Tina Huang

Last updated
Tina Huang
Born (1981-10-28) October 28, 1981 (age 43)
Dallas, Texas, United States
Alma mater Tisch School of the Arts
Occupation(s)Stage and television actress
Years active2007–present
Spouse
Mickey Pentecost
​
(m. 2005)​
[1]
Website www.tinahuang.com

Tina Huang (born October 28, 1981) [1] is an American stage and television actress of Taiwanese descent known for her recurring roles in Rizzoli & Isles and for her semi-regular role as Melinda Trask on the NBC soap Days of Our Lives .

Contents

Life and career

Early life

Huang's parents immigrated to New York City where her two older brothers were born. Then the family moved to Dallas, Texas, [2] [3] where she was born and lived with her mother, brothers and grandfather. Her father went back to New York because he couldn't find work in Dallas at the time. When she turned five, the family moved back to New York. For her, it was a cultural shock moving from the countryside to NYC, and she "felt like I was really intellectually challenged. How lucky was I that I got to go to the Guggenheim or the Metropolitan Museum of Art whenever I wanted?" [2] Huang was raised in Chinatown and in the Lower East Side in New York City. [4] [5]

Being a first generation Taiwanese-American, she is fluent in Mandarin Chinese, and used her language skills to host an episode of the YouTube travel show Resident in Shanghai, although she hesitated to return to her "motherland" after being born and raised in America: "It dawned on me that in Shanghai, I was a foreigner. Maybe that's part of the fear I had coming to Shanghai, to realize I wasn't Chinese". [6]

Education and theatre

Huang studied theatre at LaGuardia High School of Performing Arts and graduated from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts, [7] She then completed Meisner technique training at The Baron Brown Studios in Santa Monica, California, [8] where she moved in 2003. Huang's practical experiences include travelling for a 14-day cultural exchange with students at the University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa, studying for a semester in Florence, Italy, and performing in an off-Broadway musical called Kaspar Hauser , which was created and directed by Liz Swados. [7] Her stage credits include the award-winning production of Amy Tan's Immortal Heart that toured in the USA and in France in 2010, [4] and the 2012 production of Fairy Tale Theatre: 18 & Over.

Fairy Tale Theatre: 18 & Over garnered positive reviews. [4] [9] The sketch comedy show was created by J. Michael Feldman, based on a collection of "original fairy tales with morals and lessons for adults, such as 'The Tale of the Bipolar Bear' and the "'Co-dependent Eskimo'". The six members of the cast alternate between two shows with a different set of tales. They use hand puppets, camp costumes and a few colourful props, [10] and the fairy tales are told with a "mix of live actors in animal costumes and puppets". The show was played for the past five years at theatres in the Los Angeles area, and was presented at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in August 2015. [11] [12] [13]

Huang is a founding member of the Ammunition Theater Company in Los Angeles, [8] and she is its present co-artistic director. [12] [14]

Television and film

Tina Huang first appeared in the television series The Young and the Restless in 2007, and then after in numerous television series and films, among them General Hospital (2007-2014), Hollywood Heights (53 episodes), Switched at Birth , Law & Order: LA and Days of Our Lives in recurring roles. She also appeared in Brothers & Sisters , Castle , Criminal Minds , House M.D. and The Office , and in the 2011 comedy film Larry Crowne . Huang's further film credits include Maximum Ride and My Dead Boyfriend in 2016.

Her probably best known role was the recurring character Susie Chang, the senior criminalist of the Boston Police Department's crime laboratory and the assistant of Dr. Maura Isles, [8] [6] [15] in the US crime-series Rizzoli & Isles from 2011 to July 2015. [16] [17] Her 2015 film and television projects included the short film Guiltless, [18] the comedy My Dead Boyfriend alongside Heather Graham, [19] and NBC's serial Night Shift. [13] [20] Besides her theatrical career, in 2016 Huang appeared in the US television series Shameless , Powerhouse and I Own You, as well as Catching the Break, Scandal and The Bold and the Beautiful (6 episodes) in 2017.

Personal life

Tina Huang's mother was diagnosed with early onset atypical Parkinson's disease. Searching for advice and information, she got in contact with the National Parkinson's Foundation and The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research. [7] She also supports the Lower Eastside Girls Club of New York, (LESGC) which provides community-based holistic programs and services for girls and young women. [21] As co-director of the Ammunition Theatre Company, Huang supports the company's "mission to reflect the diverse and evolving identity of America and to engage with the community around us." [7]

Huang married Mickey Pentecost on June 18, 2005. [1]

