Princess Katy

**Mother** | Tania Gunawan

**Katy** (born **Katherine Melissa Wu**; born 28 October 1987), formerly known in the entertainment industry as **Katy Wu**, is the spouse of Prince Michael and a member of the Hawaiian royal family. As her husband is expected to become king of Hawaii, she is expected to be a future queen consort. Prior to marrying into the royal family, Katy had a career as a prominent actress and singer.

Born in Honolulu to an affluent family, Katy began a career in the entertainment industry as a child actress, model, and singer. She had her nationwide breakthrough in 2000, when she was cast as the eponymous role in the Hawaii Kidz! children's musical-sitcom *Being Bella Song* (2000–2005). Following the show's completion, she starred in the Hawaii Blu teen spin-off series *Bella* (2006–2009), which transformed her into a teen idol and one of the most popular teen superstars of the decade within Hawaii. She additionally had starring roles in the successful teen films *Righteous Blue* (2005), *The Rich Kids of Honolulu* (2007), *The Lionheart* (2008), *Timothy Shallow* (2008), and *Witches* (2009). Katy ventured into more mature roles in independent dramatic films in the ensuing decade, starring in the successful films *Undertaking* (2012), *Broken Keys* (2014), and *Where Art Thou?* (2016).

Katy began her music career in 2002, releasing the debut album *Being Katy Wu* (2002), intended to introduce Katy to the public as a distinct individual from her Bella Song character. The album debuted at number-one in Hawaii, and produced the top ten single "He Said (She Said)." She has gone on to release six other studio albums in her career: *Never Again* (2004), *Rebirth* (2007), *Just Katy* (2008), *Romance* (2010), *Neon Candy* (2011), *Lotus Lucy* (2015), all six of which peaking within the top five in Hawaii. She has released fourteen top ten singles in her career, including the four number-one singles "Rebirth," "Red," "Sweet Talk," and "Heartbreaking."

Throughout her career in entertainment, Katy has been the recipient of various honorific nicknames from the Hawaiian media, being referred to as the "Princess of Pop," "Hawaiian Teen Queen," and "Hawaiian Pop Princess." She has additionally been invited to take part in various diplomatic and philanthropic efforts on behalf of Hawaii, including giving a speech on human rights to the United Nations General Assembly in New York City. Due to her efforts in promoting Hawaii and being a widely admired Hawaiian figure, Katy has also been referred to by the media as the "First Daughter of Hawaii," "Unifying Force of Hawaii," and "Voice of Hawaii." Throughout her entertainment career, Katy has amassed four number-one singles and five number-one albums, and has sold more than 2 million records, making her one of the most successful Hawaiian musicians of all-time.

Katy became engaged to Prince Michael in 2015, later announcing that she would retire from her entertainment career in order to begin prioritizing royal duties. They later married in a royal wedding on 25 March 2017, and Katy became a princess of Hawaii. Michael is the second-in-line to the Hawaiian throne, and is expected to become king of Hawaii as an eventual successor to his father, making Katy a likely future queen consort. They have one daughter together: Princess Eleanor, whom is expected to become a future queen regnant of Hawaii, and the first Hawaiian queen to be born with the right to rule.

## Early life and education

Katy was born on 28 October 1987 in Honolulu to parents Lenard (born 1943) and Tania Wu (née *Gunawan*; born 1953). Her father was born in Hawaii to Chinese immigrant parents from Nanjing, while her mother is Indonesian, born in Bandung to an Indonesian-Chinese father and Malaysian-Chinese mother; she immigrated to Hawaii in her teens to work as a model. Lenard is a business magnate in the tourism industry who owns a number of Hawaiian resorts, hotels, and restaurants, while Tania is a former model turned homemaker.

Katy grew up in an affluent family, residing in the affluent Kahala neighborhood of Honolulu. She has two elder paternal half-siblings: Eleanor (born 1969) and Thomas (born 1971); and three elder full siblings: Jason (born 1981), Roberta (born 1984), and Derek (born 1986). Her elder brother Jason is a politician, who has served in the House of Representatives and as minister of finance.

### Education

Katy began her education in 1993, enrolling in Punahou School, an independent, coeducational preparatory school. As her career in the entertainment industry began to take off, Katy's school allowed her to miss classes and study with a private tutor on the set of her television shows, while still receiving credit from the school. She began high school in 2002, and graduated with a high school diploma in 2006. Once beginning her career, Katy initially only attended classes in-person between January and May of each year, but later began only studying with private tutors in 2004.

