# Karrueche Tran

Karrueche Tran (/kəˈruːtʃi ˈtræn/ kə-ROO-chee TRAN; born May 17, 1988) is an American socialite and actress. Tran first gained public recognition for dating R&B singer Chris Brown. She is also known for starring as Virginia Loc on the TNT series Claws and for starring as Vivian Johnson in the web series The Bay (2013–2016), for which she won Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Performance by a Lead Actress in a Daytime Fiction Program at the 2021 Daytime Emmy Awards. Her win made her the first person of Asian Pacific American descent to win an Emmy for Lead Actress or Actor. She received two additional Daytime Emmy Awards from production credits shared by the entire cast and crew when The Bay won Outstanding Digital Daytime Drama Series in 2016 and 2017.

## Early life

Tran is a native of Los Angeles, California. She was raised by her Vietnamese mother and Jamaican godmother. Her father is African-American. Tran identifies as biracial, and has a younger maternal half-brother.

## Career
### 2009–2014: Early career and The Bay

From 2009 to 2012, she worked at Nordstrom located at the Westfield Topanga mall in Canoga Park, California. She first gained public attention when she began dating R&B singer Chris Brown in 2010.
Around that time, Tran began modeling for local brands. She was the face of Lady Crooks, the women's division under the streetwear brand Crooks and Castles for their Summer 2013 collection. She also began working on her own clothing line, The Kill. Tran gained wider prominence after starring as Vivian Johnson on the Emmy award-winning web series The Bay from 2013 to 2016. For producing the series, she won three Daytime Emmy Awards.
In 2014, Tran appeared in volume one of the photography book, Love West Coast Girls, by celebrity photographer Mike Miller. That same year, she hosted the BET Awards red carpet and multiple events during the official BET Weekend. She had previously co-hosted the BET show 106 & Park. Tran's TV One movie, The Fright Nite Files, was also screened that year.

### 2015–present: Film and television roles

In 2015, Tran was featured in the Spring/Summer lookbook for French-based athletic brand Le Coq Sportif. She also appeared on the covers of several magazines, including Rolling Out, Flaunt Magazine, Ouch Magazine, The Hundreds, Cliche Magazine, Bleu Magazine and Annex Magazine, including two feature stories on ELLE.com. Her work led her to a contract with Wilhelmina Models LA in 2015.
Tran's first featured film, 3-Headed Shark Attack, was released that summer, followed by the lead in the short film PrXde. She later gained recognition for her performance as Vanessa Ivy in the fashion web series by StyleHaul titled Vanity, sponsored by the makeup brand Maybelline.
After supporting roles in A Weekend with the Family and The Nice Guys, Tran landed the lead in Only for One Night, portraying Chloe, a married woman whose perfect life deals with betrayal when her sister drugs her husband and sleeps with him. All three movies were released in 2016. That same year, she partnered up with ColourPop Cosmetics to release the limited edition cosmetic collaboration, KaePop.
After her departure from The Bay, Tran began co-starring in TNT's Claws (2017), a TV series about five diverse manicurists working at the Nail Artisan of Manatee County salon in South Florida. Tran was selected for her ability to bring "a layer [...] that wasn’t one note" to the character, according to showrunner Janine Sherman Barrois.
In October 2019, it was announced that Tran had joined the cast of FOX's Deputy in a recurring role as Genevieve. In 2020, she returned to The Bay for its sixth season. In 2021, Tran won the Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Performance by a Lead Actress in a Daytime Fiction Program, making her the first person of Asian Pacific American descent to win an Emmy.
In 2022, she became the host of Upcycle Nation, a Fuse TV competition show focused on sustainable fashion. In 2023, Tran replaced Chanel West Coast as one of the co-stars of the MTV show Ridiculousness.
In 2024, Tran launched an OnlyFans account to sell pictures of her feet. Later in 2024, Tran portrayed rookie police officer Regina Smith in the Lifetime film Searching for a Serial Killer: The Regina Smith Story as part of its "Ripped from the Headlines" feature films.

## Personal life
### Relationships

Tran began dating R&B singer Chris Brown in 2011. The couple briefly split when Brown reconciled with his ex-girlfriend, singer Rihanna in 2012. In 2013, Tran reconciled with Brown until 2015. In February 2017, Tran was granted a 5-year restraining order against Brown by a judge in Santa Monica, after she shared text messages and voicemails in court where Brown threatened her and demanded she return diamond rings and other gifts given during their relationship. Tran also alleged Brown punched her in the stomach twice and pushed her down the stairs during their relationship. After testifying under oath, she was granted a 5-year restraining order against Brown in June 2017. In early 2017, Tran briefly dated Migos rapper Quavo. Subsequently, Tran was in a long-term relationship with former NFL player Victor Cruz from 2017 to 2021.

