Marie Matiko

Marie Matiko (born September 12, 1970) is an American actress. Early life Marie Matiko is of Chinese, Japanese and Filipino descent, born in Los Angeles County and grew up in Huntington Beach. She grew up wanting to become a concert pianist. In high school, she auditioned for The Young Americans, where she was taught singing, dancing and performing in a conservatory setting. She was an environmental engineering major at UCLA. While still in college, she auditioned for the first national tour of Miss Saigon. She traded an ROTC scholarship for the role of "Gigi/Mimi" when she was picked by producer Cameron Mackintosh for the first national tour of Miss Saigon. While on the road, she continued taking academic classes at community colleges. She was inspired by The Joy Luck Club to pursue film acting and after leaving Miss Saigon, Matiko returned to Los Angeles to pursue it.