Brenda Song

Brenda Song (born March 27, 1988 ) is an American actress. She is best known for starring in Wendy Wu: Homecoming Warrior which is currently the eighth highest viewed Disney Channel Original Movie, with over 5.7 million viewers on the night of its premiere. She and Shin Koyamada will star in the Wendu Wu sequel.

She also stars in the Disney Channel Original Series, The Suite Life of Zack & Cody as the not-so-intelligent heiress London Tipton, and has appeared in other Disney Channel original series and films. She won a Young Artist Award for her work in The Ultimate Christmas Present.

Personal Life
Brenda Song was born in Carmichael, California (a suburb of Sacramento) to a Hmong American father and a Thai American mother. Her father is a second-grade teacher and her mother is a homemaker. Her family immigrated to America from Laos in 1976. Song lives in Greater Los Angeles with her parents and her two younger brothers, Timmy (three years younger) and Nathan (eight years younger). Song holds a black belt in Tae Kwon Do and was named an All-American Scholar in ninth grade. Song started in show business as a child fashion model in San Francisco.

She graduated from high school as valedictorian with Kay Panabaker when she was 16 years old, and she received her Associate's degree at age 17.

She was voted one of Teen People's 25 hottest stars under 25. Song ranked ninth in Netscape's "Top 10 Pretty Petites in Entertainment". In December 2006, CosmoGIRL! and Popstar! Magazine named her The Queen of Disney, and the readers of Askmen.com named her "Actress of the Year".

Song currently resides in Los Angeles, California, and is managed by The Curtis Talent Management.Song is an avid L.A. Lakers fan.

Career
Song began acting with a Little Caesars commercial at age five.

Song's first film appearance was the 1995 short film Requiem, an AFI student film by actress Elizabeth Sung. Song was discovered at 7 years old to play a young version of "Fong," who is played as an adult in the film by Tamlyn Tomita.

Television
Song's early career was marked by numerous minor television roles in the late 1990s and early 2000s, including appearances on 7th Heaven, Once and Again, Popular, Judging Amy, and The Nightmare Room. She appeared in Bette with close friend Ashley Tisdale.

Her first major part was in Nickelodeon's 100 Deeds for Eddie McDowd as Sariffa Chung. Her 2002 appearance on The Bernie Mac Show led to a Young Artist Award nomination for the category "Best Performance in a Television Comedy Series, Guest Starring Young Actress".

Song guest appeared in Disney Channel shows like That's So Raven, and had a recurring role as Tia in the Disney Channel's Phil of the Future. She had minor roles in many American sitcoms, her most notable appearances were in Will and Grace, One Tree Hill and Strong Medicine.

In 2005, Song was cast in the role of the selfish heiress London Tipton on The Suite Life of Zack & Cody after auditioning for the roles of Maddie Fitzpatrick and London Tipton. As the series became popular, Song became a featured performer on the Disney Channel and performed a voice role in Disney's American Dragon: Jake Long series.

In 2006, Song had a voice-over role in Holidaze: The Christmas That Almost Didn't Happen, which also featured the voices of fellow Disney Channel stars Dylan and Cole Sprouse and Emily Osment.

She appeared in the Disney Channel Games 2006 as captain of the Blue Team, and in the second rendition of the Disney Channel Games as captain of the Red Team.

Song is currently hosting a new Disney Channel short series called "Pass the Plate", which is a multicultural series produced in ten countries in association with Disney Channel.

Film
Song's first role in a theatrical motion picture was with Santa with Muscles (1996), an independent film starring professional wrestler Hulk Hogan. Song appeared in Leave It to Beaver (1998) as Susan Acustis. Later in 1998, Song has a cameo appearance in the first sequel from the Blade Trilogy.

Song starred in the 2000 Disney movie The Ultimate Christmas Present, which won her a Young Artist Award for "Best Performance in a TV Movie Comedy, Supporting Young Actress". She co-starred in other Disney movies, including Get a Clue and Stuck in the Suburbs.

Her first major role in a feature film was in the family film Like Mike (2002), starring rapper Bow Wow. Song portrayed the character Reg Stevens; the film received positive reviews and was successful enough to spawn a sequel, in which Song did not participate. Afterwards, Song appeared in Get a Clue, alongside actress Lindsay Lohan.

In 2006, Song starred in the Disney Channel Original Movies Wendy Wu: Homecoming Warrior, which received 5.7 million viewers    making Wendy Wu: Homecoming Warrior the eighth highest viewed Disney Channel Original Movie. This was the first movie where Song does not play a sidekick character. According to Variety, Song and Shin Koyamada will star in Wendy Wu 2; shooting begins in early 2008.

Song has been mentioned in regard to two future projects: Disney's College Road Trip with Raven-Symoné and Martin Lawrence; and American Darlings, a feature film with Nicole Kidman and Jennifer Lopez. There is also a chance she may be in Disneys High School Musical 3 as her Suite life of Zack and Cody charectar London Tipton. She may or may not take the role.

Music
Song was part of the Disney Channel Group of Stars, a group of performers from several different Disney Channel television series, in a version of "A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes". The recording appeared on both the special edition Cinderella DVD and on the DisneyMania 4 CD. The album CD was released in April 2005 under the Walt Disney Records label and peaked at number 15 on the Billboard 200, and number 2 on the Top Kids Audio chart.

Producer Ian Scott has written and produced songs for her. Song appeared in the music video for "A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes" with the Disney Channel Circle of Stars. In 2007, she made a cameo appearance in Ashley Tisdale's music video for her debut single "He Said She Said".

Charity Work
In 2006,Song recieved an honorary award from the charity organisation "A World Of Change" for participating in the "A World Of Change" annual fashion show fundraiser to benefit Optimist Youth Homes & Family Services.Song also participated in The 10th Annual L.A. Cancer Challenge. In addition as part of the Disney Channel Games 2007,Song's team supported the Make-a-Wish Foundation.

Awards and nominations

 * 2001


 * Young Artist Award for "Best Performance in a TV Movie Comedy, Supporting Young Actress", for The Ultimate Christmas Present (Won).


 * 2003


 * Young Artist Award for "Best Performance in a Television Comedy Series, Guest Starring Young Actress", for The Bernie Mac Show (Nominated).


 * 2004
 * "Poptastic's rising star" award for Popstar! Magazine's 3rd Annual Poptastic Awards! (Won).


 * 2006


 * "Poptastic's Favourite TV actress" award for Popstar! Magazine's 5th Annual Poptastic Awards! (Won).
 * Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards UK: "Best TV Actress (Won)


 * 2007


 * "Poptastic's Favourite beauty" award for Popstar! Magazine's 6th Annual Poptastic Awards! (Nominated).
 * Emmy Awards: "Outstanding Children's Program - with Suite Life Of Zack and Cody Cast" (Nominated)