Latest news with #Carrere
New York Post
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- New York Post
Child of ‘90s bombshell Tia Carrere comes out as transgender: ‘He's his own person'
Tia Carrere is showing unwavering support as her son lives his truth. Carrere, who shot to fame in 1992 for playing Cassandra Wong in the classic comedy 'Wayne's World,' recently revealed that she's proud of her 19-year-old son's major life change. 'He's very matter-of-fact,' the 58-year-old star told People. 'He knows who he is, and he's very happy.' Advertisement 5 Tia Carrere's child has come out as a transgender man. Getty Images The Hawaii native claimed she 'did a good job' raising Jude — who was born Bianca Wakelin — and is pleased with the person he grew up to be. 'He's such a sweetheart, he's like the therapist to all the other kids,' she added of her son, whom she shares with ex-husband Simon Wakelin. 'When his friends go out drinking or partying too hard, he's always the designated driver, that kind of caring friend you can always lean on.' Advertisement But the actress said she won't 'congratulate' herself too much because, 'He's his own person.' The teen, who is Carrere's only child, seemingly has no plans to follow his mother's path in Hollywood. 'He's more introverted, so he definitely won't go into acting or singing like I did,' Carrere added. 5 Jude walked the red carpet at the world premiere of Disney's 'Lilo & Stitch' remake on May 17. Getty Images for Disney Advertisement 5 'He's very matter-of-fact,' Carrere said. 'He knows who he is, and he's very happy.' FilmMagic But Jude is interested in other forms of art. 'He's a great artist,' his mother shared. 'I don't know what he'll do! Maybe become a doctor or work with animals. He's working with animals right now.' Carrere insisted Jude 'doesn't love the spotlight' — though he did walk the red carpet in an all-black suit with a pink and white floral lei around his neck for the world premiere of 'Lilo & Stitch' at El Capitan Theatre in Los Angeles earlier this month. Advertisement 5 Carrere and her only child attended the premiere of 'The Angry Birds Movie' in Westwood, Calif. on May 7, 2016. AFP via Getty Images 5 Carrere and Jude at the season 1 premiere of Netflix's 'AJ and the Queen' in January 2020. FilmMagic Carrere, who played Mrs. Kekoa in the live-action remake of the animated movie, had to skip the big night because she was scheduled to film in the Philippines. She also voiced Nani in the original 2002 'Lilo & Stitch' and the television series that ran from 2003 to 2006. Carrere has acted in dozens of productions since she was discovered at 17 years old at a grocery store in Hawaii, according to People. She had been approached by parents of a film producer for the 1988 movie 'Aloha Summer,' who had told her, 'Darling, you're gorgeous! You should be the female lead in our son's movie!' The star claimed her career only went up after that, saying she 'wants to be doing this for the next 40 years.' Carrere also boasts a successful music career on top of her acting credits. She has won two Grammy awards for 'Best Hawaiian Music Album' with her musical partner Daniel Ho.
Epoch Times
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Epoch Times
Actress-Singer Tia Carrere Embraces Life's Changes
Versatile actress and two-time Grammy Award winner Tia Carrere has spent the past four decades embracing new roles and reinventing herself across film, television, and music. That's what it took to build up a notable stack of acting credits—'Wayne's World,' 'True Lies,' 'Lilo & Stitch,' 'Relic Hunter.' In a recent interview with The Epoch Times, the Hawaiian-born actress shared that at 58, she's ready and eager to appreciate the rewards of her hard work. 'I have to pinch myself because as you're running through all these things that you want to do in your life, it comes to that time, you have to relax into enjoying the fruits of your labor,' Carrere said. One of those fruits is her new membership in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which she was invited to join in 2024. An Academy membership most significantly allows Carrere, who credits her acting career to a producer spotting her in a grocery store in Waikiki, Hawaii, to vote on Oscar nominations and winners, contributing to the selection of the best films and filmmakers in various categories. Aside from her professional career success—her latest movie, the live-action remake of Disney's 2002 animated film 'Lilo & Stitch,' premieres on May 23—Carrere also feels personally accomplished. 'I've definitely hit my stride in the past couple of years,' she said. 'In the last couple [of] years, the things that weren't working for me anymore, I left behind. And the things that I used to let scare me, I saw as challenges to overcome.' The Great Outdoors On a recent trip to Belize, she conquered one of those fears—swimming in the open ocean. Related Stories 2/13/2025 2/5/2025 'I know, being from Hawaii, it seems insane, but I've always been terrified of sharks,' Carrere said. 'I was swimming surrounded [by] three sharks just moving around. It was so beautiful and so calming. I got certified for diving to 100 feet. I always thought it was going to be claustrophobic, and come to find out, not so much. 'I find it expansive and like a meditation to go scuba diving under the ocean. It really makes you calm your breathing and calm your nervous system, and just relax into the experience of commuting with nature.' In addition to her newfound appreciation for diving and swimming, Carrere has discovered the joys of traversing 'up hills and mountains' while mountain biking. 'I thought I physically was incapable of doing that,' she said. 'But I do that now and it's [about] enjoying the journey of learning something, of building up a skill, of challenging myself.' This is powerful stuff, acknowledged Carrere, especially when working in an industry that values youth. 'You know, that old adage of, Who's Tia Carrere? Get me Tia Carrere. Get me a younger Tia Carrere. And who's Tia Carrere?' she said. 