Nikkei Hapa celebrities?

vkm's picture
Submitted by vkm on Fri, 06/30/2006 - 15:49.

In Kip Fulbeck's interview, and in hearing him speak, he often refers to many Hapa celebrities. He also mentions that there are more people who identify themselves as Hapa who include some Japanese descent.

That got me wondering...how many Hapa of Nikkei descent (not necessarily just in the United States, but in Canada, Latin America, etc) could we come up with?

Here are some off of the top of my head...

musicians:
Mike Shinoda
Rachael Yamagata

actors/actresses:
Amy Hill
Dean Cain

athletes:
Apolo Anton Ono
Paul Kariya

other celebrities:
Sean Lennon

Can you add to the list? Are there any significant politicians?

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tdk's picture
Submitted by tdk on Sat, 07/01/2006 - 09:35.

Rex Walters is half-Japanese. He was a star basketball player at the University of Kansas and was a first round NBA draft pick in 1993 or 1994. I remember he played for the Nets and 76ers, maybe another team too.


Submitted by dmatsumoto on Mon, 07/03/2006 - 21:45.

The Today Show's Ann Curry -- her mom came from Japan after WWII.

Submitted by ckomai on Wed, 07/05/2006 - 20:08.

Dave Roberts, San Diego Padres
Pat Hurst (I think she is Japanese Canadian), professional golfer
Velina Hasu Houston, playwright
Johnny and Chad Morton, NFL
Dale Furutani, mystery writer
Atlee Hammaker, former All Star pitcher for the San Francisco Giants
Chaka Khan, singer

vkm's picture
Submitted by vkm on Thu, 07/06/2006 - 08:29.
Those are some good additions. I was wondering about Pat Hurst the other day when I saw her on TV. She looked at least part Japanese, so I was wondering.
The one that really surprised me was your inclusion of Chaka Khan. I had no idea she was part Asian. I tried to do a quick search on her being Hapa, but couldn't find anything that referenced it when I 'googled' her. How did you find out that she was Hapa?

Submitted by hapagirl5 on Mon, 08/07/2006 - 11:09.

i think Keanu Reaves is hapa...also Kristen Kruek

Submitted by NorCalHapaMama on Mon, 08/07/2006 - 11:43.

Kimora Lee is hapa. Her mother is half Japanese, half Korean and her father is AA.

Submitted by anaiwataki on Thu, 08/10/2006 - 14:25.

devin aoki, model and actress
norah jones, musician
nicole scherzinger, pussycat dolls

tdk's picture
Submitted by tdk on Thu, 08/10/2006 - 14:48.

That's interesting. I didn't know it. What is her blood?


Submitted by anaiwataki on Tue, 08/15/2006 - 14:32.

her father is indian, she was born as Geetali Norah Jones Shankar