Relic Hunter

Season 1 SABC3 (*193) 12:00 Action

Tia Carrere jokes that she’s nothing like her adventuring archaeologist character Sydney Fox in action show Relic Hunter (1999-2002). “For one, she’s a professor and I hated school. Second, I need a GPS just to get around Los Angeles. Imagine me alone in a jungle!”

1 Not that a jungle setting is foreign to her – Tia was born on Honolulu island in Hawaii and her favourite holiday destination is the Philippines in south-east Asia. “I have Filipino blood somewhere along the lines and it’s a calming place to visit,” adds Tia.

2 Her banker dad Alexander and computer engineer mom Audrey wanted the 51-year-old to study and work in the corporate world, but that wasn’t going to happen after she saw reality show Star Search (1983-2004) in 1985 – “I wanted to be a singer but I was eliminated in round 1,” Tia laughs.

3 Her first roles were in iconic shows, although she was in only one 1985 episode of Airwolf (1984-1986). Tia then played villain Jade Soong Chung in soap General Hospital (1963-current) from 1985 to 1987.

4 While she admits that she still gets nervous singing, Tia has won two Grammy awards – both for the Best Hawaiian Music Album for ’Ikena (2009) and Huana Ke Aloha (2011).

5 Tia’s been married twice but says she’s open to “a third time lucky”, “But only if Bianca (her 12-year-old daughter with photojournalist second husband Simon Wakelin) approves.

5 And in case you’re wondering, Tia Carrere is a stage name – she was born Althea Rae Janairo but her little sister Saundra called her “Tia”.