Despite initial plans to study drama or marketing at the University of Hawaii, Manoa, Katy ultimately opted not to in order to pursue her entertainment career full-time. In 2014, Katy confirmed that she had begun studying an online degree program in English literature at the University of Hawaii, Manoa, and later graduated with her degree in 2020.

## Entertainment career

### 2000–2005: Breakthrough, *Being Bella Song*, and music

Wu began her entertainment career as a preteen, working as a child model and bit actress in commercials and as an extra in television and film. In October 1999, she was cast as the title role in the Hawaii Kidz! musical-sitcom *Being Bella Song*. The series later premiered in August 2000, becoming the highest-rated premiere in the channel's history. The series featured Wu as Bella Song, a 13-year-old musical prodigy who dreams of becoming a successful pop singer. Each episode featured musical performances, with the songs performed in the series later being released on compilation soundtracks. While starring in the series, Wu became a child star and one of the most successful young performers in Hawaii. By the show's third season, she was reportedly paid $30,000 per episode, making her the highest-paid child star in Hawaiian history.

While Wu had developed a career as a singer through her performances on *Being Bella Song*, she went on to pursue a music career independent of the series. In 2001, she signed a recording contract with Big Island Records, with her management team publishing a statement that said Wu wished for her music to portray herself as an individual, rather than as Bella Song. Her debut single "He Said (She Said)" was released in June 2002, described as a teen pop song with influences from dance music and R&B. The song went on to become a top ten single and was certified double-platinum in Hawaii. Her debut studio album *Being Katy Wu* was later released in July 2002, becoming her first chart-topping album. Following the album's success, she won Best New Artist at the 2003 Hawaii Blu Awards and was nominated for Best Pop Album.

Wu began work on her sophomore studio album in 2003, while on the off-season for filming *Being Bella Song*. She later confirmed that the album would have greater influence from rock music, which she had been heavily inspired by. The album's lead single "Never Again" was later released in May 2004, which was described as a pop rock song with influence from hard rock and dance music. The song peaked at number-two in Hawaii and won the Best Pop Song award at the 2004 Hawaii Blu Awards. The song was followed by the release of her album of the same name in August 2004, becoming her second chart-topping album in Hawaii. Following the success of the album, she embarked on the Never Again Tour, which performed twelve shows in Oahu, Hawaii, Kauai, and Maui from October to November 2004. During promotion of the album, Wu began donning a more rocker chick appearance, which elicited minor controversy.

In May 2004, *Being Bella Song* was renewed for a fifth and final season, with the series finale eventually airing in May 2005. After completing filming for the season, Wu attempted to distance herself from children's entertainment and branch out towards teen entertainment. She later starred in the teen surfing romantic-drama film *Righteous Blue*, released in July 2005. The film became a success and was the eighth highest-grossing Hawaiian film of the year, leading to Wu winning Best Actress – Drama at the 2006 Hawaii Blu Awards.

### 2006–2009: *Bella* and continued success

Following the conclusion of *Being Bella Song* in 2005, it was confirmed that a spin-off series was in development, moving from Hawaii Kidz! to the young adult channel Hawaii Blu. The series, titled *Bella*, was to feature Wu as Bella Song as she pursues a degree in music performance from a fictional Honolulu music academy. Intended to be comedy-drama targeted towards teenagers and young adults, the series saw a grave departure from the children's sitcom style of its predecessor series, additionally focusing less on musical performances and more on storylines, while also incorporating darker and more mature themes such as sexuality, abuse, and addiction. Upon its series premiere in September 2006, *Bella* became the highest-rated program in Hawaii Blu history, and Wu was paid $125,000 per episode, becoming one of the most highly paid actresses on Hawaiian television. The series later aired its finale in May 2009, with Wu confirming afterwards that she would be retiring the Bella Song character.

While acting in *Bella*, Wu also continued her music career. She released the single "Rebirth" in March 2007, intending to be a mature departure from her teen pop music career, instead incorporating R&B and soul music. "Rebirth" went on to become Wu's first number-one single in Hawaii, and was nominated for Best Pop Song at the 2008 Hawaii Music Awards, her first ever nomination. The single was included on her third studio album of the same name, released in May 2007, becoming her third chart-topping album. She continued her music career with her fourth studio album *Just Katy* in November 2008, which saw Wu experimenting with synth-pop for the first time. It debuted at number-two on the Hawaii albums chart, and also produced the top five singles "Experiment" and "All Around the World." Both albums were promoted with the Just Katy Tour, which saw Wu performing shows in California, Japan, and the Philippines, in addition to Hawaii, becoming her first international tour.

