As the world continues to share their love of ‘Star Wars: The Last Jedi’, we put the spotlight on one star who’s definitely been drawing a lot of attention to herself. Kelly Marie Tran is a new star in the franchise, and we are loving her.
Kelly Marie Tran at ‘Star Wars: The Last Jedi’ premiere
Born in San Diego, California, Kelly is 28-years-old and has been in the acting game since 2011 – though ‘Star Wars’ is her first major role. Of course, she has been overwhelmed by the attention she’s received since becoming involved in the franchise.
‘Everyone that loves this franchise loves it so much and I’ve felt overwhelming support from the beginning’, she said. ‘That means so much because no-one’s even seen me do anything yet.’
Kelly plays a mechanic named Rose Tico in the movie, who ultimately ends up going on an adventure with John Boyega’s character Finn. ‘She works in maintenance within the Resistance and she has a sister [who] is sort of the one who’s in the forefront of the action’, she explains. ‘She’s a gunner that fights alongside Poe. Rose is someone who works in the background.’
Watch the trailer for ‘Star Wars: The Last Jedi’ here:
Rose’s modest role turns into something much more vital than anyone could have realised in the end, much like her own life. As the daughter of Vietnamese refugee migrants who fled to California after the Vietnam War, her upbringing was a humble one. Her father worked at Burger Kind and her mother worked in a funeral home, which meant that Kelly had to work hard a yogurt shop while she was at Westview High School just to be able to afford head shots for her acting ambitions.
After graduating from UCLA with a communications degree, Kelly started auditioning for various roles and attended improv classes at Upright Citizens Brigade and The Second City. Her screen appearances include a number of CollegeHumor web videos, a few short films and a smattering of TV appearances including ‘About a Boy’, ‘Ladies Like Us’, ‘Incredible Crew’, ‘Comedy Bang! Bang!’ and ‘Gortimer Gibbon’s Life on Normal Street’.
Her only other feature-length movie role was in the Christopher Louie-directed Netflix drama ‘XOXO’ in 2016. Now she’s the first Asian woman to appear on the cover of Vanity Fair after her summer 2017 shoot with John Boyega and Oscar Isaac. How life can change in just a few months!
More: Watch the full interview with Kelly Marie Tran
Best of all, everyone’s talking about her. She recently secretly captured a group of strangers singing her praises at a pub in Leicester Square, almost reducing her to tears. Naturally, she went over and introduced herself and became their new best friend. Definitely our new favourite person.
