Hu was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, the daughter of Juanita, an engineering drafter for Honolulu, and Herbert Hu, a salesman and exotic bird feeder; the two divorced during Hu's childhood. She is of Hawaiian, Chinese, and English descent. She attended Maʻemaʻe Elementary School and Kamehameha Schools in Honolulu, Hawaiʻi.

Hu has held a lifelong interest in singing and dancing and has Read more...

Hu worked in Japan and Italy, the latter in which she became well-known as the star of a series of ads for Philadelphia brand cream cheese (she played a young Japanese college student named Kaori). Hu moved to Los Angeles and began her acting career in 1987 with a guest starring role as Mike Seaver's Hawaiian love interest on the sitcom Growing Pains. Hu followed this with appearances on TV series Read more...

Hu, a member of CAUSE USA, an organization which encourages Asian Americans to participate in the democratic process, was instrumental in creating the innovative PSA The Least Likely. This clip purports to be a promo for a typical fantasy-adventure movie, only to reveal its message at the end. It aired on MTV and other networks with appeal to young people and Asian Americans.

Hu graduated Read more...