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Kelly Ann Hu is an American actress and former model who played Pearl on The Vampire Diaries. Kelly is mainly known for her role on the TV series, Sunset Beach, and, Nash Bridges.

Biography[]

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Kelly Hu

Kelly Hu is a fourth-generation American with Chinese-Hawaiian and English ancestry. She was born on February 13, 1968 in Honolulu, Hawaii. Her father, Herbert, was a salesman and her mother, Juanita, worked many odd jobs to help support the family. She has one older brother, Glenn. She graduated from The Kamehameha Schools in Honolulu, Hawaii.

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's also known for her role as Chen Pei Pei in Martial Law, which also starred 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. Be sure to check her out in The Scorpion King and X2(X-Men 2).

Filmography[]

  • "Arrow" (2012) .... China White
  • Almost Perfect (2010) (post-production) .... Vanessa Lee.
  • "Phineas and Ferb" .... Stacy (29 episodes, 2007-2010)
  • "The Vampire Diaries" .... Pearl (8 episodes, 2010-2011)
  • "NCIS" .... Lee Wuan Kai (1 episode, 2009)
  • "NCIS: Los Angeles" .... Lee Wuan Kai (1 episode, 2009)
  • "In Plain Sight" .... Ahn Li / ... (1 episode, 2009)
  • "Army Wives" .... Jordana Davis (4 episodes, 2008-2009)
  • The Tournament (2009) .... Lai Lai Zhen
  • Terminator Salvation (2009) (VG) (voice) .... Wells/Resistance Soldier
  • Scooby-Doo and the Samurai Sword (2009) (V) (voice) .... Miyumi/Miss Mirimoto
  • "The Spectacular Spider-Man" .... Sha Shan Nguyen / ... (5 episodes, 2009)
  • Ninja Blade (2009) (VG) (voice: English version) .... Ryoko Kurokawa
  • Afro Samurai (2009) (VG) (voice) .... Okiku / Osachi
  • "Numb3rs" .... Alice Chen (1 episode, 2009)
  • "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" .... Kelly Sun (1 episode, 2008)
  • Dim Sum Funeral (2008) .... Cindy
  • Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3 (2008) (VG) .... Suki Toyama
  • Farmhouse (2008) .... Lilith
  • Dead Space: Downfall (2008) (V) (voice) .... Shen
  • Stiletto (2008/II) .... Detective Hanover
  • "Robot Chicken" .... Numerous roles / ... (4 episodes, 2005-2007)
  • "In Case of Emergency" .... Kelly Lee (13 episodes, 2007)
  • Succubus: Hell Bent (2007) .... Detective Pei
  • Shanghai Kiss (2007) .... Micki Yang
  • The Air I Breathe (2007) .... Jiyoung
  • "Afro Samurai" .... Okiku (1 episode, 2007)
  • Area 57 (2007) (TV) .... Dr. Annabelle Fermi
  • "Las Vegas" .... Natalie Ko (1 episode, 2006)
  • Devil's Den (2006) .... Caitlin
  • Undoing (2006) .... Vera
  • Americanese (2006) .... Brenda Nishitani
  • "CSI: NY" .... Detective Kaile Maka (4 episodes, 2005-2006)
  • Mayday (2005) (TV) .... Sharon Crandall
  • Underclassman (2005) .... Lisa Brooks
  • "Threat Matrix" .... Agent Mia Chen (3 episodes, 2004)
  • Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II - The Sith Lords (2004) (VG) (voice) .... Visas Marr
  • The Librarian: Quest for the Spear (2004) (TV) .... Lana
  • Dark Shadows (2004) (TV) .... Dr. Julia Hoffman
  • "Boomtown" .... Rachel Durrel (2 episodes, 2003)
  • X-Men 2: X-Men United (2003) .... Yuriko Oyama / Lady Deathstrike
  • Cradle 2 the Grave (2003) .... Sona
  • The Scorpion King (2002) .... The Sorceress/Cassandra
  • "Martial Law" .... Chen Pei Pei (44 episodes, 1998-2000)
  • "Nash Bridges" .... Insp. Michelle Chan / ... (21 episodes, 1997-1998)
  • "Malcolm & Eddie" .... Wendy (1 episode, 1998)
  • "Sunset Beach" .... Rae Chang (60 episodes, 1997)
  • Fakin' Da Funk (1997) .... Kwee-Me
  • "Mr. & Mrs. Smith" .... Ms. Jones (1 episode, 1996)
  • "Pacific Blue" .... Wendy Trang (1 episode, 1996)
  • "One West Waikiki" .... Dr. Midori (1 episode, 1996)
  • "The Sentinel" .... Christine (1 episode, 1996)
  • "Murder One" .... Natalie Cheng - Richard's Secretary (2 episodes, 1996)
  • In the Fold (1996) (TV) .... Ens. Yukiko Fujisaki
  • Strange Days (1995) .... Anchor Woman
  • "Maybe This Time" .... Jennifer (1 episode, 1995)
  • No Way Back (1995) .... Seiko Kobayashi
  • "Renegade" .... Kathy Maruyama (1 episode, 1994)
  • "Melrose Place" .... Andrea (1 episode, 1994)
  • "Burke's Law" .... Dawn (1 episode, 1994)
  • L.A.X. 2194 (1994) (TV)
  • Surf Ninjas (1993) .... Ro-May
  • "Raven" .... Pele (1 episode, 1993)
  • Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man (1991) .... Suzie
  • The Doors (1991) (as Kelly Ann Hu) .... Dorothy
  • "CBS Schoolbreak Special" .... Emily (1 episode, 1990)
  • Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan (1989) .... Eva Watanabe
  • "21 Jump Street" .... Kim Van Luy (1 episode, 1989)
  • "Tour of Duty" .... Vietnamese DJ (2 episodes, 1989)
  • "Night Court" .... Kista (2 episodes, 1988)
  • "Growing Pains" .... Melia (3 episodes, 1987-1988)
  • "Max Headroom" .... Angela - Chopper Reporter (1 episode, 1987)

External links[]


Gallery[]

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