Angela Rockwood
| Angela Rockwood | |
|---|---|
| Born |
March 14, 1975 Clovis, New Mexico, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actress, model |
| Notable work | The Fast and the Furious |
| Spouse(s) | Dustin Nguyen (m. February 14, 2002; separated 2011) |
Angela Rockwood is an American model and actress, best known for her roles in The Fast and the Furious and the syndicated television series V.I.P.
Early years
Rockwood is the oldest of four children of German-Thai descent and was raised overseas in the Philippines, Spain, and Guam. At the age of 22, she moved from San Francisco to Los Angeles, to finish art school and work with Michelle Bohbot and Bijan. She would later turn down a job as a composite sketch artist for the LAPD, and instead accepted a modeling job for designer Michelle of Bisou Bisou.
Car accident
On September 3, 2001, Rockwood was involved in a late night car accident on California's Interstate 5 Highway between San Francisco and Los Angeles after returning from visiting her maid of honor for her then-upcoming marriage to Dustin Nguyen when the driver (also one of her bridesmaids) of the vehicle she was riding in lost control of the wheel, sending them plunging over the bank. Fellow actress Thuy Trang was tragically killed in the crash due to the internal injuries she had sustained. And owing to catastrophic injuries, Rockwood was paralyzed and rendered a C4-5 quadriplegic.[1] Doctors gave her a 3% chance of regaining motor skills and feeling below her neck. Through physical therapy, she regained partial motion in her left index finger two months after the accident. Three months after the accident, she could touch the top of her head. In 2003, Rockwood received Stem cell treatments in Portugal that allowed her to eventually use a manual wheelchair.
Post-accident career
In 2012, The Sundance Channel announced the creation of the series Push Girls, a reality television series about living with paralysis in Hollywood produced by Gay Rosenthal, which cast Rockwood among "four dynamic, outspoken and beautiful women" in the Los Angeles area.[2][3]
Personal life
Rockwood was married to actor Dustin Nguyen in February 2002. They separated in 2011.[4]