Born: 02-02-1967
Birthplace: Honolulu (Hawaii)
Country: USA
Birth Name: Althea Rae Janairo
Height: 5' 8" (1,73 m)
American actress/model Tia Carrera grew up in Honolulu and is daughter of Filipino parents. Her father is banker Alexander Janairo and her mother is computer supervisor Audrey Duhinio. She is the eldest of three sisters and has also two half-sisters. She studied at the all-girls school Sacred Hearts Academy in Honololu.
She is also very beautiful and gained her first recognition at the well-known local talent contest Brown Bags to Stardom. She was eliminated during the first round of the 1985 Star Search Appearance when she was seventeen. She was discovered by local producer Tommy Lee Wallace, while she was shopping at the Waikiki grocery store. The chance encounter led ultimately to her casting for the lead role in the Indie movie ''Aloha Summer'' (1988), which he produced.
There are several covershoots and articles about her in magazines as Audrey, Playboy, Celebrity Sleuth, Mirabella, Maxim, Femme Fatales, Empire and TV Guide. She posed nude for Playboy magazine in the January 2003 edition and this issue was the top-selling Playboy of 2003. The photos were re-published in the German December 2006 issue of Playboy magazine.
Awards & Achievements
- She was nominated for a MTV Movie Award as ''Most Desirable Female'' at the MTV Movie Awards (1992).
- She was named as one of People magazine's 50 Most Beautiful People in the World in 1992.
- She was nominated for a ShoWest Award as ''Female Star of Tomorrow'' at the ShoWest Convention (1994).
- She was nominated for a Saturn Award as ''Best Supporting Actress'' at the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films (1995).
- She was nominated for a MTV Movie Award as ''Best Dance Sequence'' at the MTV Movie Awards (1995).
- She won the ALMA Award as ''Outstanding Lead Actress in a Syndicated Drama Series'' at the ALMA Awards (2001).
- She was ranked as #69 in FHM-USA's 100 Sexiest Women in the World in 2001.
Singing Career
Singing was her passion as child and grandmother Rae took her to her first singing lesson when she was ten. Her first solo album Dream is produced in cooperation with Matt Prinz in 1993. The release was very succesful and went platinum in the Philippines. Her second album Hawaiiana was released in june 2007 and takes her back to her Hawaiian roots with four-time Grammy Award winning record producer Daniel Ho who accompanies her with classic solo slack-key guitar and ukulele. Hawaiiana was nominated for a 2008 Grammy Award under the category Best Hawaiian Music Album. She won a Grammy Award in 2009 for her third album 'Ikena, which was produced in coorperation with Daniel Ho. She won another Grammy Award for ''Best Hawaiian Music Album'' for her fourth album Huana Ke Aloha in 2011.
Action Movie Career
She made her action movie debut as Philippines Contestant in one episode of the action TV series ''Cover Up'' (1985).
She plays Cyanne in this story set in 1942, where an American saloon owner organizes a misfit group to fight in WWII in Manila in ''The Road Raiders'' (1989).
She plays an strong role as Mai Chang next to Peter Fonda who plays Ken Andrews in ''Fatal Mission'' (1990). CIA agent Ken is dressed as journalist who assassinates a North Vietnamese official. He meets beautiful female spy Mai Chang when he escapes through the jungle. Ken and Mai are hunted by the Vietnamese army and they work together to escape.
She plays Minako Okeya in this story about detective Chris Kenner (played by Dolph Lundgren) and Japanese-American detective Johnny Murata (played by Brandon Lee) who hunt for Yakuza leader Funekei Yoshido (played by Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa), who runs a drug lab disguised as brewery in a small Japanese area in Los Angeles in ''Showdown in Little Tokyo'' (1991). They must also protect witness Minako Okeya, who would testify against Funekei Yoshido.
She plays Kimiko in this story about tough biker Harley Davidson (played by Mickey Rourke) and his no less tough cowboy friend Marlboro (played by Don Johnson) who decide to help their friend with robbing a corrupt bank in ''Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man'' (1991).
She plays Jingo Asakuma next to Wesley Snipes, Harvey Keitel and Sean Connery in ''Rising Sun'' (1993). Police detective Web Smith (played by Wesley Snipes) and former police Captain John Connor (played by Sean Connery) investigate the murder of a woman, who is found dead at the offices of a Japanese corporation after rough sex.
She plays Janet Sakamoto and Teri Polo plays the lead role as female assassin Quick who is hired to kill a Mafia accountant in ''Quick'' (1993). The mob accountant steals $3M of the mafia, who lives under police protection. She kidnaps her target after she is decieved by the mafia. Quick uses the mob accountant to get the $3M in her hands which he has darkened.
