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Kelly Ann Hu was born in Honolulu, Hawaii of
Chinese, Hawaiian, and English ancestry. Her interests are karate
and ballet. She currently resides in Brentwood, California. She has
an older brother, who is a captain in the US Army. She also has a
cat named Saju. And she has a boy friend named Ali Moussavi.
She attended Kamehameha High School, which is restricted to youngsters
of Hawaiian descent. Her first trip to the mainland was at age 16.
"I was doing poorly in a US history class," she explains,
"partly, I think, because Hawaii is so isolated from the rest
of the country. So my mother took me to Philadelphia and Boston to
see the Liberty Bell and other famous sites. I ended up getting an
A in the course."
Hu embarked on a career in modeling after sharing the experiences
of friends who had traveled to Japan on modeling assignments. When
it was suggested that a beauty pageant title would increase her promotability,
Hu agreed to enter the local Miss Teen USA pageant. Above and beyond
her expectations, Hu not only won the local pageant, but was crowned
Miss Teen USA in 1985. She was a bit disappointed when she learned
her title contract put the brakes on any outside modeling for the
full year of her reign. "Ironically, after winning the Miss Teen
crown in Miami Beach, I wasn't allowed to model for a year because
I was representing the pageant," she relates. "But it was
a great experience because it gave me a chance to see more of the
US. In New York I saw my first snow. My impulse was to pick it up
and eat it but somebody stopped me." The title, she adds, "also
gave me enough money to move to Los Angeles after school to pursue
an acting career." And not to mention the title also led to numerous
modeling assignments, including a four-month stint in Japan. Soon
thereafter, Hu left her native Hawaii for Los Angeles. Shortly after
arriving on the mainland, Hu obtained several commercial roles for
such well-known products as Vidal Sassoon and Mary Kay Cosmetics.
In Milan, Italy, however, she is best known for her role in a series
of storyline commercials for Philadelphia Cream Cheese. She notes
of the spots' popularity, "As I walk down the streets in Milan,
the Italians stop, point and yell 'Hey, Pheel-a-DEL-phia!'".
With automatic entry into the Miss USA pageant (a benefit of holding
the Miss Teen title), Hu ran as Miss Hawaii in 1993. Of the adult
pageant experience versus the teen, Hu says: "When competing
as teens, everybody's just really happy to be there. But for a lot
of women in the Miss USA pageant, it's their last chance at breaking
into the industry, so they take it much more seriously. It's really
vicious."
Soon came film and television acting roles, fulfilling Hu's childhood
dream of becoming a professional actor. Her first role was in the
television series Growing Pains. She later appeared in Tour of Duty,
Melrose Place, Murder One and nearly 20 other series. Her theatrical
motion pictures include The Doors, Surf Ninjas, Harley Davidson and
the Marlboro Man, and No Way Back. She also starred in Sunset Beach
as Dr. Rae Chang, a love interest of Casey Mitchum (Timothy Adams).
She now currently stars in Martial Law as Chen Pei Pei with Sammo
Hung. Her role on Nash Bridges as Michelle Chan has given her a chance
to use her knowledge of karate. She has learned to ride motorcycles
and shoot a gun for the series, and she enjoys working in San Francisco,
where it is filmed.Kelly
Hu Personal videos and photos - Click here!
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