Althea Rae Janairo, most renowned as Tia Carrere, drew her first breath on 2nd January in the year 1967. She was born on Hawaii’s Honolulu in the family of Filipinos, and her parents worked as a banker and a computer supervisor. Tia Carrere confessed that she has Spanish, Chinese, and Filipino roots.
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Education
Tia Carrere studied at the Sacred Hearts Academy, Honolulu’s school for girls.
Career Experience
Tia Carrere strived to be a singer and so she took part in the show “Star Search” in 1985, even though she did not succeed and got out of it in the first round. Despite her failure, she was descried by a local producer who invited her to star in the movie under the title “Aloha Summer.”
Right after the successful debut in the movie, she came back to California’s Los Angeles and worked as a model for a couple of months. Thereafter, she played a role in “Airwolf”, an American TV series, at the beginning of 1985. The biggest step forward she made when starred in “General Hospital”, a soap opera, since 1985 up to 1987. While playing in the soap opera, Tia Carrere started to participate in various movies and TV shows. In particular, she appeared in the “Tour of Duty” as well as “The A-Team”. Then, she also starred in the “MacGyver” show and the TV sitcom “Anything But Love.”
Her following roles in the movies, such as “Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man” (1991), “Showdown in Little Tokyo” (1991), and “Wayne’s World” (1992), have made her even more popular within and outside the United States. Moreover, while playing the role in the “Wayne’s World”, she got a chance to realize her dream of being a singer, since she performed there only her own songs. Tia Carrere has become world-renowned largely thanks to her role of the professor in the Canadian TV series “Relic Hunter”, where she starred in a total of three seasons.
Apart from her acting career, she had an opportunity to develop her singing, too. In 1993, she released her debut album, entitled “Dream”, which became platinum. Fourteen years later, in 2007, Tia Carrere released her second album, which relates to her Haitian roots. For this album under the title “Hawaiiana” she was nominated a Grammy Award in 2008.
Even though she has not obtained a Grammy with her second album, she did so with the following one under the title ”Ikena” a year later. In 2011, she received another Grammy. At the present time, Tia Carrere’s net worth is equal to $18 million.
Personal life
She married her first husband, Elie Samaha who was a film producer, in 1992. After he accused her of having an affair with another man, they filed for divorce in 2000. A couple of years later, she wedded Simon Wakelin, a photojournalist. On the 25th September in the year 2005, Tia Carrere gave a birth to their daughter. The couple gave her a name Bianca. However, the couple filed for divorce and separated in 2010 and they have to share the custody of their daughter.
Filmography
Tia Carrere starred in a total of 46 movies and 29 TV series. Recently, she played roles in the following movies: “Collision Course” (2012), “Asteroid vs. Earth” (2014), and “Gutshot Straight” (2014).
Last Modified: Apr 7, 2020
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