Rae Dawn Chong

Last updated
Rae Dawn Chong
Rae Dawn Chong.jpg
Chong in 2013
Born (1961-02-28) February 28, 1961 (age 63) [1]
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
OccupationActress
Years active1974–present
Spouses
Owen Baylis
​
(div. 1982)​
​
​
(m. 1989;div. 1990)​
Nathan Ulrich
​
​
(m. 2011;div. 2014)​
Children1
Father Tommy Chong

Rae Dawn Chong (born February 28, 1961) is a Canadian-American actress. She made her big screen debut appearing in the 1978 musical drama film Stony Island , and in 1981 starred in the fantasy film Quest for Fire , for which she received the Genie Award for Best Actress.

Contents

Chong later starred in films Beat Street (1984), American Flyers (1985), The Color Purple (1985), Commando (1985), Soul Man (1986), The Principal (1987), Tales from the Darkside (1990), Time Runner (1993), and Boulevard (1994). She is the daughter of comedian and actor Tommy Chong.

Early life

Chong was born on February 28, 1961, in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, the first daughter of actor/comedian Tommy Chong. [1] Her father is of Chinese and Scots-Irish descent and her mother, Maxine Sneed, was of Black Canadian descent. [2] [3] [4] Her younger sister Robbi Chong is a model and actress. They have three younger half-brothers (one adopted) and a half-sister by their father's second wife. In addition to Rae Dawn, two of her sisters and her adopted brother Marcus Chong have pursued acting careers.

Chong has said that her paternal grandfather left a poor village in China in the 1930s to live with an aunt in Vancouver, where Chinese immigrants were mostly sequestered in a small area due to racial discrimination, and that although he spoke Cantonese, he refused to teach it to his children or grandchildren. She said, "I think my grandfather had great racial shame, which was hard on us growing up. ... We grew up desperate to know anything about our Chinese culture." Later in life, though, her grandfather "saw the error of his ways and embraced his heritage." [5]

Career

After acting in a few television roles, Chong's second feature film was Quest for Fire (1981), for which she won the Genie Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in 1983. [6] Other notable roles have been in the films Choose Me (1984), Beat Street (1984), The Color Purple (1985), and Commando (1985). She appeared with her father in Cheech & Chong's The Corsican Brothers (1984) and Far Out Man (1990). In 1985, Chong played the love interest in Mick Jagger's video "Just Another Night". [7]

At 19 years old, Chris Pratt was waiting tables at the Bubba Gump Shrimp Company restaurant in Maui when he was scouted by Chong; she cast him in her directorial debut, the short horror film Cursed Part 3, which was filmed in Los Angeles in 2000. [8] [9] [10]

On television, Chong starred opposite Adrian Pasdar in the science fiction drama series Mysterious Ways from 2000 to 2002. later she starred in the first season of Lifetime comedy-drama series Wild Card opposite Joely Fisher. The following years, she appeared in a number of independent movies. She returned to television appearing in two episodes of Better Things in 2016, and two episodes of 9-1-1 (2018-19). In 2021, she played Betty Currie in the FX series Impeachment: American Crime Story . [11] [12]

In 2021, Chong was honored with the "Invisible Woman Award" from the Women Film Critics Circle for "Supporting performance by a woman whose exceptional impact on the film dramatically, socially or historically, has been ignored" for her performance in the drama film The Sleeping Negro. [13] [14]

In 2022, Chong portrayed Florence de Pointe du Lac in the AMC series Interview with the Vampire . [15]

Personal life

Chong married Owen Baylis, a stockbroker, and they had a son named Morgan. They divorced in 1982.[ citation needed ] In 1989, she married actor C. Thomas Howell, her co-star in the feature film Soul Man. They divorced in 1990.[ citation needed ] In 2011, Chong married Nathan Ulrich (one of the founders of Xootr). They divorced in 2014.[ citation needed ]

Pop culture references

British-American rapper-producer MF DOOM recorded a song titled "Rae Dawn". It was released under the alias Viktor Vaughn, as a single from his third studio album Vaudeville Villain (some releases list the title as "Raedawn"). The reference to Chong appears in the lyrics: "New drink, named it after Chong daughter". [16]

Rapper Redman mentions Chong in his 1994 song "Winicumuhround".

Comedian Stephen Lynch also has a song about Chong—"R.D.C. (Opie's Lament)"—as the 12th track on his 2000 debut album A Little Bit Special .

Filmography

Film

YearTitleRoleNotes
1978 Stony Island Janetta
1980Top of the HillRitaTV movie
1981 Quest for Fire Ika Genie Award for Best Actress
1984 Beat Street Tracy Carlson
Choose Me Pearl Antoine
Fear City Leila
Cheech & Chong's The Corsican Brothers The Gypsy
1985 City Limits Yogi
American Flyers Sarah
Commando Cindy
Badge of the Assassin Christine HornTV movie
The Color Purple Squeak
Running Out of Luck Slave Girl
1986 Soul Man Sarah Walker
1987 The Squeeze Rachel Dobs
The Principal Hilary Orozco
1989 Rude Awakening Marlene
1990 Denial Julie
Tales from the Darkside: The Movie Carola
Curiosity KillsJaneTV movie
Amazon Paola
Far Out Man Herself
1991 Prison Stories: Women on the Inside RhondaTV movie
The Borrower Diana Pierce
Chaindance Ilene Curtis
1992 When the Party's Over M.J.
1993 Time Runner Karen Donaldson
Father & Son: Dangerous Relations YvonneTV movie
1994 Boulevard Ola
BocaJ.J.
AmberwavesMisty
1995 Hideaway Rose Orwetto
Power of AttorneyJoan ArmstrongVideo
The Break Jennifer Hudson
Crying Freeman Detective Forge
1996Mask of DeathCassandra Turner
StarlightArianna
Small TimeThe Woman
For Hope Woman at BarTV movie
1997AlibiD.A. Linda GarciaTV movie
Highball Herself
Goodbye America Danzig
1998Valentine's DaySallyVideo
1999Cosas que olvidé recordarMary
2000Dangerous AttractionAnn Rich
The Visit Felicia
2005 Constellation Jenita
2006 Max Havoc: Ring of Fire Sister Caroline
Deadly SkiesMadison TaylorTV movie
2010 Cyrus: Mind of a Serial Killer Vivian
Etta, Kit, and GraceEttaVideo Short
2011 Jeff, Who Lives at Home Carol
2012 Shiver Detective Burdine
Pegasus vs. ChimeraMaydaTV movie
2013Mud LotusKimShort
2014Knock 'em DeadJenny Logan
2015Drizzle Of HopeMs. JohnsonShort
2017Five MinutesDeloresShort
2018 Reborn Dory Ryder
2021The Sleeping NegroBlack Woman Women Film Critics Circle Invisible Woman Award [17]
2022We Are Gathered Here TodayMary Reed
TBAStreet Signs: Homeless But Not HopelessNarratorVoice
TBAThe RavenNurse Virginia