'It's a cruel truth. But it really is what it is. It's only painful if you fight it.' The Power of Family It was her grandmother's fortitude that motivated Carrere during the more difficult times of her journey. 'She caught the bus to work. She worked at Pearl Harbor for 50 years, and she always taught me her work ethic and being humble,' Carrere said. 'I'm grateful—every wonderful thing that comes my way—it's beyond anything I ever imagined was a possibility for me.' At this moment, Carrere is taking the reins of her career. Besides recently pitching a television show she's working on with a few girlfriends that she hopes to film in Hawaii, she's busy working on her one-woman show. ''Songs of Love and Heartache' ... It's basically from Honolulu to Hollywood and back again,' she said. 'I'm using show tunes, original songs, as well as standards to tell the story of what it was like moving out here at 17 and how confusing and terrifying it was sometimes and coming out the other end.' Then there are the life lessons she's eager to share with others coming up behind her in Hollywood—or any industry. 'I wish I had known earlier my own worth because I feel like I put up with a lot of nonsense and let people take more from me than they gave in many different instances,' she said. 'I wish I had known that you don't have to be so afraid. 'Work will come, you will find love, you will figure out how to be happy, but you can't hold on to something that's not making you happy. 'And it's a constant recalibration all along the length and breadth of our lives. I'm still figuring it out. I'm seeking out the truth.'
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
'Lilo & Stitch': Tia Carrere praises movie for not having a 'little blonde, dainty' Disney princess
At this point we can all admit that live action remakes of beloved Disney films have been more misses than hits, but the new Lilo & Stitch (now in theatres) is the best of the bunch. Starring Maia Kealoha as Lilo, alongside Sydney Agudong, Tia Carrere, Courtney B. Vance, Zach Galifianakis, Billy Magnussen, and Chris Sanders back to voice Stitch, it's a worthy remake of the original 2002 movie. As Carrere and Vance told Yahoo Canada in Toronto, much of the success can be attributed to director Dean Fleischer Camp (Marcel the Shell with Shoes On), who approached the new Lilo & Stitch with "respect" for the original. Notably, he also really listened to everyone involved with making this film. "I could tell from the beginning they wanted to stick to what was at the core of the original film," Carrere said. "He was very mindful to respect what was canon, but also to put his fingerprints on the characters." "Like my character, Mrs. Kekoa. His mom is a social worker and he was looking at the wardrobe and looking at how she would say things, and consulting with his mom, and I love that. ... It's hard, because everybody's looking at you like, 'Are you going to do this? Are you going to mess this up?' And ... he was so on top of these specifics." For Vance, who plays Cobra Bubbles, there's a lot more empathy and complexity to the character, compared to what we saw in the 2002 animated version, and the actor highlighted that was a response to Vance being able to bring himself into the character. "I've played those kinds of authoritarian characters, and to know the love in the room changes the temperature in all of us," he said. "There's a scene where I'm listening to them sing the song on the hammock and I'm supposed to be there just observing, and making sure that no one gets out of line. And I'm just sitting there listening, and it's like, 'What's going on here? What are those feelings? ... That's not what I do. I don't do feelings. I don't do help well.'" Vance also echoed his co-star's comments about how effective Camp was as a collaborative leader on this project. "He's bringing all of himself, ... that's for me the mark of a good director, is one that says, 'This is my idea, make it better,'" Vance said. "That collaborative nature that he has made everyone feel they can bring their A game." An interesting shift in the new Lilo & Stitch is that Carrere went from voicing Lilo's sister Nani in the original film (played by Sydney Agudong in the 2025 version), to playing social worker Mrs. Kekoa who's trying to ensure that Nani can retain guardianship of her sister. Reflecting back on the character Nani, Carrere always appreciated that the film moved away from the typical Disney princesses we saw on screen. "I thought it was pretty maverick back in the day that she was the thick, brown Disney princess, she wasn't this skinny, mini little blonde, dainty thing that you had to worry that she was going to get hurt," Carrere stressed. "Nani is an athlete. She kicks butt, she surfs, and then to see this embodied in real life in Sydney, who's just a tremendous force. I couldn't be more proud that I was part of this legacy." But so much of the heart of the new Lilo & Stitch sits with Maia Kealoha as Lilo, with a sweet, bubbly and energetic personalty, seemingly both on-screen and off. Vance highlighted that working with an actor who is now just seven years old is about collaborating with her family, and it reminded him of working with a young Elijah Wood in the 1993 film The Adventures of Huck Finn. "I did [The Adventures of Huck Finn] with Elijah Wood back in the day and it was an exact same situation, Mom was there and Mom was like, 'OK son, it's time to go home now,'" Vance said. "It starts with her family and if the family is the right type of family for her in this environment, then all of us go, we can relax, because we know that she knows we're not going to take advantage. Mom and Dad know we're not going to take advantage." "Maia's just magic," Carrere added. "When I first heard about doing this film, as a local person, I'm like, where are they going to find this kid? Because Lilo is such a specific personality." "She is Lilo. There's nobody better than her. She doesn't act like she's precocious, she just is a quirky kid, and she's fascinating, endlessly fascinating to all of us."
