Movies

Althea Rae Duhinio Janairo (born January 2, 1967), known professionally as Tia Carrere (/kəˈrɛərə/), is an American actress and singer who got her first big break as a regular on the daytime soap opera General Hospital.

Carrere played Cassandra Wong in the feature films Wayne's World and Wayne's World 2; Juno Skinner in True Lies; Nani Pelekai in the Lilo & Stitch films and TV series; Queen Tyr'ahnee in Duck Dodgers; Richard Lewis's girlfriend, Cha Cha, in Curb Your Enthusiasm; and starred as Sydney Fox in the television series Relic Hunter, as well as Lady Danger opposite RuPaul in Netflix's AJ and the Queen. Carrere also appeared as a contestant in the second season of Dancing with the Stars and the fifth season of The Celebrity Apprentice. In addition to acting, Carrere has won two Grammy Awards for her music.

Early life
Carrere was born in Honolulu, Hawaii. She is the daughter of Audrey Lee Janairo, a computer supervisor, and Alexander Janairo, a banker. She is of Filipino and Chinese descent.

Carrere attended Sacred Hearts Academy, an all-girls school. She longed to be a singer as a child. Though she was eliminated during the first round of her 1985 Star Search appearance at the age of 18, she was spotted by a local producer while shopping at a Waikiki grocery store and was cast in the movie Aloha Summer. At around this time, she adopted her stage name by using her sister's nickname for her, "Tia" and using a variation of the last name "Carrera" in tribute to actress Barbara Carrera.