Person biography:
Carrie Ann Inaba was born and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii, USA. She is of Japanese, Chinese, and Irish ancestry, and is the youngest of two children. Carrie Ann grew up dancing the hula and other dance forms, and also played the piano and violin, sang in the choir, and played volleyball.
She attended Hanahaouli School and then Punahou School. At the age of 16, she and her closest friend Tina Horii won the Hawaii statewide competition, "Search for Talent", dancing a piece that they had choreographed together.
Carrie Ann was scouted to go to Japan to become a "Teen Idol" at the age of 16, but she waited until she finished high school and then left Hawaii to pursue her career as a musical artist in Japan. During her time in Japan, she released three singles with Pony Canyon Records while attending Sophia University, a Jesuit university in Tokyo.
After realizing that the Tokyo lifestyle wasn't for her at the time, Carrie Ann returned to the United States, relocating to California. She began to study choreography at the University of California, Irvine, and later studied with Alex Magno at the Debbie Reynolds Studios in North Hollywood, California.
Carrie Ann's early career included dancing for the Emmy Award-winning television show "In Living Color", performing with Madonna, and dancing with Ricky Martin, David Copperfield, and Chayanne. She also appeared on various television shows, including "The Creative Arts Emmys", "The SAG Awards", "The NAACP Awards", "The MTV Awards", "The Oprah Winfrey Show", and more.
When Carrie Ann began her acting career, her main interest was in action roles. She studied tae kwon do with Billy Blanks, the creator of Taebo, and continues her education in martial arts. She also practices hatha yoga.
Besides performing, Carrie Ann has many credits behind the scenes as well. She opened up her own digital video production company, EnterMediArts, Inc., which produced two of her documentaries and her short film. She is the president and CEO for the company and has directed and edited most of her own projects.
Carrie Ann has also modeled here and there and has been on the cover of European magazines and Japanese magazines. She was the national spokesmodel for an AT&T Asian Campaign and has been in many commercials throughout her career.
At the time of this writing, Carrie Ann is in the limelight once more for her participation in the hit show "Dancing with the Stars" and "Dance War: Bruno vs. Carrie Ann".
