Cynthia Gouw Explained

Cynthia Gie-Kiok Gouw
Birth Date:May 30, 1963
Birth Place:Pasadena, California
Occupation:Journalist, actress, model
Years Active:1984–present

Cynthia Gouw (born May 30, 1963) is an American actress, model, and TV news anchor and host.

Biography

One of Gouw's great grandfathers moved from Xiamen, China to Indonesia, where he started a department store chain.[1] Her parents, both Chinese immigrants from Indonesia, went to university in the Netherlands and moved to California in 1961.[2] [1] In 1963, she became the first in her family to be born in the United States.

She grew up with her parents and brother in El Cerrito, California and graduated from the high school there in 1981.[3] [4] She then attended UCLA, where she majored in political science and international relations and minored in Asian American studies. She also edited Pacific Ties, UCLA's Asian-American newspaper[5] and interned for Willie Brown.[5] [6] In 1991, she graduated from UCLA School of Law.

Career

Modeling

She entered Miss LA Chinatown on an assignment for Pacific Ties in 1984 but ended up winning the pageant and moving on to win Miss Chinatown USA the following year.[7] [5] [8] [9] She won the Spokesmodel competition on Star Search in 1988, the first Asian American to do so.[1] [10]

In 2005, she placed third in the More Magazine and Wilhelmina 40+Model Search.[11] She has been a spokesperson for L'Oréal.

Acting

She appeared as Romulan Ambassador Caithlin Dar in the movie .[12] She also appeared in China Beach and Matlock.

Journalism and broadcasting

Throughout her career, Gouw has worked as a reporter and/or news anchor for KTVU, E!, Channel 26, Continental Cablevision,[9] KXTV,[13] KDFW,[14] CBS,[15] KERO-TV, KABC-TV,[16] and NPR San Francisco. She was previously a reporter for Pacific Time[17] and was KDFW's first Asian-American news anchor.[18]

In 1996, while working for Channel 10 in Sacramento, she won a Regional Emmy for her feature Is Your Kid in a Gang?.[19] [20] [21] She won another award the following year with photographer Mike Garza for their work on The Promised Land, a feature about illegal immigration.[22]

In 1998, she won a third Emmy for Hong Kong: The California Connection in the current affairs programming category.[23] She has also won 4 Society of Professional Journalism Awards and was honored with a "Best TV Talk Show Series in the State" nod from the Pennsylvania Association of Broadcasters.[24] In Philadelphia, Gouw hosted Asian Outlook, a half-hour talk show focused on the affairs of the Pacific Rim for WYBE.[25]

Gouw was named Member of the Year by the Chinese American Council and Honoree of the Year by the Asian Bar Association of Sacramento. She has also been recognized by the California State Legislature, and is on the Advisory Board of Stanford University's "Grade the News".[25]

Personal life

She has a daughter and two step-children.[26] Her husband Doug Alexander is a businessman and one of the original board members of Actua Corporation, and has been in senior management positions in a number of start-ups and Actua spinoffs.[27] [28] She briefly dated Prince Andrew in the 2000s.[29] [17]

Filmography

YearTitleRoleNotes
1986The Serpent WarriorsCult Extra
1988Freddy's NightmaresWaitressEpisode Saturday Night Special
1989Japanese hostess
1989Big Man on CampusReporter #3
1989MatlockTami FieldsEpisode The Model
1989Caithlin Dar
1989Lyn ChiangTelevision film
1991China BeachLorettaEpisode The Always Goodbye
1992The Heart of JusticeAirline clerkTelevision film
2019KQED NewsroomGuest AnchorEpisode October 25, 2019

