Hu embarked on a career in modeling after sharing the experiences of friends who had traveled to Japan on modeling assignments. When it was suggested that a beauty pageant title would increase her promotability, Hu agreed to enter the local Miss Teen USA pageant. Above and beyond her expectations, Hu not only won the local pageant, but was crowned Miss Teen USA in 1985.

Her first role was in the television series Growing Pains. She later appeared in Tour of Duty, Melrose Place, Murder One and nearly 20 other series. Her theatrical motion pictures include The Doors, Surf Ninjas, Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man, and No Way Back. She also starred in Sunset Beach as Dr. Rae Chang, a love interest of Casey Mitchum (Timothy Adams),Nash Bridges as Michelle Chan and recently she starred in the hit series, Martial Law as Chen Pei-Pei (aka Grace Chen).

So how did Kelly get her big break? Winning the title helped her break into the industry. After winning the Miss Teen USA title, she did modeling assignments abroad, including a four-month stint in Japan. After leaving Hawaii and arriving in Los Angeles, she did commercials for Vidal Sassoon and Mary Kay Cosmetics. Other commercials followed including Jack in the Box, Clothestime, Bud Light, Ricoh Cameras, Thrifty Rental, Ivory Soap and Dole Pineapple. She also traveled to Italy to do a series of popular commercials for Philadelphia Cream Cheese. While Kelly still aspires to take her career even higher, someday she would like to open a modeling school for girls in Hawaii.

She may be fairly unknown to many before the tv show 'Martial Law', but Kelly Hu is no newcomer. She's been on Television doing everything from daytime soaps to game shows. She's also done many guest appearances on various television shows. The most noticeable would probably be 'Growing Pains', an old 80's sitcom. She always played the pretty Asian girl, but that's not a bad thing!