Gemma Nguyen
What Does Being a Hero Mean in Your Life?
Being a hero in my life means being someone who has a positive impact on the people around them, who inspires and motivates others to do better and be better. Someone who stands up for what they believe it, someone who is wiling to sacrifice for the betterment of other and their community.
Bio
Get to know 7-Time World Champion in Sport Karate, Stunt Performer, and Action Actress @gemmasaur!
Gemma began her lifelong journey in martial arts at the young age of 5, and is currently a 4th degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do. After earning her black belt at the age of 10, she competed on the NASKA (North American Sport Karate Association) circuit for nearly a decade, where she won 7 world championships for forms, weapons, and team forms.
In the pursuit of excelling her skills in competition, Gemma incorporated acrobatic moves in her forms, and became one of the female pioneers in the movement that later became known as "tricking." She has been invited to compete, perform and teach all over the world, including at the Bercy in Paris, France - with over 30,000 spectators.
In 2005, Gemma made the move to California to seek the transition from competitor to professional, pursuing a career in stunts and action acting. She has since then built an impressive resume with clients such as Nike, Puma, Pepsi, Verizon, Maytag, Comcast and Lincoln, and worked on a variety of films and television shows, like Jungle Book and Conan.
Other work includes touring the world as "Astrid" in the live "How to Train your Dragon" show, being a judge on a national martial arts television show in Vietnam, and playing the iconic character Chun-Li from Street Fighter. Today, she continues to hone her skills as a stunt performer and action actress, while also looking to produce her short film based on Chun-Li.
Favorite Food
Vietnamese phở or soup dumplings
Fun Fact
I started competing in Sport Karate at the age of 10. Back then, to keep a competitive edge you had to outperform other competitors by throwing harder skills. As forms became more dynamic and acrobatic, the movement known as tricking was born. And I became one of the first female trickers in the world back in 1997-1998!
