Rae Dawn Chong


Rae Dawn Chong is a Canadian actress. She made her big screen debut appearing in the 1978 musical drama film Stony Island, and in 1981 starred in the science fantasy film Quest for Fire, for which she received the Genie Award for Best Actress.
Chong later starred in films Beat Street, Choose Me, American Flyers, The Color Purple, Commando, Soul Man, The Principal, Tales from the Darkside, The Borrower, Time Runner, and Boulevard. She is the daughter of comedian and actor Tommy Chong.

Early life

Chong was born on February 28, 1961, in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, the first daughter of actor/comedian Tommy Chong. Her father is of Chinese and Scots-Irish descent and her mother, Maxine Sneed, was of Black Canadian descent. Her maternal uncle was drummer Floyd Sneed. Her younger sister Robbi Chong is a model and actress. They have three younger half-brothers and a half-sister by their father's second wife. In addition to Rae Dawn, two of her sisters and her adopted brother Marcus Chong have pursued acting careers.
Chong has said that her paternal grandfather left a poor village in China in the 1930s to live with an aunt in Vancouver, where Chinese immigrants were mostly sequestered in a small area due to racial discrimination, and that although he spoke Cantonese, he refused to teach it to his children or grandchildren. She said, "I think my grandfather had great racial shame, which was hard on us growing up.... We grew up desperate to know anything about our Chinese culture." Later in life, though, her grandfather "saw the error of his ways and embraced his heritage."

Career

After acting in a few television roles, Chong's second feature film was Quest for Fire, for which she won the Genie Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in 1983. Other notable roles have been in the films Choose Me, Beat Street, The Color Purple, and Commando. She appeared with her father in Cheech & Chong's The Corsican Brothers and Far Out Man. In 1985, Chong played the love interest in Mick Jagger's video "Just Another Night".
At 19 years old, Chris Pratt was waiting tables at the Bubba Gump Shrimp Company restaurant in Maui when he was scouted by Chong; she cast him in her directorial debut, the short horror film Cursed Part 3, which was filmed in Los Angeles in 2000.
On television, Chong starred opposite Adrian Pasdar in the science fiction drama series Mysterious Ways from 2000 to 2002. later she starred in the first season of Lifetime comedy-drama series Wild Card opposite Joely Fisher. The following years, she appeared in a number of independent movies. She returned to television appearing in two episodes of Better Things in 2016, and two episodes of 9-1-1. In 2021, she played Betty Currie in the FX series Impeachment: American Crime Story.
In 2021, Chong was honored with the "Invisible Woman Award" from the Women Film Critics Circle for "Supporting performance by a woman whose exceptional impact on the film dramatically, socially or historically, has been ignored" for her performance in the drama film The Sleeping Negro.
In 2022, Chong portrayed Florence de Pointe du Lac in the AMC series Interview with the Vampire.

Personal life

Chong married Owen Baylis, a stockbroker, and they had a son named Morgan. They divorced in 1982. In 1989, she married actor C. Thomas Howell, her co-star in the feature film Soul Man. They divorced in 1990. In 2011, Chong married Nathan Ulrich. They divorced in 2014.

Pop culture references

British-American rapper-producer MF DOOM recorded a song titled "Rae Dawn". It was released under the alias Viktor Vaughn, as a single from his third studio album Vaudeville Villain. The reference to Chong appears in the lyrics: "New drink, named it after Chong daughter".
Rapper Redman mentions Chong in his 1994 song "Winicumuhround".
Comedian Stephen Lynch also has a song about Chong—"R.D.C. "—as the 12th track on his 2000 debut album A Little Bit Special.
Rae Dawn Chong's name is repeated several times during the hidden track "Love Song" on Alice In Chains' "Sap" EP.

Filmography

Film

YearTitleRoleNotes
1978Stony IslandJanetta
1980Top of the HillRitaTV movie
1981Quest for FireIkaGenie Award for Best Actress
1984Beat StreetTracy Carlson
1984Choose MePearl Antoine
1984Fear CityLeila
1984Cheech & Chong's The Corsican BrothersThe Gypsy
1985City LimitsYogi
1985American FlyersSarah
1985CommandoCindy
1985Badge of the AssassinChristine HornTV movie
1985The Color PurpleSqueak
1985Running Out of LuckSlave Girl
1986Soul ManSarah Walker
1987The SqueezeRachel Dobs
1987The PrincipalHilary Orozco
1989Rude AwakeningMarlene
1990DenialJulie
1990Tales from the Darkside: The MovieCarola
1990Curiosity KillsJaneTV movie
1990AmazonPaola
1990Far Out ManHerself
1991Prison Stories: Women on the InsideRhondaTV movie
1991The BorrowerDiana Pierce
1991ChaindanceIlene Curtis
1992When the Party's OverM.J.
1993Time RunnerKaren Donaldson
1993Father & Son: Dangerous RelationsYvonneTV movie
1994BoulevardOla
1994BocaJ.J.
1994AmberwavesMisty
1995HideawayRose Orwetto
1995Power of AttorneyJoan ArmstrongVideo
1995The BreakJennifer Hudson
1995Crying FreemanDetective Forge
1996Mask of DeathCassandra Turner
1996StarlightArianna
1996Small TimeThe Woman
1996For HopeWoman at BarTV movie
1997AlibiD.A. Linda GarciaTV movie
1997HighballHerself
1997Goodbye AmericaDanzig
1998Valentine's DaySallyVideo
1999Cosas que olvidé recordarMary
2000Dangerous AttractionAnn Rich
2000The VisitFelicia
2005ConstellationJenita
Force of ImpactMadison Taylor
2006Max Havoc: Ring of FireSister Caroline
2006Deadly SkiesMadison TaylorTV movie
2010Cyrus: Mind of a Serial KillerVivian
2010Etta, Kit, and GraceEttaVideo Short
2011Jeff, Who Lives at HomeCarol
2012ShiverDetective Burdine
2012Pegasus vs. ChimeraMaydaTV movie
2013Mud LotusKimShort
2014Knock 'em DeadJenny Logan
2015Drizzle Of HopeMs. JohnsonShort
2017Five MinutesDeloresShort
2018RebornDory Ryder
2021The Sleeping NegroBlack WomanWomen Film Critics Circle Invisible Woman Award
2022We Are Gathered Here TodayMary Reed
TBAStreet Signs: Homeless But Not HopelessNarratorVoice
TBAThe RavenNurse Virginia

Television