Checking in on one ‘excellent’ lady
Tia Carrere
All eyes were on Tia Carrere after she starred in Wayne’s World 1 & 2, but it was talent that made her a star. She’s acted in movies and TV (including Dancing With the Stars and Celebrity Apprentice), and is also a singer (she won two Grammy Awards for her Hawaiian language albums). Now she’s joined Dancing With the Stars: Live in Las Vegas at Tropicana. Kiko Miyasato sat down with her to catch up on what’s up in Tia’s world.
Q: Tell us how Dancing With the Stars: Live in Las Vegas has been going.
A: Considering that I’ve done the TV show Dancing with the Stars, you would think it would be the same thing but it’s very different because you’re doing the same dances every night for months. … It’s been really fun. I’m trying to perfect my dancing over the course of the run.
Q: Did you ever think you would be starring in a Las Vegas show?
A: I have always thought that I would like to do a show in Vegas. I didn’t know it was going to be Dancing With the Stars! But I’m sort of taking notes, thinking about doing my own Vegas show. … Because of my singing, anecdotes from my acting career over the past however-many decades, I just thought it would be fun to put together a show about the adventures that I’ve been on.
Q: Was the competition fiercer on Celebrity Apprentice or Dancing with the Stars?
A: Celebrity Apprentice, hands down! The psychological subterfuge is mind-boggling. How you can work 30 years on a career making choices, deciding what you want to do, how you want to portray yourself in the press … and in two weeks on Celebrity Apprentice it can all come tumbling down and make you look like an unstable pit of Jell-O. … I meditated and did yoga just to keep myself straight on that show.
Q: So it was stressful?
A: Yes. It’s people taking personal pot shots and trying to take you down mentally. Let’s put it this way: I come from the part of the business that you work hard, you sing, you dance, you act, you’re good at it, that’s why you’re famous. … There are other people that do those shows that create a career out of bad behavior and the only reason why they’re famous is because they know how to be nasty on TV.
Q: Since you starred in Wayne’s World, how have you handled being considered a sex symbol?
A: It’s funny, it’s been a double-edged sword, being a sex symbol or icon. There is a shelf life and it doesn’t last forever. So you know, don’t take it seriously, don’t define your self-worth based on what’s on the outside, cultivate what’s on the inside, because it’s fun for right now but it does go away.