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Cynthia Gouw. April 9, 2017. Canilang. Miranda. Bryn Mawr College. August 11, 2021.
  2. Web site: Women on the move. Behan. Tara. October 6, 2010. Main Line Today. August 13, 2021.
  3. Web site: Blog: My Mom was right. And how!. April 12, 2009. The Philadelphia Inquirer. August 13, 2021.
  4. News: El Cerrito High to graduate 243 seniors Tuesday night. The Berkeley Gazette. Berkeley, California. June 8, 1981. August 12, 2021. newspapers.com.
  5. Book: Yeh, Chiou-ling. [{{Google books|5bkwDwAAQBAJ|page=102|plainurl=yes}} Making an American Festival Chinese New Year in San Francisco's Chinatown]. 102.
  6. News: Wong. Ken. They're not alone. The San Francisco Examiner. San Francisco, California. January 2, 1985. August 13, 2021. newspapers.com.
  7. Wu . Judy Tzu-Chun . Judy Tzu-Chun Wu . 1997 . 'Loveliest Daughter of Our Ancient Cathay!': Representations of Ethnic and Gender Identity in the Miss Chinatown U.S.A. Beauty Pageant . Journal of Social History . 31 . 5–31 . 10.1353/jsh/31.1.5 . 3789855 . November 19, 2020 . 1.
  8. News: San Francisco. The Daily Spectrum. Saint George, Utah. February 14, 1984. August 12, 2021. newspapers.com.
  9. News: Former Miss Chinatown reigns on the air. The San Francisco Examiner. San Francisco, California. February 9, 1992. August 12, 2021. newspapers.com.
  10. News: 5:00. Detroit Free Press. Detroit, Michigan. June 25, 1989. August 13, 2021. newspapers.com.
  11. Web site: Contest Proves Beauty Is Ageless. Morales. Tatiana. July 28, 2005. CBS. August 13, 2021.
  12. News: 'Star Trek' . The Los Angeles Times . Los Angeles, California . June 9, 1989 . August 12, 2021 . newspapers.com.
  13. News: Tarrant. Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Fort Worth, Texas. March 31, 1993. August 13, 2021. newspapers.com.
  14. News: Vierria. Dan . Good morning, Sacramento. The Sacramento Bee. Sacramento, California. August 8, 1995. August 13, 2021. newspapers.com.
  15. Web site: A Look Back at 70 Years of KPIX Broadcasting. December 24, 2018. San Francisco. KPIX5 CBS SF BayArea. November 19, 2020.
  16. News: Smith. Steven Cole. Channel 4 hires weekend anchor. Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Fort Worth, Texas. January 7, 1993. August 13, 2021. newspapers.com.
  17. News: Prince romances Star Trek star. The Province. Vancouver, British Columbia. August 15, 2002. August 13, 2021. newspapers.com.
  18. News: Buzz. Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Fort Worth, Texas. January 7, 1993. August 13, 2021. newspapers.com.
  19. Web site: 25th Annual Northern California area Emmy Awards. May 11, 1996. Emmy San Francisco. August 13, 2021.
  20. News: DeHuff. Jenny. Power of diversity, and Gouw, in Philly. Philadelphia Daily News. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. October 7, 2015. August 13, 2021. newspapers.com.
  21. News: Vierria. Dan. Broadcasting. The Sacramento Bee. Sacramento, California. May 14, 1996. August 13, 2021. newspapers.com.
  22. News: Vierria. Dan. Broadcasting. The Sacramento Bee. Sacramento, California. May 24, 1997. August 13, 2021. newspapers.com.
  23. News: Vierria. Dan. Broadcasting. The Sacramento Bee. Sacramento, California. May 19, 1998. August 13, 2021. newspapers.com.
  24. Web site: Cynthia Gouw. Gilanyi. Amanda. January 4, 2010. The Philadelphia Inquirer. August 13, 2021.
  25. Web site: Cynthia Gouw, Artis Multitalenta dengan Segudang Prestasi. January 19, 2015. Trirahmi. Melly. Kabari News. August 13, 2021. id.
  26. Web site: Catching Up with 'Star Trek: Trek Vs Caithlin Dar, Cynthia Gouw. June 9, 2019. Star Trek. August 13, 2021.
  27. Web site: Doug Alexander. Amkor Technology. August 13, 2021.
  28. Web site: NFTE Philadelphia's Advocate, Cynthia Gouw: Actress, Journalist, Model and Community Activist. Mariotti. Steve. December 6, 2017. HuffPost. August 13, 2021.
  29. Web site: Hit singles. Schorr. Melissa. February 4, 2008. SanFran. August 13, 2021.