Tamlyn Tomita
| Tamlyn Tomita | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Tamlyn Naomi Tomita January 27, 1966 Okinawa, Japan |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1986–present |
Tamlyn Naomi Tomita (born January 27, 1966) is a Japanese-born American actress and singer. She made her screen debut in The Karate Kid Part II (1986), and later was leading and supporting roles in films Come See the Paradise (1990), The Joy Luck Club (1993), Picture Bride (1994), Four Rooms (1995), Robot Stories (2003), The Day After Tomorrow (2004) and Gaijin 2: Love Me as I Am (2005).
Tomita was born in Okinawa, the daughter of Shiro and Asako Tomita. She is 1/4 Filipino on her mother's side of the family. Her father was a distinguished Japanese-American man who was interned at Manzanar, California, during part of World War II, then later became a Los Angeles police officer, rising to the rank of sergeant and helping to form the first Asian Task force in that Department. Her father died of cancer in 1990. Tomita graduated from Granada Hills High School in the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles.
Before becoming an actress, Tomita won the title of Queen at the Nisei Week Pageant in Los Angeles in 1984, and Miss Nikkei International in 1985. In 1987, Tomita made her Japanese singing debut on the label Polydor. She released a single and an album.
In 1984, Tomita got her big break by traveling as Queen of Nisei Week to Hawaii, where she was selected as part of a casting call by director John G. Avildsen to make her acting debut in The Karate Kid Part II. She later had major roles in a number of independent movies. Her biggest role was in the 1990 drama film Come See the Paradise. In 1993, she co-starred opposite Ming-Na Wen in the ensemble cast drama The Joy Luck Club and the next year she had a role in the 1994 independent film Picture Bride. In 1995 Tomita appeared alongside Antonio Banderas in the Robert Rodriguez-directed segment of the vignette anthology comedy Four Rooms.
...
Wikipedia