Television

YearTitleRoleNotes
1974 Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color GretaEpisode: "The Whiz Kid and the Mystery at Riverton: Part 1 & 2"
1980 Lou Grant AdrienneEpisode: "Lou"
1983–85 St. Elsewhere Billie VaughnGuest: Seasons 1 & 3; Recurring cast: season 2
1986 Tall Tales & Legends Circe LafemmeEpisode: "Casey at the Bat"
1991 The Hitchhiker Leesa WhiteEpisode: "New Blood"
1992NitecapHerself/hostTV series
1992–93 Melrose Place Carrie FellowsRecurring cast: Season 1
1994 Lonesome Dove: The Series May LawsonEpisode: "Firebrand"
1995 The Outer Limits Karen HeathertonEpisode: "Second Soul"
1996 Highlander: The Series Claudia JardineEpisode: "Timeless"
1997 Poltergeist: The Legacy Tanya MoreauEpisodes: "Lights Out!" & "Spirit Thief"
2000–02 Mysterious Ways Dr. Peggy FowlerMain cast [18]
2002 Judging Amy Atty. WestlandEpisode: "A Pretty Good Day"
2003–04 Wild Card Sophie MasonMain cast: season 1
2007 That's So Raven Lynn ThomasEpisode: "The Way They Were"
2016 Better Things Patty DonnerEpisode: "Period" & "Only Women Bleed"
2018–19 9-1-1 Stacey MullinsEpisode: "Hen Begins" & "Fallout"
2019My Sister Is So GayParkerEpisode: "X Boyfriends" & "I Love You Nut-Nut"
2021 Impeachment: American Crime Story Betty Currie Recurring cast
Saturday Morning All Star Hits! Sheena MurphyRecurring cast
2022 Interview with the Vampire Florence de Pointe du LacRecurring cast (4 episodes)

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References

  1. 1 2 "Rae Dawn Chong | Biography, Movie Highlights and Photos". AllMovie.
  2. ↑ "Newsweek". Newsweek, Incorporated. February 8, 1972 – via Google Books.
  3. ↑ "Growing Up a Chong : AsianWeek". June 9, 2010. Archived from the original on 2010-06-09.
  4. ↑ "Rae Dawn Chong in the Hot Seat". Rolling Stone . Retrieved 2024-01-16.
  5. ↑ Pratt, Paul E. "Growing Up a Chong" Archived 2010-06-09 at the Wayback Machine , AsianWeek, 18 November 2005.
  6. ↑ Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television official website Archived 2010-04-14 at the Wayback Machine , last accessed October 22, 2007
  7. ↑ Spitz, Marc (2011). Jagger: Rebel, Rock Star, Rambler, Rogue. Gotham Books. ISBN   9781101552131.
  8. ↑ Collis, Clark (July 11, 2014). "How Chris Pratt Went from Zero to Hero". Entertainment Weekly . pp. 24–31. Archived from the original on February 2, 2015. Retrieved February 2, 2015.
  9. ↑ "Chris Pratt: Biography". TVGuide.com. Archived from the original on October 18, 2014. Retrieved August 17, 2012.
  10. ↑ Hulten, Kevin (August 29, 2007). "Lake's Chris Pratt found success in Hollywood, and now he plans on bringing it home". Lake Stevens Journal. Archived from the original on January 26, 2014. Retrieved August 25, 2012.
  11. ↑ "The women of 'Impeachment' explained: Betty Currie, omnipresent Clinton aide". Los Angeles Times. November 10, 2021.
  12. ↑ "Meet the cast of Impeachment: American Crime Story and their real-life counterparts". Radio Times.
  13. ↑ Benardello, Karen (2021-12-13). "Women Film Critics Circle Honors Passing and The Power of the Dog Amongst 2021's Best Movies". Shockya.com. Retrieved 2021-12-18.
  14. ↑ "The Sleeping Negro". Rotten Tomatoes .
  15. ↑ Franich, Darren (September 22, 2022). "A century of subtext comes out of the coffin in AMC's Interview with the Vampire". Entertainment Weekly . Retrieved November 2, 2022.
  16. ↑ "New drink, named it after Chong daughter".
  17. ↑ Hanson, Mark (2021-11-30). "Review: The Sleeping Negro Headily Wrestles with the Roots of Black Hopelessness". Slant Magazine. Retrieved 2021-12-18.
  18. ↑ "VisionTV". www.visiontv.ca. Archived from the original on September 26, 2009.
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