Teresa Victoria Carpio (born 5 April 1981) is an American actress and singer. She is best known for her breakthrough role as Prudence in the film ''Across the Universe'' (2007), in which she sang

the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

song "

I Want to Hold Your Hand "I Want to Hold Your Hand" is a song by the English rock music, rock band the Beatles, written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney. Recorded on 17 October 1963 and released on 29 November 1963 in the United Kingdom, it was the first Beatles recor ...

". She gained further recognition for playing Valerie in ''Limitless'' (2011) and Shelby Prince in the Lifetime television series ''The Client List'' (2013). She is also known for her starring roles in theatre, including

Arachne Arachne (; from , cognate with Latin ) is the protagonist of a tale in classical mythology known primarily from the version told by the Roman poet Ovid (43 BCE–17 CE). In Book Six of his epic poem ''Metamorphoses'', Ovid recounts how ...

in the original

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street ** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...

production of '' Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark'' (2011) and

Eurydice Eurydice (; Ancient Greek: Εὐρυδίκη 'wide justice', classical pronunciation: ) was a character in Greek mythology and the wife of Orpheus, whom Orpheus tried to bring back from the dead with his enchanting music. Etymology Several ...

in the

Citadel Theatre The Citadel Theatre is the major venue for theatre arts in the city of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, located in the city's downtown core on Churchill Square. It is the third largest regional theatre in Canada. History It began in a former Salvati ...

production of ''Hadestown'' (2017).

Early life

Teresa Victoria Carpio was born in April 1981 in

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Oklahoma, most populous city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat ...

. She is the daughter of

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

singer

Teresa Carpio Teresa Carpio (born 30 September 1956) is a Hong Kong English- and Cantonese-language pop singer, actress, and singing teacher. Carpio was popular in Hong Kong during the 1970s and 1980s. She is the paternal cousin of actress and singer Rita C ...

, with whom she has performed on stage as a guest singer, including at the

Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra The Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra () is a symphony orchestra based in Hong Kong. Colloquially referred to as the HKPO or HKPhil (), the orchestra was first established in 1947 as an amateur orchestra under the name Sino-British Orchestra (), ...

. Her father was Peter Mui, a fashion designer who founded YellowMan, a successful tattoo clothing brand, and co-founded Tungtex Holdings Co., a Hong Kong-based garment maker. Carpio spent much of her childhood at an international school in Hong Kong and then, at the age of 11, moved to

Springfield, Missouri Springfield is the List of cities in Missouri, third most populous city in the U.S. state of Missouri and the county seat of Greene County, Missouri, Greene County. The city's population was 169,176 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 censu ...

. When she was 14, Carpio moved to New York. Carpio initially was an ice skater and planned on pursuing that as a career to become an Olympic ice skater but she was injured and realized as a teenager that she was not good enough. Carpio studied jazz vocals for two years at

The New School The New School is a Private university, private research university in New York City. It was founded in 1919 as The New School for Social Research with an original mission dedicated to academic freedom and intellectual inquiry and a home for p ...

Career

After realizing that she could no longer pursue ice skating, Carpio began her career as a dancer. She danced with

NSYNC NSYNC ( ; also stylized as *NSYNC or N Sync) was an American vocal group and pop boy band formed by Chris Kirkpatrick in Orlando, Florida, in 1995 and launched in Germany by BMG Ariola Munich. The group consists of Kirkpatrick, JC Chasez, ...

at the

2000 MTV Video Music Awards The 2000 MTV Video Music Awards (stylized as MTV Video_Music_Awards vma.00) aired live on September 7, 2000, honoring the best music videos from June 12, 1999, to June 9, 2000. The show was hosted by Marlon and Shawn Wayans at Radio City Music Ha ...

, performed on ''

Last Call with Carson Daly ''Last Call with Carson Daly'' is an American late-night television series that was broadcast by NBC from 2002 to 2019. Hosted by former MTV personality Carson Daly, the series was initially formatted as a late-night talk show in line with '' ...

'', and danced in music videos for

Bruce Springsteen Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American Rock music, rock singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Nicknamed "the Boss", Springsteen has released 21 studio albums spanning six decades; most of his albums feature th ...

and

Whitney Houston Whitney Elizabeth Houston (August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012) was an American singer, actress, film producer, model, and philanthropist. Commonly referred to as "Honorific nicknames in popular music, the Voice", she is List of awards and no ...

. In 2001, Carpio was a contestant on

The WB The WB Television Network (shortened to The WB, stylized as "THE WB", and nicknamed the "Frog Network" and/or "The Frog" for its former mascot Michigan J. Frog) was an American television network that ran from 1995 to 2006. It launched on ter ...

television show ''

Popstars ''Popstars'' is an international reality television franchise aimed to find new singing talent. Serving as a precursor to the ''Idol'' franchise, '' Popstars'' first began in New Zealand in 1999 when producer Jonathan Dowling formed the girl gr ...

,'' alongside

Nicole Scherzinger Nicole Prascovia Elikolani Scherzinger ( ; ; born June 29, 1978) is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, actress, and television personality. She was a member of the girl group and dance ensemble the Pussycat Dolls between 2003 and 2010. With ...

