Tia Carrere to ride "Wave" as surfing great

Tia Carrere, in Collaboration with Daniel Ho, accepts the Grammy for Best Hawaiian Music Album for ''Ikena'' at the 51st annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles, February 8, 2009.

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Tia Carrere is suiting up to play her hometown idol.

The actress will star in and produce "Wave Dancer," a biopic to be directed by Martha Coolidge about Hawaiian surfing legend Rell Sunn, known as Queen of Makaha.

A native of Oahu, Sunn was a pioneer in the big-wave world of the late 1960s as well as an expert diver, a black belt in karate and a hula dancer. She also founded a surf contest for children to combat juvenile delinquency. After a 15-year fight against breast cancer, she died in 1998.

Carrere and Simon Wakelin wrote the screenplay for the project. The filmmakers plan to shoot on location early next year.

Carrere has starred in the "Wayne's World" films and "Rising Sun" and did voice work for "Lilo & Stitch."

Coolidge has directed "Valley Girl," "Real Genius" and "Rambling Rose."

(Editing by SheriLinden at Reuters)