Tamlyn Tomita

Tamlyn Tomita
Biographical information
Full name	Tamlyn Naomi Tomita
Born	January 27, 1966 Koza, USCAR (now Okinawa City, Japan)
First credit	The Karate Kid Part II (1986)
Further information
Link(s)	IMDb Instagram Twitter

Tamlyn Naomi Tomita is a Japanese-American actress. She plays Yukari in Netflix's live-action adaptation of Avatar: The Last Airbender.

Avatar: The Last Airbender (Netflix) credits

Yukari

• 102. "Warriors"

Selected other credits

Television

• Cobra Kai
• Star Trek: Picard
• The Man in the High Castle
• The Good Doctor
• Teen Wolf
• Berlin Station
• How to Get Away with Murder
• Days of Our Lives
• Law & Order: LA
• Stargate: Atlantis
• Santa Barbara

Filmography

• The Good Neighbor (2016)
• Tekken (2010)
• The Eye (2008)
• The Day After Tomorrow (2004)
• The Joy Luck Club (1993)
• Come See the Paradise (1990)
• The Karate Kid Part II (1986)

Biographical information

Personal life

Tamlyn Tomita was born on a military base in Okinawa, but grew up in Los Angeles. Her father was a Japanese-American soldier, and her mother was a half-Japanese, half-Filipino woman who emigrated to Okinawa. She graduated from Granada Hills High School, and studied history at UCLA. She planned to become a history teacher, but pursued acting after she was asked to audition for the role of Kumiko in The Karate Kid II.

Career

After The Karate Kid II, Tomita had major roles in a number of independent movies. Her biggest role was in the 1990 drama film Come See the Paradise. In 1993, she co-starred opposite Ming-Na Wen in the ensemble cast drama The Joy Luck Club and the next year she had a role in the 1994 independent film Picture Bride. In 1995 Tomita appeared alongside Antonio Banderas in the Robert Rodriguez-directed segment of the vignette anthology comedy Four Rooms.

From the 2000s onwards, Tomita has had roles in other independent films and co-starred in several major Hollywood productions, including playing Janet Tokada in The Day After Tomorrow. In 2005, she starred in the Brazilian drama film Gaijin 2: Love Me as I Am and also had a leading role in the independent film Robot Stories in 2003. She was also in Only the Brave about the Japanese American segregated fighting unit, the 442nd Regimental Combat Team of World War II, which included two other Karate Kid stars, Yuji Okumoto and Pat Morita.

In television, Tomita appeared as a character named Ming Li on the NBC daytime soap opera Santa Barbara from May to September 1988. In 1994, she guest-starred in the first episode of season 3 of Highlander: The Series. In 2008, she made her return to daytime soaps with a recurring role on ABC's General Hospital. In 2012, she had another recurring role on NBC's Days of Our Lives.

From 1996 to 1997, Tomita was a regular cast member in the short-lived UPN drama series, The Burning Zone as well as the pilot movie for Babylon 5. During her career she has guest starred on shows such as Seven Days; Quantum Leap; Living Single; Murder, She Wrote; Chicago Hope; Will & Grace; Nash Bridges; The Shield; Strong Medicine; Stargate SG-1; Stargate: Atlantis; The Mentalist; Private Practice; True Blood; Zoo; Tour of Duty; Criminal Minds; and many other dramas and comedies. She had longer term recurring roles on Crossing Jordan, JAG, 24, Eureka, Heroes, Law & Order: Los Angeles, Glee, Teen Wolf, Resurrection, How to Get Away with Murder, and Chasing Life.

In 2016, Tomita played a series regular role on the Epix drama series Berlin Station. From 2017 to 2019 she was a recurring character on the ABC medical drama The Good Doctor.

Tomita began a recurring role as the Vulcan/Romulan hybrid Commodore Oh on the CBS All Access web television series Star Trek: Picard in 2020.

In 2021, she reprised her 1980s role as Kumiko for two episodes in Season 3 of Cobra Kai, a television sequel to the Karate Kid films.