Tamlyn Tomita

Kumiko in The Karate Kid Part II and again in Cobra Kai.

Tamlyn Tomita is the Japanese-American actress who made her screen debut as Kumiko in The Karate Kid Part II (1986) and returned to the role in Cobra Kai in 2021.

Quick Facts

Birth name: Tamlyn Naomi Tomita
Born: 27 January 1966
Birthplace: Okinawa City, Ryukyu Islands (now Japan)
Education: University of California, Los Angeles
Occupation: Actress
Years active: 1986–present
Spouse: Daniel Blinkoff (m., married 2021)

Facts from the source article.

Background

Born on January 27, 1966 on a U.S. military base in Okinawa, she grew up in Los Angeles, the daughter of a Japanese-American LAPD officer who had been interned during World War II and a mother of Okinawan and Filipino descent. At UCLA she studied history and meant to teach it; crowned Nisei Week queen in 1984, she was asked by a former queen, Helen Funai, to audition for Kumiko, and promised her parents she would finish college first.

Her films include Come See the Paradise (1990), The Joy Luck Club (1993) as Waverly, Picture Bride (1994), Four Rooms (1995), Robot Stories (2003), The Day After Tomorrow (2004) as Janet Tokada and Gaijin 2 (2005); in Only the Brave she appeared alongside fellow Karate Kid actors Yuji Okumoto and Pat Morita.

On television she has had recurring roles on 24, Glee, Teen Wolf, Eureka and How to Get Away with Murder, starred in Berlin Station (2016) and from 2017 in The Good Doctor, and appeared in Star Trek: Picard in 2020. She released a solo album, Sweet Surprise, in Japan.