Exotic (Chinese/Spanish/Filipino), sultry actress who gained national prominence as Cassandra, the guitar-playing, kick-boxing “babe” in the 1992 mega-hit, “Wayne’s World”. Carrere began working as a model and commercial actress which led to her being cast in a number of guest spots on such series as “The A-Team” and “MacGyver”. She made her feature debut in the B-horror film, “Zombie Terror” (1987). Much of Carrere’s early film work consisted of playing “the girl” in such action fodder as “Showdown in Little Tokyo” (1991) and “Fatal Mission” (1990). Carrere was able to display her comic and musical abilities in “Wayne’s World”, (for which she sang two songs), and was given a chance to show a more cerebral side when cast as Jingo Asakuma, a half-Japanese, half-black computer expert in Philip Kaufman’s thriller “Rising Sun” (1993).
Carrere’s career trajectory continued on course with appearances in “Wayne’s World 2″ (1993) and director James Cameron’s spy action thriller “True Lies” (1994), in which she played the villainous Juno Skinner opposite Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jamie Lee Curtis. But the actress soon began accepting leading roles in lesser movies, appearing in a string of routine (or worse) thrillers and comedic misfires. She teamed with her husband, Los Angeles restauranteur-turned-movie-producer Elie Samaha to try to craft vehicles for herself, but garnered little attention save for a reality-based indie film “20 Dates” (1998), in which she goes out on an on-camera date with filmmaker Myles Berkowitz (despite being married to the film’s producer, a union that ultimately dissolved in 2000; Samaha would later go on to become a major Hollywood player). In 1999 she took the lead role in the syndicated action-adventure television series “Relic Hunter,” playing globe-hunting, black-belted archeology professor Syndey Fox. The series aired internationally until 2002, the same year Carrere’s career got a shot in the arm with a role that did not trade on her exotic good looks; instead, her smooth voice breathed life into Lilo’s struggling older sister Nani in Disney’s Hawaiian-themed animated feature film “Lilo & Stitch.” Still, Carrere had not entirely embraced family-friendly fare: having scrupulously avoided nude scenes in the past despite her sex symbol status, she appeared undraped in a major pictorial feature in the January 2003 issue of Playboy Magazine.
- Also Credited As:
Althea Janairo, Tia Carrera
- Born:
on 01/02/67 in Honolulu, Hawaii
- Job Titles:
Actor, Singer, Model
Family
- Father: Alexander Janairo. divorced from Carrere’s mother c. 1983
- Mother: Audrey Janairo. divorced from Carrere’s father c. 1983
- Sister: Alesaundra Janairo.
- Sister: Audra Lee Janairo.
Significant Others
- Husband: Elie Samaha. born c. 1956; married c. 1993; divorced in February 2000
- Companion: Simon Wakelin. dating as or 2001; engaged as of January 2003
Milestones
- 1986 TV acting debut with an episode of “MacGyver”
- 1987 Feature acting debut, “Zombie Nightmare”
- 1988 TV-movie debut, “James Clavell’s ‘Noble House’”
- 1989 Had rdecurring role on thes hort-lived series, “Living Dolls”
- 1990 First credit as a song performer, “Instant Karma”
- 1992 First lead role in a feature, “Wayne’s World”
- 1992 Signed a recording deal with Warner Bros.
- 1993 Released first album
- 1998 Was an executive producer (with husband) on “20 Dates”
- 1999 Starred in the syndicated series “Relic Hunter”
- 2002 Appeared nude in Playboy celebrity photo layout
- 2002 Voiced older sister Nani Pelekai in the Disney animated film “Lilo & Stitch”
- Acted in various national commercials
- Appeared as a contestant on “Star Search”
- Moved to L.A. after high school graduation
- Worked as a model