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
'Lilo & Stitch' stars Tia Carrere, Courtney B. Vance: Representing Nani as an 'athlete,' being respectful of previous movie and Maia Kealoha as the perfect Lilo
The 2002 movie Lilo & Stitch is incredibly beloved in the Disney catalogue and now it's receive a more modern and live action remake, starring Maia Kealoha as Lilo and Sydney Agudong as Nani, a role previously voice by Tia Carrere who returns as Mrs. Kekoa, with Courtney B. Vance as Cobra Bubbles. While there are some differences in the story, director Dean Fleischer Camp largely stayed true to the essence of the original. Speaking to Yahoo Canada in Toronto, Carrere and Vance spoke about Camp as a "passionate" director who was open to ideas from the cast. Vance also spoke about the similarities in working with young Kealoha and previously starring in The Adventures of Huck Finn with Elijah Wood. And Carrere praisde her previous character, Nani, for being a "thick, brown Disney Princess." What hideous planet is caught in your crosshairs? Shooting star. I'm pushing for a friend. Like a best friend. What the hell. When the original movie came out, I think there was a lot of conversations about Nani in particular looking like not a princess, which I think is kind of all we had unless it was like an actual animal. It was a princess. I think it's more impactful now to see a character like that and to see all the characters now that it is live action. Um, I, I thought it was pretty maverick back in the day that she was like the. Thick brown Disney princess, you know, she wasn't like this skinny mini little blonde dainty, you know, thing that you had to worry that she was gonna, you know, get hurt. I mean Nanni's an athletes, she's, um, you know, kicks butt, she surfs um and then to see this embodied in real life in Sydney who's just a tremendous force. I couldn't be more proud to know that I was part of this legacy. I think for your character, I love that he has like empathy in this one in a way that I don't think we got from the original, and he feels so much more complex in a way that I almost didn't anticipate, to be honest, going in. Was it nice to be able to kind of play with those levels for this film? Yeah it was really wonderful to bring myself to it, and you know I played those kinds of, you know, authoritarian kind of characters and to know that. Um, the, the, the love in the room. Um, it changes the temperature. In all of us and um uh I, I felt that I, I there was a, there's a scene where I'm listening to them sing the song in the hammock and and I'm supposed to be there just observing and making sure that no one gets out of line and all and I'm just sitting there listening and it's like oh what what. What's going on here? What are his feelings? What am I gonna do with, you know, some they're gonna ask me to do something I know very shortly. That's not what I do. I don't do feelings. I don't do help well, so I just, you know, so it was, it was, it was wonderful to for that. To have that art. TF it's been pretty well documented that for the original film you were able to say like no this is more authentic, they would say this, they would do this to to make the world feel as as rich as it could. um what was the collaboration process like on this film? I I could tell from the beginning they they wanted to stick to what was at the core of the original film. So that was already baked in. And Dean Fleischer Camp, I had seen Marcel the show with shoes on, and I knew if he just put some of that heart and soul in there people would be bawling because we've got the extravaganza and the CGI and the crazy stitch stuff, but then at the heart and soul of it it's let love um change you let the family hold you all the crazy messy insane parts. And we can all uplift each other and so that was already there in the piece. So I just love that it all came together in this incredible film. Courtney, for you, obviously you've worked on so many great projects, so many great directors. What made Dean particularly effective for this film and effective generally as a collaborator? He he's in it. He, he, it's not just the technical, and everybody can't do. And can't talk to the creative. I can't speak to it, can't I can't can't exist in it and still step out and do the technical and then come back in at that moment, you know. Yeah, he's very specific with the performance and he took the space and time to do it you know you know I mean and and that you know I think that's what we respond to is that his passion. He's passionate about this film that it is, you know, you, you, when you're doing something that is so beloved, you have the opportunity to put a stamp on something that will be resonate for, you know, uh, for generations and, uh, um, and, and to, to take that that responsibility seriously he seriously wanted this thing to be. what the original was and more right and it's hard because everybody's