Filmography

YearTitleRoleNotes
2007 The Young and the Restless Prison GuardTV series (1 episode)
2008 Pig Hunt Brooks
2008The Highs & Lows of Milo BrownShort film
2008 Chuck Maureen MitsubishiTV series (1 episode)
2009The ManMarcy Haggle
2009La missionDr. Chang (uncredited)
2009 Numb3rs Ni-ShuTV series (1 episode)
2009 Dough Boys Zena
2009DyspareuniaWomanShort film
2008–2009 Days of Our Lives Josie JordanTV series (2 episodes)
2009TenderloinSkyler
2010 House M.D. Public DefenderTV series (1 episode)
2010 The Office On-Air ReporterTV series (2 episodes)
2010 CSI: NY ReporterTV series (1 episode)
2010 Criminal Minds ReporterTV series (1 episode)
2010 Castle Photo TechTV series (1 episode)
2010 The Whole Truth ManicuristTV series (1 episode)
2010 1 vs. 100 Stand InTV series (unknown episodes)
2011 Brothers & Sisters ER DoctorTV series (1 episode)
2011DriveWaitress
2011 Larry Crowne Team Leader #2
2011Revenge of the NerdsNerd #3Short film
2010–2011 Law & Order: LA Tech Stacey MarisTV series (3 episodes)
2011–2012 Switched at Birth Tina ChoiTV series (2 episodes)
2012 90210 Officer #1TV series (1 episode)
2012MermatesMichelleTV series (1 episode)
2012Emerald AcresMingTV film
2012 Hollywood Heights Lily ParkTV series (53 episodes)
2012 Childrens Hospital Tourist MomTV series (1 episode)
2012SuperFansTracyShort film
2013 Kroll Show Declutter SpecialistTV series (1 episode)
2013CampCounselor
2007–2014 General Hospital Dr. Linda ChuTV series (10 episodes)
2014 Perfect on Paper LisaTV film
2014 CSI: Crime Scene Investigation I.A. Detective Karen ParkTV series (1 episode)
2015Nerd CourtAnti-RikerTV series (1 episode)
2011–2016 Rizzoli & Isles Susie ChangTV series (31 episodes)
2015–2016 The Night Shift JanetTV series (2 episodes)
2016 Powerhouse Susan McMannTV series (1 episode)
2016 Shameless YvonneTV series (1 episode)
2016 Maximum Ride Dr. Rosen
2016 My Dead Boyfriend Stripper Mimi
2017XinElaineShort film
2017 Scandal Madeline StewartTV series (1 episode)
2017Catching the BreakKim ChanTV series (1 episode)
2017 The Bold and the Beautiful Dr. CampbellTV series (6 episodes)
2018 Arrow Kimberly HillTV series (6 episodes)
2018A Night to RegretDetective MoritaTV film
2020–present Days of Our Lives Melinda TraskRecurring Role
2020 Grey's Anatomy RoxanneEpisode:"A Hard Pill to Swallow"
2021 Star Wars: The Bad Batch ES-02 (voice)TV series (3 episodes)
2023 NCIS Captain BoggsEpisode:"Butterfly Effect

Theatre

References

  1. 1 2 3 Di Lauro, Janet. "trask master". Soap Opera Digest. January 31, 2022, vol. 47, no. 4, pp. 30-33
  2. 1 2 Ilana Rapp (2015-07-13). "Actress Tina Huang of Rizzoli & Isles Had No Idea About the Show's Following -- Part I". The Huffington Post . Retrieved 2015-07-15.
  3. ↑ "Rizzoli and Isles: Tina Huang Interviewed". tvgrapevine.com. 2015-06-15. Retrieved 2015-07-05.
  4. 1 2 3 "Bio & Photos". tinahuang.com. Retrieved 2015-05-22.
  5. ↑ Emily Morgan (2015-05-22). "A little cup of Tina". hydrogen-mag.com. Retrieved 2016-02-04.
  6. 1 2 Emily Morgan (2014-07-22). "Tina Huang: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know". heavy.com. Retrieved 2015-05-22.
  7. 1 2 3 4 Ilana Rapp (2015-07-13). "Actress Tina Huang of TNT's Rizzoli & Isles Loves Orphan Black! -- Part II". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 2015-07-15.
  8. 1 2 3 4 Stacy Jenel Smith (9 June 2015). "Tina Huang, the Actress Behind 'Rizzoli & Isles' Kookie Susie Chang". creators.com. Retrieved 2015-06-12.
  9. 1 2 "Theatre Reviews: Fairy Tale Theatre: 18 & Over". Los Angeles Times . 2012-01-26. Retrieved 2015-05-22.
  10. ↑ Matt Rudkin (2015-08-14). "Fairy Tale Theatre: 18 & Over". totaltheatre.org.uk. Retrieved 2015-08-17.
  11. ↑ "5 Things To Do To Prepare for The Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2015 by Tina Huang". 5thingstodotoday.com. 2015-07-31. Retrieved 2015-08-08.
  12. 1 2 3 4 "Tina Huang". ammunitiontheatre.com. Retrieved 2015-07-22.
  13. 1 2 Hendry, Steve (2015-08-19). "Rizzoli & Isles star Tina Huang opens up on being a workaholic and the joys of puppetry at the Edinburgh Fringe". The Daily Record. Retrieved 2015-08-20.
  14. ↑ "Tina Huang, aka Susie Chang from Rizzoli & Isles - AMA!". "Ask Me Anything" at reddit. 2015-06-30. Retrieved 2015-07-05.
  15. ↑ "Interview with Tina Huang of "Rizzoli & Isles" on TNT 6/2/15". tvmegasite.net. 2015-06-02. Retrieved 2015-07-05.
  16. ↑ "Rizzoli & Isles srcsusiechang tweet". 2015-07-14. Retrieved 2015-07-16.
  17. ↑ Snarker, Dorothy (2015-07-16). ""Rizzoli & Isles" Subtext Recap (6.05): Requiem for a Senior Criminalist". afterellen.com. Retrieved 2015-11-12.
  18. ↑ "Guiltless". glamourhub.com. Archived from the original on 2015-07-22. Retrieved 2015-07-22.
  19. ↑ Mandeville, Yana. "Tina Huang: Take The Shape You Feel Comfortable In". healthylivingmagazine.us. Archived from the original on July 22, 2015. Retrieved 2015-07-22.
  20. ↑ Micor, Michelle Rose (2015-07-21). "Exclusive Interview with Tina Huang". talknerdywithus.com. Retrieved 2015-07-22.
  21. ↑ "Lower Eastside Girls Club of New York (LESGC)". girlsclub.org. Retrieved 2015-07-19.
  22. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "Résumé". tinahuang.com. Retrieved 2015-07-19.
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