Tia Carrere Says She is 'So Proud' of Daughter Heading to College in Fall: 'I Never Went'

The ‘Wayne’s World’ star shared 18-year-old Bianca with her ex-husband Simon Wakelin

Tia Carrere is preparing for the empty nest life.

The Wayne’s World The star’s daughter, Bianca, is going to university next year, so in the meantime, she is planning a relaxed holiday at home.

“I want to be home for Christmas and New Year. Just stay healthy and go out in the ocean and just enjoy yourself,” Carrere, 56, told PEOPLE exclusively at the 21st Annual Unforgettable Asian and Pacific Islander Awards Gala on Saturday in Los Angeles. “My daughter is going to college next year, so I just want to be at home,” she added.

As Carrere prepares for her daughter — who she shares with ex-husband Simon Wakelin — to leave next year, she says she is “so proud.”

“I’ve never been to college, so I’m excited for her,” she says.

‘Wayne’s World’ star Tia Carrera celebrates her 56th birthday with stylish swimsuit photos

While she wants to enjoy being at home with Bianca as much as she can, Carrere says they’re “both ready for the next step” as she gushes about her 18-year-old.

“I’m really grateful that I think that, somehow, I had a hand in creating a child who doesn’t feel like he has to fit in with everyone else, doesn’t feel like he has to wear the same clothes, not the same thing. She’s a real person and I think that’s because she grew up in Topanga.”

He says Bianca is “kind of a hippie kid” who “likes to go to Goodwill” and likes to do her own thing.

“It’s good not to rule that world. I’m really proud of her.”

Bianca Wakelin and Tia Carrere at the 2022 Asian Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony.

Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty

Celebrity kids going to college in 2022 and 2023

Carrere also teased her “brand new character” in the upcoming live action Lilo & Stitch a film that was first announced in 2018.

The new part “came out of nowhere,” says the Filipina-American actress and singer, who voiced the character Nana in the original film and TV show.

“It is obvious that I will not play the same character as in the first one, which was a 16-year-old girl. So they did a lot of casting, they got a new Lilo, a new Nani — which is the role I played — and I’m playing a completely new character in this one, so it’s a surprise.”

Tia Carrere at an unforgettable gala dinner held at the Beverly Hilton on December 16, 2023.

Elyse Jankowski/Variety via Getty

The True lies star added that it’s “very exciting” to return to Lilo & Stitch of the world, as she said, the three months she spent this year in her native Hawaii to shoot the film “were not bad”.

“I went diving, I surfed, I paddled. I ate it.”

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About the role and the new iteration of the beloved story, she said it was the most important to her because of how connected it is to her own identity.

“I’m so happy to represent Hawaii, because that’s where I was born and raised and that’s where my heart is. So it gives me immense pleasure to share it with everyone.”

Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education