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Tia Carrere (born 2 January 1967 in Honolulu,
Hawaii) is an United States|American
actor|actress, model (person)|model, and singer,
most widely known for her role as Cassandra in the
feature film Wayne's World.

Born Althea Rae Duhinio Janairo, Carrere, of
Filipino people|Filipino, Ethnic Chinese|Chinese,
and Spanish people|Spanish heritage, longed to be
a singer as a child. 
Although she was eliminated during the first round
of her 1985 Star Search appearance at the age of
17, she was spotted by the parents of a local
producer while shopping at a Waikiki grocery store
and was cast in the role of Lani in Aloha Summer.

Following this initial success, Carrere relocated
to Los Angeles, California|Los Angeles and, after
several months working as a model, landed a role
in the daytime soap opera General Hospital from
1985-87. During this time, she also had a guest
appearance on The A-Team, which was supposed to
lead to her joining the cast.  Unfortunately, her
General Hospital obligations prevented her from
joining the team.  Her character was dropped after
one episode, and was never mentioned again.

Carrere had a guest appearance on the show
MacGyver (The Wish Child) as a karate instructor.

Tia appeared in the 1991 action film Harley
Davidson and the Marlboro Man.

She emerged into the public spotlight when cast as
Cassandra, a rock singer and love interest of Mike
Myers (actor)|Mike Myers' character Wayne, in
Wayne's World (1992) - a role she reprised the
next year in Wayne's World 2. A trained singer,
Carrere performed all of her own songs in the two
films, and the "Wayne's World" soundtrack features
her vocals. She also turned down a role in the
series Baywatch to audition for "Wayne's World."

On November 22, 1992, Carrere married
Italian/Lebanese producer Elie Samaha, and she has
appeared in several of his films - none of which
have achieved widespread success. Other roles in
prominent films followed her role in Wayne's
World, however, including the part of villain Juno
Skinner in True Lies (a 1994 Arnold Schwarzenegger
action film) thief Gina Walker in The Immortals
(1995) and secretary Victoria Chapell in High
School High (a 1996 parody).

From 1999 to 2002, Tia Carrere starred as
archaeology professor Sydney Fox in Relic Hunter,
an action-adventure series reminiscent of the
Indiana Jones films. The syndicated series lasted
for a total of three television seasons before its
cancellation. Most recently, Carrere provided the
voice of Lilo's sister "Nani" in the animated film
Lilo and Stitch (2002) and its spinoffs, as well
as the voice of Queen Tyrani from the 2003 Duck
Dodgers animated series.

A striking Asian beauty, Carrere modelled nude for
the January 2003 issue of Playboy magazine; years
before, however, she had used a body double for a
nude scene in Showdown in Little Tokyo. People
magazine, in 1992, named her to its annual "50
most beautiful people" list.

Carrere has continued to nurture her singing
career. In 1993 her first solo album, Dream, was
released, and went platinum in the Philippines. In
August of 2003, Carrere was awarded a Lifetime
Achievement Award by President of the
Philippines|Philippine president Gloria
Macapagal-Arroyo, and she is reportedly working on
a new album in her home studio.

Tia Carrere divorced her husband Elie Samaha in
February of 2000; she married again, this time to
photojournalist Simon Wakelin on December 31,
2002.She is expecting her first child in September
with Simon Wakelin.

== External links ==

* http://www.tiatime.com/ Tia Time - The Tia
Carrere Page
* imdb name|id=0000119|name=Tia Carrere
* http://groups.yahoo.com/group/tiacarrerelinks/
Tia Carrere Links: an unabashed celebration
* http://www.cultsirens.com/carrere/carrere.htm
Cult Sirens: Tia Carrere
* http://www.tv-now.com/stars/tia.html TV-Now
* http://www.tiacarrere.com/ TiaCarrere.com - Tia
Carrere's Fan Site