Chuti Tiu
, ( Born May 16, 1970 and raised in
Milwaukee, Wisconsin) is an
American
actress and beauty queen.
In June 1987 Tiu was named the first non-Caucasian winner of the America's Junior Miss pageant; a few years later she was selected as
Miss Illinois 1994 and won a preliminary talent award at the
Miss America pageant for her classical piano performance.
Tiu studied at
Northwestern University where she earned a B.A. in Economics and Political Science. She later got a lead role in
Sally Field's directorial debut
Beautiful
a film based on the pageant experience. Tiu has had many supporting roles in independent features such as
The Specials with
Rob Lowe and
Thomas Hayden Church. Her numerous television work includes a series regular role in
Desire
, a recurring role in the suspense thriller
24
starring
Kiefer Sutherland, as well as guest/recurring appearances on such shows as
Dragnet
,
Charmed,
General Hospital and
Days of our Lives. Chuti will next be seen as Nurse Longino in the new CBS series
Miami Medical.
Tiu is very active in the community, giving her time and resources to charitable organizations such as Nourish the Children, Best Friends for Animals, the Avon Breast Cancer Walk, Orphanage Outreach, her local church, and the Thai Community Development Center.