### Beliefs

Tran is a Christian and has stated: "I pray every day to God to strengthen me as a human and a young lady."

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2014 | The Fright Night Files | Monique | TV movie |
| 2015 | 3-Headed Shark Attack | Maggie | Video |
| 2015 | PrXde | Kat | Short |
| 2016 | A Weekend with the Family | Courtney Clancy | |
| 2016 | The Nice Guys | Tally-in-Porn | |
| 2016 | Only for One Night | Chloe | |
| 2016 | Welcome to Willits | Besh | |
| 2018 | The Honor List | Sophie Stephens | |
| 2018 | Never Heard | Paris | |
| 2019 | Child's Play | TiTi's Friend | Short |
| 2019 | Jay and Silent Bob Reboot | Con-Ployee #2 | |
| 2020 | Embattled | Jade Boykins | |
| 2023 | House Party | Herself | |
| 2023 | Divinity | Nikita | |
| 2024 | Searching for a Serial Killer: The Regina Smith Story | Regina Smith | TV movie |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2014 | The Dead Diaries | Lisa | Episode: "Massacre" |
| 2014–23 | The Bay | Vivian Johnson | Main Cast |
| 2015 | Sneaker Shopping | Herself | Episode: "Karrueche" |
| 2015 | Iyanla, Fix My Life | Herself | Episode: "Iyanla Exclusive: Karrueche Tran" |
| 2015 | Punk'd | Herself | Episode: "Kevin Hart & Karrueche Tran" |
| 2015 | Single Ladies | Samantha Gray | Episode: "Build" |
| 2015 | Vanity | Vanessa Ivy | Main Cast |
| 2015 | Truth be Told | Monica | Episode: "The Wedding" |
| 2016 | Catfish | Herself | Episode: "Brandon and McKenna" |
| 2016 | Fashion Police | Herself | Episode: "2016 Billboard Music Awards" |
| 2016 | Car Matchmaker with Spike Feresten | Herself | Episode: "Karrs for Karrueche" |
| 2016 | Relationship Status | Jane | Episode: "The Wedding Party" |
| 2017 | The Joker's Wild | Herself/Co-Host | Episode: "Use Your Brain And Make It Rain" |
| 2017–18 | Hip Hop Squares | Herself/Panelist | Recurring Panelist: Season 3 & 5 |
| 2017–22 | Claws | Virginia Loc | Main Cast |
| 2018 | Drop the Mic | Herself/Contestant | Episode: "Episode #2.5" |
| 2018 | Lip Sync Battle | Herself/Competitor | Episode: "Karrueche Tran vs. Deon Cole" |
| 2019–23 | Ridiculousness | Herself | Recurring Guest |
| 2020 | Celebrity Game Face | Herself | Episode: "Sweatsuit Charades and Donut Holes" |
| 2020 | Deputy | Genevieve | Recurring Cast |
| 2020 | The Last O.G. | Herself | Episode: "Ballin" |
| 2020 | Queen of Stylez | - | Episode: "You've Never Seen A Wig Like This. Forreal." |
| 2021 | Cardi Tries | Herself | Episode: "Cardi Tries Giving Tuesday" |
| 2021 | We Stay Looking | Aisha James | Episode: "Red Flavored Drink" |
| 2021 | Games People Play | Eden Lazlo | Main Cast: Season 2 |
| 2022 | Upcycle Nation | Herself/Host | Main Host |
| 2022–23 | Bel-Air | Ivy | Recurring Cast |

## Awards

| Year | Award | Category | For/Role | Work | Result |
| 2016 | Daytime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Digital Daytime Drama Series | Producer (shared credit) | The Bay | Won |
| 2016 | Burbank International Film Festival | Best Short, New Media | Producer (shared credit) | The Bay | Won |
| 2016 | HollyWeb Festival | Best Online Soap | Producer (shared credit) | The Bay | Won |
| 2016 | Indie Series Award | Drama | Best Supporting Actress | The Bay | Nominated |
| 2017 | Daytime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Digital Daytime Drama Series | Producer (shared credit) | The Bay | Won |
| 2017 | Indie Series Award | Drama | Best Supporting Actress | The Bay | Nominated |
| 2021 | Daytime Emmy Awards | Daytime Fiction Program | Outstanding Performance by a Lead Actress | The Bay | Won |