Tia Carrere Says She is 'So Proud' of Daughter Heading to College in Fall: 'I Never Went'

Tia Carrere is preparing for life as an empty nester.

The Wayne’s World star’s daughter, Bianca, is heading off to college next year, so she’s planning on a relaxed holiday season at home in the meantime.

“I want to be home for Christmas and New Year's. Just keep it healthy and get out into the ocean and just enjoy,” Carrere, 56, told PEOPLE exclusively at the 21st Annual Unforgettable Gala, the Asian and Pacific Islander Awards, in Los Angeles on Saturday. “My daughter's going to be starting college next year, so I just want to be home,” she added.

As Carrere gears up for her daughter — whom she shares with her ex-husband, Simon Wakelin — to take off next year, she says she’s “so proud.”

“I never went to college, so I'm excited for her,” she says.

Though she’s keen to enjoy all of the time at home with Bianca that she can, Carrere says they’re “both ready for that next step” as she raves about her 18-year-old.

“I'm really thankful that I think, somehow, I had a hand in making a child that doesn't feel like she has to fit in with everybody else, doesn't feel like she has to wear the same clothes, do the same thing. She's a real individual, and I think it was because she grew up in Topanga.”

She says Bianca is “kind of a hippie kid” who “loves going to Goodwill” and is happy to do her own thing.

“It's kind of good not to be ruled by that world. I'm really proud of her.”

Carrere also teased her “brand new character” in the upcoming live-action Lilo & Stitch movie, which was first announced in 2018.

The new installment “came out of nowhere,” says the Filipino American actress and singer, who voiced the character of Nani in the original film and TV show.

“Obviously, I'm not going to play the same character I did in the first one, which was a 16-year-old girl. So they did a huge casting call, they got a new Lilo, a new Nani — which is the part that I played, —and I'm playing a whole new character in this one, so it's a surprise.”

The True Lies star added that it’s “very exciting” to be back in the Lilo & Stitch world, as she said the three months she spent in her native Hawaii this year for filming "didn't suck."

“I went scuba diving, I went surfing, standup paddle boarding. I ate it up.”

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Of the role and the new iteration of the beloved story, she said it's most important to her because of how tied it is to her own identity.

“I'm so happy to be able to represent Hawaii, because that's where I was born and raised and that's where my heart is. So getting to share that with everyone just pleases me to no end.”