first Asian-American to do so. Kelly's victory
afforded her a bit of fame and, with it, a number of
opportunities.
She soon made her acting debut in a season premiere of
Growing Pains, playing Kirk Cameron's love interest,
inciting jealousy and rage amongst millions of teenage
girls. Immediately following her graduation from high
school, Kelly left Hawaii to model in Japan and Italy.
Kelly returned from overseas five months later determined to
pick up where she had left off -- in pursuit of a serious
acting career. She had $75,000 at her disposal (her winnings
from the Miss Teen USA pageant, along with a Mazda RX-7 and
a speedboat), which she invested toward moving to Los
Angeles. When Kelly arrived in LA, she was the portrait of
youthful naivet, convinced that superstardom was just around
the corner.
Her first order of business was taking out a full page ad in
Variety announcing her availability for "West Coast
representation." Kelly's arrival didn't have quite the
impact that she had envisioned, and although she did get a
number of calls from agents, hers wasn't the name on
everyone's lips. Nonetheless, Kelly did manage to land roles
fairly regularly, which is more than your average Hollywood
waitress can boast.
She appeared in a string of commercials, from Bud Light to
Ivory soap, and an equally random assortment of TV programs
and movies, including 21 Jump Street, Night Court, and a
role as one of Jason's victims in Friday the 13th VIII:
Jason Takes Manhattan. Kelly returned to the pageant circuit
briefly in 1993, winning the title of Miss Hawaii and
qualifying as a Miss USA finalist. She then returned to LA
to resume her somewhat sporadic career, appearing alongside
Leslie Nielsen in Surf Ninjas, and as the girl who tends to
a vomiting Meg Ryan in The Doors.
Throughout her trials in Hollywood, Kelly continued her
martial-arts training. Her talents in this field helped her
land her first recurring role in 1997, in the action series
Nash Bridges. Soon thereafter, Kelly found more regular work
on the daytime soap Sunset Beach, although her character was
written off that same year.
In 1998, Kelly earned her brown belt in karate, and was
offered a role in a new kung fu cop series, Martial Law. The
critical reception to the show wasn't entirely warm, but the
program did win the loyal following of a number of viewers,
who seemed especially inclined toward Kelly's character,
Detective Grace Chen.
By the series' second season, Kelly was sharing top billing
in the credits. Yet even as her popularity was increasing,
the shows' ratings were plummeting. Shortly after Arsenio
Hall was cast into a regular role (a move that some may have
cited as the kiss of death for the series), Martial Law was
canceled.
Martial Law may have been a failure from its producers'
perspective, but the program did wonders for Kelly Hu.
Having showcased her beauty and fighting abilities to a
television audience, she soon became a staple in men's
magazines and Internet celebrity sites.
Kelly has achieved a high degree of visibility without any
hit series or movies under her belt. She'll be starring
alongside WWF superstar The Rock in the summer 2002 feature,
The Scorpion King (a spin-off of The Mummy series), and we
may just see what a blockbuster will do for Kelly Hu's
already successful career. |
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Other
Information |
Miss Teen USA 1985.
Miss Hawaii USA 1993
Was the very first Asian American female to be crowned Miss
Teen USA (1985)
Dated (1996-1998) Ahmad Ali Moussaui, an investment banker.
Her older brother is a Lt. Colonel in US Army.
Ethnicity: Chinese, Hawaiian and half English making her
Eurasian like fellow actresses Jessica Anderson, Devon Aoki,
Moon Bloodgood, China Chow, Kristin Kreuk, Jaymee Ong,
Maggie Q, Nicole Scherzinger, Monica Young and actors
Anthony Begonia, Andrew Johnston, Brandon Lee, Keanu Reeves,
Rob Schneider, Russell Wong and Michael Wong.
She graduated from The Kamehameha Schools in Honolulu,
Hawaii.
She loves to swim.
Her mother worked as a Draftsperson for city and county of
Honolulu.
Father raised exotic birds.
Her first big break was as Kirk Cameron's love interest on
the hit TV show, "Growing Pains" (1985).
Her cousin is the playwright Jenelle Riley
Co-owned a fast food restuarant, Basic Bites, with her
ex-boyfriend.
Measurements: 33A-23-34 (as Miss Teen USA 1985), 34B-24-34
(as Miss Hawaii USA 1993), (Source: Celebrity Sleuth
magazine)
Has a black belt in karate.
Finished in the Top 6 at Miss USA 1993.
Winner of the Miss Photogenic award at Miss USA 1993
In May 2005, she visited with soldiers in Iraq alongside
Dean Cain and Amanda Swisten. Unfortunately, she had to cut
her visit short due to personal matters.
First Asian American to be featured on the cover of Maxim
Magazine. At the time of publication, Kelly Hu's cover was
the biggest selling issue of Maxim in their history.
Has a dog named Mushu.
Had only one line of dialog in X2 (2003).
For a recent magazine interview, she showed how she made her
favorite dish -- pork lumpia (fried spring rolls).
She was cast in the attempted remake of Dark Shadows for the
WB in 2003-2004. She was ironically cast as the indomitable
Dr. Julia Hoffman, a role immortalized by the late Grayson
Hall.
Theatre: Elementary and High School drama productions. |
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