Biography
Beautiful Hawaiian actress Kelly Hu parlayed early experience as a model and beauty pageant winner into a busy career as an actress in television and film. Kelly Hu was born in Honolulu, HI, on February 13, 1968. While a student at Kameameha High School, Hu began taking modeling jobs on the advice of her friends, which led to her spending four months in Japan working on various assignments. Hoping to advance her career, Hu entered a local beauty pageant, which led to her being named Miss Teen U.S.A. in 1985, making her the first Asian-American to hold the title. While winning the prize ironically put her modeling career on pause (pageant regulations prevent winners from taking modeling assignments), it did help her launch an acting career; after her reign, Hu moved to Los Angeles, and in 1987, after landing a number of television commercials, she scored her first high-profile acting job when she was cast as Melia,
Kirk Cameron's love interest, on several episodes of the TV sitcom
Growing Pains. Hu began receiving a steady stream of television work, making guest appearances on such shows as
Tour of Duty,
Night Court, and
21 Jump Street, before she earned her first film role, a small part in Friday the 13th: Part VIII -- Jason Takes Manhattan. Hu's next film assignment would be a bit more prestigious -- she played the wife of musician
Ray Manzarek (played by
Kyle MacLachlan) in
Oliver Stone's
The Doors. More film and television work followed, including a brief run in 1992 on the daytime drama
The Bold and the Beautiful, before Hu took another stab at the pageant circuit, representing Hawaii in the 1993 Miss U.S.A. Pageant. Hu soon returned to acting, making memorable appearances on
Melrose Place and
Murder One, before she won the role of Michelle Chan on the action-drama series
Nash Bridges. Hu lasted two years on the show; her next long-term TV role allowed her to make use of her martial arts skills (she holds a brown belt in karate) when she was cast opposite
Sammo Hung on the action-comedy series
Martial Law. Hu starred opposite Dwayne Johnson (aka
The Rock) in 2002's
The Scorpion King, the prequel to the runaway hit
The Mummy. ~ All Movie Guide