, but did not win. She made her television debut portraying a laundry lady in ''

Law & Order ''Law & Order'' is an American police procedural and legal drama television series created by Dick Wolf and produced by Wolf Entertainment and Universal Television, launching the ''Law & Order'' franchise. ''Law & Order'' aired its entire ...

'' (2002) and later appeared in one episode of '' The Jury'' (2004). Carpio portrayed Gail in '' She Hate Me'' (2004) and had her first major role as Angela Tsing in ''

Sucker Free City ''Sucker Free City'' is a 2004 American crime drama television film directed by Spike Lee and written by Alex Tse. The film examines white, black, and Chinese characters in San Francisco and the conflicts they encounter with each other. The film ...

'' (2004), both films directed by

Spike Lee Shelton Jackson "Spike" Lee (born March 20, 1957) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, actor, and author. His work has continually explored race relations, issues within the black community, the role of media in contemporary ...

. Carpio made her

debut in '' Rent'' as Alexi Darling and others, from December 2006 until April 2007. Carpio decided to move to

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

to pursue her acting career. Carpio's breakthrough came when she played Prudence, a gay cheerleader, in the film ''

Across the Universe "Across the Universe" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles. It was written by John Lennon and credited to Lennon–McCartney. The song first appeared on the 1969 various artists' charity compilation album ''No One's Gonna Change Our W ...

'' (2007), directed by

Julie Taymor Julie Taymor (born December 15, 1952) is an American director and writer of theater, opera, and film. Her stage adaptation of ''The Lion King (musical), The Lion King'' debuted in 1997 and received eleven Tony Awards, Tony Award nominations, with ...

. She sang a rendition of

song "

". Carpio's father, Peter Mui, appeared in the film as an

extra Extra, Xtra, or The Extra may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Film * The Extra (1962 film), ''The Extra'' (1962 film), a Mexican film * The Extra (2005 film), ''The Extra'' (2005 film), an Australian film Literature * Extra (newspaper), ...

in the role of a prankster. From 2010 to 2011, she starred in the Broadway musical '' Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark'', directed by Julie Taymor, with whom Carpio had worked a few years earlier. Previews began on November 28, 2010, where she originally played one of the Greek narrators, Miss Arrow. Due to the departure of original

actress Natalie Mendoza, Carpio officially replaced her in the role on January 4, 2011, after covering multiple times during Mendoza's absence. During revisions, Carpio's role was decreased extensively as the creative team and many critics believed the villainess was not working for the show. Carpio suffered a neck injury during a performance in March 2011. She made a full recovery and returned to the show over two weeks later. During this time Carpio made her major film debut in ''Limitless'' (2011), alongside

Bradley Cooper Bradley Charles Cooper (born January 5, 1975) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is the recipient of various accolades, including a British Academy Film Award and three Grammy Awards. In addition, he has been nominated for twelve Acade ...

, which premiered in March of that year. After delays, ''Spider-Man'' officially opened on June 14, 2011. Carpio departed the show on November 13, 2011. Carpio has continued making various acting appearances on television, in films, and on stage. Most notably, Carpio had a recurring role as Shelby Prince in the Lifetime series ''The Client List'' (2013), portrayed Satomi in ''The Scribbler'' (2014), and starred as

alongside

Reeve Carney Reeve Jefferson Carney (born April 18, 1983) is an American actor, musician, singer, and songwriter. He is best known for originating the role of Orpheus in the original Broadway cast of the Tony Award–winning musical '' Hadestown''. He also ...

in ''

Hadestown ''Hadestown'' is a musical with music, lyrics, and a book by Anaïs Mitchell. It tells a version of the ancient Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice. Eurydice, a young girl looking for something to eat, goes to work in a hellish industrial vers ...

'' (2017) at the

. She then portrayed Sophie, a deaf woman, in the short film ''Noise'' (2018) which debuted in October 2018 at the

Austin Film Festival Austin Film Festival (AFF), founded in 1994, is an organization in Austin, Texas, that focuses on writers' creative contributions to film. Initially, AFF was called the Austin Heart of Film Screenwriters Conference and functioned to launch the c ...

and was released online on September 13, 2019, on Omeleto. In 2019, Carpio performed in the ensemble of ''Little Shop of Horrors'' at the

Pasadena Playhouse Pasadena Playhouse is a Tony Award-winning historic performing arts venue located 39 S. El Molino Avenue in Pasadena, California. The 686-seat auditorium produces a variety of cultural and artistic events, professional shows, and community engag ...

Personal life

Carpio is married to Cato Herring, a DJ. They have two children together, one daughter and one son, and live in California.

Filmography

Film

Television

Theatre

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Carpio, Teresa Victoria 1981 births 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses American people of Hong Kong descent American women singers American film actresses American stage actresses American musicians of Chinese descent American musicians of Filipino descent American television actresses The New School alumni Living people American female dancers Singers from Oklahoma Singers from New York City Singers from Missouri Hong Kong singers English-language singers from Hong Kong Hong Kong child singers American actresses of Chinese descent Musicians from Oklahoma City American musical theatre actresses Actresses from Oklahoma City