What is Kelly Hu's Net Worth?
Kelly Hu is an American actress, activist, and former fashion model who has a net worth of $10 million. Kelly Hu gained national recognition for being crowned Miss Teen USA 1985 and Miss Hawaii USA 1993. After that, she went on to star on the television soap opera "Sunset Beach" and the police procedural series "Nash Bridges." Hu's other credits have included the shows "The Vampire Diaries" and "Arrow" and the films "The Scorpion King," "Cradle 2 the Grave," and "X2: X-Men United." Kelly Hu is very active in many philanthropic and social causes, especially concerning the ecology of her native Hawaii.
Early Life
Kelly Hu was born on February 13, 1968 in Honolulu, Hawaii to engineering drafter Juanita and salesman and exotic bird breeder Herbert. She is of Chinese, Hawaiian, and English ancestry, and has a brother named Glenn. For her education, Hu went to Ma'ema'e Elementary School and Kamehameha Schools in Honolulu.
Beauty Queen and Model
Harboring passions for singing and dancing and inspired by her successful model cousin, Hu decided to enter the Miss Hawaii Teen USA pageant in 1985. She ended up winning the title, and went on to also be crowned Miss Teen USA 1985. Hu became the competition's first Asian-American victor in the process. Following this, she did modeling in Italy and Japan and appeared in television commercials for Philadelphia cream cheese. In 1993, Hu made history again by winning Miss Hawaii USA, making her the first former Miss Teen USA to also claim a Miss USA state title. In the subsequent Miss USA pageant, she came in fourth.
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Television Career
Hu had her first substantial role on television from 1987 to 1988, playing the Hawaiian love interest of Mike Seaver on the sitcom "Growing Pains." After this, she appeared in episodes of "Night Court," "Tour of Duty," "21 Jump Street," "Raven," "Burke's Law," and "Melrose Place," among other shows. Hu had her biggest year yet on the small screen in 1996. In addition to appearing in the television film "Star Command," she also appeared on the shows "Murder One," "The Sentinel," "One West Waikiki," "Pacific Blue," and "Mr. & Mrs. Smith" that year. Hu subsequently landed two major roles in 1997: Dr. Rae Chang on the soap opera "Sunset Beach" and Inspector Michelle Chan on the police procedural "Nash Bridges." An even bigger role came in 1998 on the series "Martial Law," on which Hu played Detective Grace "Pei Pei" Chen. The series, which starred Sammo Hung in the titular role, ran for two seasons until May 2000.
Following "Martial Law," Hu had recurring roles on "Boomtown," "Threat Matrix," and "CSI: NY." She also appeared in the television films "The Librarian: Quest for the Spear" and "Mayday." In 2007, Hu had a main role on the short-lived ABC sitcom "In Case of Emergency." Also that year, she began voicing the character Stacy Hirano on the animated series "Phineas and Ferb." Hu subsequently appeared on "Army Wives," and had another voice role on the animated series "The Spectacular Spider-Man." After appearing in crossover episodes of "NCIS: Los Angeles" and "NCIS," Hu played the recurring role of Pearl Zhu on "The Vampire Diaries" from 2010 to 2011. During that same time, she had a recurring role on "Hawaii Five-0" and began a voice role on "Young Justice." Hu went on to have further major voice roles on such series as "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles," "Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure," and "The Legend of Vox Machina." Meanwhile, she has had recurring roles on "Arrow," "Warehouse 13," and "The Orville" and a main role in the first season of "The 100." Hu also starred in the 2021 television film "List of a Lifetime."
Film Career
Hu's film debut came in the 1989 slasher sequel "Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan," in which she played Eva Watanabe. She subsequently appeared in the biographical musical film "The Doors," the Western biker film "Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man," and the family comedy "Surf Ninjas." In 1995, Hu was in two thrillers, "No Way Back" and "Strange Days." Her final film credit of the decade was the 1997 comedy "Fakin' da Funk." Hu's next role was in the 2002 action-adventure film "The Scorpion King," in which she played the sorceress Cassandra. The year after that, she played Sona in "Cradle 2 the Grave" and Lady Deathstrike in the superhero sequel "X2: X-Men United." Hu's subsequent credits included "Underclassman," "Americanese," "Undoing," "Devil's Den," "The Air I Breathe," "Dim Sum Funeral," and "The Tournament."
In 2011, Hu starred in the drama film "Almost Perfect." The following year, she had a supporting role in the dramedy "White Frog." Hu went on to appear in many minor films, with titles including "Age of Tomorrow," "Death Valley," and "Kepler's Dream." In 2017, she starred as CIA Agent Kate Desmond in the Russian film "Maximum Impact." Hu's other credits have included the drama "Go Back to China," the family adventure film "Finding 'Ohana," and the direct-to-DVD animated superhero films "Batman: Soul of the Dragon" and "Catwoman: Hunted."
Video Games
Beyond television and film, Hu has had a prolific career as a voice actress for video games. Her first credit was "Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II – The Sith Lords," in which she played Visas Marr. After that, Hu lent her voice to the games "Fracture," "Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3," "Afro Samurai," "Ninja Blade," and "Terminator Salvation." Among her many other video game credits are "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles," "Batman: Arkham Origins," "Infinite Crisis," and "Mortal Kombat X" and "Mortal Kombat 11."
Personal Life and Activism
From 1996 to 1998, Hu dated Ahmad Ali Moussaui. She was later in a relationship with Gordon Gilbertson for around a year. From 2010 to 2016, Hu dated music producer Mitch Allen.
An avid poker player, Hu has competed in the World Series of Poker and the World Poker Tour.
As an activist, Hu has supported such organizations as the Center for Asian Americans United for Self Empowerment, Save the Children, and Best Buddies International. She has also been notably active in environmental activism, working to safeguard Hawaii's ecology by supporting the group Reef Check Hawaii and running in the Honolulu Marathon to raise awareness.
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