Jimmy Taenaka

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Jimmy T

Birth name	James Katsuyuki Taenaka
Born	November 27, 1964 (age 42) Fort Ord, California United States
Years active	1987-Present
Spouse(s)	Lim Li Li (2005-Present)
Notable roles	Lt. Kenji Kinoshita in A War Diary

James Katsuyuki Taenaka (Simplified Chinese 妙中克之; born November 27, 1964 in Fort Ord, California) better known as Jimmy T is a Japanese American actor. Raised in Monterey, California, he attended Monterey High School in Monterey, California.

Parents are from Osaka, Japan and has a brother, Etienne who is a celebrity stylist for Alyssa Milano, Rinko Kikuchi, Gwen Stefani and Ian McKellen at Vidal Sassoon Salon in Beverly Hills, California.

He lost his mother to cancer in 2007. Better known as "Yasuko" in the community, she owned and operated Bijin Hair Studio, a premier hair salon in Monterey, California.

A familiar face on television and film both in Asia and the United States.

In Singapore, he starred in the epic World War II television drama, A War Diary - Japanese Occupation of Singapore, where he also received a nomination at the Asian Television Awards 2002 for Best Drama Performance by an Actor.

He is also a spokesperson for L'Oreal Paris throughout Asia as of December 2006.

1 Profile
2 Trivia
3 Career
4 External links

[edit] Profile

Name: Jimmy T / Jimmy Taenaka / James Katsuyuki Taenaka
Height: 1.83m (6'0")
Management: Fly Entertainment Pte Ltd. (Singapore)

[edit] Trivia

Former United States Jr. Judo Champion

California State place winner - Greco-Roman wrestling 132 pound division

United States Jr. National competitor - Greco-Roman wrestling

Coached Chuck Liddell - "The Iceman" (UFC Light Heavyweight Champion) on the wrestling team while he attended San Marcos High in Santa Barbara, California at the 178 pound division

Coached the wrestling team at University High School (Los Angeles) in West Los Angeles, California.

Nicknamed “The Animal” for racking up the most penalty minutes for fighting in the Southern California Ice Hockey Association – quote… “My duty was to protect my teammates from all the unnecessary goons”