She plays in this story about Harry Tasker (played by Arnold Schwarzenegger) who leads a double life as government agent, while he pretends to be a dull computer salesman at home in ''True Lies'' (1994). He gets the assignment to stop terrorists who have stolen nuclear weapons.
She plays Nora in this sory about three young American women who make a wild drunken trip to Mexico in ''Hostile Intentions'' (1995). They find some rough folks to party with, at a Mexican mansion, a Mexican jail and the U.S.-Mexican border.
She plays Gina Walker in this story about seedy nightclub owner Jack (played by Eric Roberts) who recruits eight violent gangsters for an elaborate heist in ''The Immortals'' (1995). The thieves are hunted by a highly trained team of special agents, who are determined to stop the gang.
She plays DEA agent Diane Norwood next to Thomas Ian Griffith who plays DEA agent Max Parrish in ''Hollow Point'' (1996). Thomas Livingston (played by John Lithgow) wants to merge Russian, Chinese and Italian gangsters in one group with huge amounts of money and power. Susan and Max get the assignment to stop them.
She plays evil sorceress Akivasha next to Kevin Sorbo who plays barbarian warrior Kull in ''Kull the Conqueror'' (1997). Barbarian warrior Kull becomes king after he defeated his king in armed battle. The king's heirs are overthrown in order to reclaim the throne by resurrecting an evil sorceress Akivasha.
She plays Rebecca Mercer who wants quickly divorce from just-paroled ex-cop Ray Mercer (played by Peter Weller) in ''Top of the World'' (1997).
She plays D.A. Jennifer Dern in this story about officers who hunt on men with dogs for sport in ''Dogboys'' (1998).
She plays Candy next to Stephen Baldwin who plays the lead role as young cop John Trace in ''Scar City'' (1998). John is recruited as member of a special police unit who are acting as assassins. The police unit fight against criminals and they don't care who they encounter on their way.
She plays the lead role as Sydney Fox who is also an martial arts expert in the action TV series ''Relic Hunter'' (1999 - 2002). Sydney is a professor who's also known as globe-trotting "relic hunter". She hunts on ancient artifacts with the purpose to bring them back to the museums and/or the ancestors of the original owner. She is helped by her linguistic assistant Nigel Bailey (played by Christien Anholt) and occasionally by her somewhat air-headed secretary Claudia (played by Lindy Booth).
She plays in this story about young man Reggie Cooper (played by Ja Rule) who lives together with his divorced, affluent father in order to avoid gang activity in ''Back in the Day'' (2005). He slips back in a life full of crime, after he met a old friend from his past.
She plays Lisa Delgado in this story about a scientific possibility who becomes a terrifying reality when the most powerful force in the universe threatens to destroy planet earth in ''Supernova'' (2005). Astrophysicist Christopher Richardson (played by Luke Perry) must find a way to prevent this disaster.
She plays Kate Parks who finishes the promotional tour of her book in ''Collision Course'' (2012). The book gives an in-depth look on the cover up attempt of her husband's death in a plane crash. She flies back home to see her daughter Samantha (played by Janis Peebles). The flight gets trouble when a powerful solar flare touches the plane and the hit kills the pilot and knocks out the co-pilot. 30 tons of aluminum flies through the air out of control, with a speed of 500 miles per hour and Kate must find a way to land the plane safely on the ground.
She plays Marissa Knox in this story where the earth is threatened with a shower of massive meteors in ''Asteroid vs. Earth'' (2014). The world's greatest minds devise a dangerous plan in order to avoid the impact.
She plays Leanne in this story about an gambler who is drawn into a life of money and power to make a quick buck in ''Gutshot Straight'' (2014). He quickly realizes that he is part of a setup that could cost him his life.
Action Movie Filmography
- Gutshot Straight (2014)
- Asteroid vs. Earth (2014)
- Collision Course (2012)
- You May Not Kiss the Bride (2011)
- Supernova (2005)
- Back in the Day (2005)
- Scar City (1998)
- Dogboys (1998)
- Top of the World (1997)
- Kull the Conqueror (1997)
- Hollow Point (1996)
- The Immortals (1995)
- Hostile Intentions (1995)
- True Lies (1994)
- Quick (1993)
- Rising Sun (1993)
- Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man (1991)
- Showdown in Little Tokyo (1991)
- Fatal Mission (1990)
- The Road Raiders (1989)
Action TV Series
- Hawaii Five-0 (2015)
- Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated (2010 - 2013)
- True Justice (2010) ''TV series''
- Duck Dodgers (2003 - 2005)
- Megas XLR (2004)
- Miami (2002 - 2012)
- Relic Hunter (1999 - 2002)
- Hercules (1998)
- Quantum Leap (1990)
- MacGyver (1986 - 1988)
- Noble House (1988)
- Tour of Duty (1987)
- The A-Team (1986)
- Airwolf (1985)
- Cover Up (1985)