looking at you like, are you gonna do this or you gonna mess this up? And his because he was so on top of the specifics, he, he was very mindful to respect what was canon but also to bring, you know, put the fingerprints on the characters like my character Mrs. Koa, his mom is a is a social worker and he was like, hey, you know, looking at the wardrobe and looking about how she would say things. And consulting with his mom and that, and I, I love that, you know. I love that, you know, it's it's wonderful that we can bring all of ourselves to it. That's what I mean, he's bringing all of himself and his mom and other people are bringing, you know, I mean that's for me the mark of a a a good director is one that says, this is my idea, make it better. For everybody. This is my idea, make it better and not this is my idea and I don't need to hear about what you feel this is what we're gonna do. And that, that collaborative nature that he has. Made everyone feel can bring their A game to the game. I mean the character of Lilo has so much personality. I think Maya has more personality than Lilo from incredible that they found this little girl. Yeah, tell me a little bit about collaborating with her because she seems like such a star and someone who has such a great personality with a seven year old or you know you're collaborating with her family. Um, because you know the, the, if, if, if she's set up right. Or if the young person I did uh Huckleberry Finn with Elijah Wood back in the day and it was the exact same situation. Mom was there and mom was like, OK, uh, son, it's time to go home now, but mommy, they're all going out to, to eat afterwards. I know, baby, but we. We've got that's not for you, yeah, you have to do your homework and keeping it keeping it real and uh and we, you know, we were it it starts with her, it starts with her family, and if the family is is is is the right type of family for her in in this environment, all of us go. We can relax because we know that she knows we're not gonna take advantage. Mom and dad knows we're not gonna take advantage of that and we know that they're not going to, they're gonna set them up for the next day, so it's a real beautiful thing to watch happen. Yeah, Maya is just magic. She's just I I it blew my mind because I thought when I first heard about doing this film as a local person like where are they gonna find this kid because Lilo is such a specific personality and that. Must have gone through like almost 1000 kids to find her and it was worth every, you know, audition because she is Lilo. There's nobody better than her. She doesn't act like she's precocious. She just is a quirky kid and she's fascinating, endlessly fascinating to all of us.
News.com.au
01-05-2025
- Entertainment
- News.com.au
‘90s bombshell Tia Carrere, 58, looks half her age in plunging purple gown
We're not worthy! Tia Carrere was an ageless beauty in a floor-length, plunging royal purple gown at an event on Tuesday — over three decades after starring in iconic '90s comedy Wayne's World. Carrere, 58, wowed as she stepped onto the red carpet at the 2025 Scientific and Technical Awards at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in Los Angeles. The AJ and the Queen beauty accessorised the eye-catching dress with a jewelled hairpiece, metallic handbag, and embellished stiletto heels. While posing for photographers, she flashed the smile that made her famous as rocker Cassandra in the 1992 hit comedy. Carrere played the bombshell guitarist and singer opposite Saturday Night Live stars Mike Myers and Dana Carvey as Wayne and Garth — characters they originated on the late-night sketch comedy show. In a March interview, the Hawaii-born performer called Wayne's World a 'pop culture moment,' but admitted nobody thought it would become a hit. 'It was the tiniest movie that Paramount shot that year,' Carrere told For Women First. 'It was low-budget, and we only had a few takes of each scene. Nobody knew what they had, since it was still pretty untested ground for an SNL sketch to become a film,' she continued. 'We were running by the seat of our pants, and it was incredible to see the phenomenon that it became, but nobody expected it. It was really a pop culture moment.' The Dancing With the Stars star also divulged that she'd grown attached to her fierce character who captured Wayne's heart. 'It was a powerful young female role, and I think a lot of women responded to it because she was unapologetically her own person,' she said of the character. 'I love Cassandra.' Carrere is featured in the movie slaying a number of distinctly '90s fashions — including a red lace mini dress from LA's Trashy Lingerie. Of the iconic red dress, styled with opera gloves and huge '90s hoop earrings, Carrere quipped 'It's crazy. It should be in a museum.' The mum of one, who played the voice of Nani in 2002's animated Lilo & Stitch, is set to appear in Disney's live-action adaptation this year.
