The only child of first-generation Chinese-Canadian parents, Tammy was
born in Toronto, but moved to the west coast in 1987 when her father
André, a life insurance salesman, was transfered to Vancouver. Soon
afterwards, her mother Vivien, an entreprenuer, started a successful
children's learning centre for math and reading, and Tammy spent her
formative years at an all-girls' school thinking she might one day
become a ballerina or an accountant.
Certainly, nobody would have suspected that Tammy would end up
becoming an actress, especially since she sabotaged her very first
audition at the age of three, when her mother, at the urging of
friends, submitted Tammy for a Libby Beans commercial. Not ready for
this type of career, Tammy, her Baby Care Bare clutched firmly in her
tiny arms, politely but firmly reminded the panel of clients who were
pleading with her to take just one bite, "I already told you, I hate
beans." However, during high school, her aspirations shifted from
professional ballet to acting, and she soon found herself making the
move to New York City, where she had been accepted into the NYU acting
program.
Tammy's second chance came when she landed the role of Suki in Grand
Star (Space/A-Channel), the teen-aged, acrobatic cabaret star who
helps the hero Cal in his quest to find the truth. She also plays the
villainess Magda in the popular YTV show Zixx: Level Three, and will
be seen on the big screen with Al Pacino in 88 Minutes. Other
television credits include About a Girl, Intelligence, Battlestar
Galactica, The L Word, Stargate: Atlantis, and Touching Evil. Her
favourite theatre credits include a touring production of The Laramie
Project (Wild Root Arts, Vermont); the Vagina Monologues (Camden
People's Theatre, London); and the roles of Lady Nijo in Top Girls and
Edward in Cloud Nine, both with the Stella Adler Company, NYC.
Tammy dedicates this site to her mother, for all her unconditional
love, and hopes that her father, who lost his battle with cancer in
1999, is proud of her, wherever he may be.
TRIVIA:
- Attended the prestigious Tisch School of the Arts at New York
University, where she received most of her training at the Stella
Adler Conservatory.
Spent her semester abroad studying Shakespeare at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London. - Has a minor in Law and Society.
- While studying at the Stella Adler Conservatory, performed in a production of Cloud Nine with classmates Bryce Dallas Howard and Chris Carmack (The O.C.).
- Speaks French. Like most of the Grand Star actors, she shot the entire series in both English and French. The French version (La Compagnie des Glaces) will air on France 2.
