When Kelly Hu entered the Miss Teen USA pageant in 1985, two things were furthest from her mind: winning and becoming an actress. The 16-year-old really wanted to model in Japan and thought entering the contest would be a good first step towards her goal. But as fate would have it, Hu became the first Asian-American girl to represent the United States as Miss Teen USA, even though her mother told her that people weren’t ready for such a thing. Ironically, winning the title barred her from modeling anywhere for a year because she was obligated to represent the pageant. But she did manage to travel much of the country—something she was unable to do from her native island state of Hawaii—and later entered modeling once her commitment was over. Eventually, Hu became interested in acting and used the money she won from the pageant to move to Los Angeles and start her career. Though slow to get going, she began appearing on episodic television and big budget feature films, posturing herself to become a bona fide star.