Amidst the success of *Bella*, Wu began starring in various other teen films. In June 2007, she played the lead role in the teen comedy *The Rich Kids of Honolulu*, becoming a smash success and cult classic. The film became the fourth highest-grossing Hawaiian film of the year, and additionally won Film of the Year at the 2008 Hawaii Blu Awards, while Wu also won Best Actress – Comedy. Following the film's success, Wu also played the lead role in the teen science fiction films *The Lionheart* and *Timothy Shallow* in 2008, and the teen horror-comedy *Witches* in 2009, all of which becoming commercial successes.

### 2010–2015: Career growth and retirement

Following the completion of *Bella* in May 2009, Wu confirmed that she would be momentarily focusing on exclusively music, and that she planned to release new music the following year. In a January 2010 interview, Wu confirmed that her upcoming music would continue the stylistic changes that were first seen in *Just Katy*. She later released the single "Red" in June 2010, which became her second number-one hit in Hawaii. The single was later included on her fifth studio album *Romance*, released in September 2010. The album saw Wu adopting a sultry image, embracing heavier makeup and more revealing clothing than she previously had been known for. In response to the attention, she stated that it was merely a result of "growing up." *Romance* debuted at number-one in Hawaii, and was certified triple-platinum.

Following the success of *Romance*, Wu immediately began work on her follow-up album. Looking to further delve into synth-pop while also experimenting with disco music, Wu released the single "Sweet Talk" in August 2011, becoming her third number-one single and most successful release of her career, being certified diamond in Hawaii. The song reigned at the top of the Hawaiian singles charts for thirteen consecutive weeks, and became the best-selling single of the year in Hawaii. It went on to win Song of the Year at the 2012 Hawaii Music Awards, becoming her first win in the category. The follow-up single "Heartbreaking" also became a number-one hit and was certified multi-platinum. Both songs were later included on the album *Neon Candy*, released in November 2011, which became her fifth chart-topping album and the most successful album of her career, being certified triple-platinum.

Attempting to depart from her teen idol image and pursue more mature film roles, Wu returned to acting after appearing in the independent drama *The Undertaking* in October 2012, which received critical acclaim. She received further acclaim for her role in the period drama *Broken Keys* in November 2014, before appearing in her final film, the psychological thriller *Where Art Thou?*, in June 2016. Wu released her final studio album *Lotus Lucy* in May 2014, which peaked at number-three in Hawaii. It also produced the top ten singles "Jennifer" and "Human Race."

Following the announcement of her engagement to Prince Michael in November 2015, Wu confirmed publicly that she would be retiring from her career as a singer and actress in order to prioritize royal duties and prepare for becoming a queen consort.

## Discography

*Main article: Katy Wu discography*
* *Being Katy Wu* (2002)
* *Never Again* (2004)
* *Rebirth* (2007)
* *Just Katy* (2008)
* *Romance* (2010)
* *Neon Candy* (2011)
* *Lotus Lucy* (2014)

## Concert tours

*Main article: List of Katy Wu concert tours*
* Never Again Tour (2004)
* Just Katy Tour (2008–09)
* Neon Candy World Tour (2011–12)
* Lotus Lucy Tour (2014)

## Awards and nominations

*Main article: Awards and nominations received by Katy Wu*
## Royalty

### Marriage and family

Katy met Prince Michael while both were presenters at the 2012 Hawaii Blu Awards. Their relationship was highly publicized in the Hawaiian media, due to Katy's status as a major celebrity. They became engaged in 2015, and later married in a royal wedding on 25 March 2017.

Following the marriage, Katy became styled as *Her Royal Highness* Princess Katy, and opted to retire from her entertainment career in order to prioritize her royal duties. Her official title is Princess Katherine, although she is popularly referred to as Princess Katy by both the media and the House of ʻŌpūnui. She is the second person of primarily Asian descent and non-Native Hawaiian to marry into the royal family, following Michael's mother Princess Veronica. After marrying, Michael and Katy moved into Honualani House on the grounds of ʻIolani Palace. She had previously resided in an $8.5 million eight-bedroom Kahala mansion that she purchased on her 20th birthday, where she resided with five of her closest friends.

Katy and Michael have one child together:

* Princess *Eleanor* Rosalie Jane Piʻikea (born 29 September 2019)

### Titles

Following her 2017 marriage, Katy became styled as *Her Royal Highness* Princess Katy.

* **25 March 2017 – present**: *Her Royal Highness* Princess Katy