Kiana Tom is an American television host, fitness expert, author, actress, and businesswoman. She is best known as the hostess and creator of Kiana's Flex Appeal on ESPN.
Television and film work
Kiana Tom's name and fit body are internationally recognized as the Star of Kiana's Flex Appeal, the #1 rated fitness show reaching 80 million homes in 100 countries on ESPN for over a decade. Tom was one of the original cast members of the syndicated program BodyShaping, which aired on ESPN from 1990 to 1998. In 1995, Kiana Tom created, created, hosted and co-produced her own fitness series, Kiana's Flex Appeal, a lifestyle, health and fitness program on ESPN. Kiana has written & led tens of thousands of televised workout segments that have motivated millions of viewers toward a lifestyle of health & fitness. Kiana put her Flex Appeal touch on the entire production including location scouting and selecting the most beautiful locations, interviewing and selecting co-production companies, choosing cast & crew, developing and creating show segments such as Home Gym, Pro Gym, Target Training, Aqua Flex, Fact or Fiction, Did You Know… Due to the program's initial high ratings, ESPN chose to develop other shows around Tom, including Kiana's Too Fit 2 Quit, Summer Sizzle with Kiana & Hot Summer Nights with Kiana. Tom has also hosted ABC Super Bowl Nightlife, and has many other television hosting credits. Tom made a cameo appearance in her first movie Cyber Bandits, which was released in 1995. In 1999, she co-starred in her second movie with Jean-Claude Van Damme. According to the New York Times review of the film the presence of the fitness guru compounded the physicality of the film. She also appeared in a cameo appearance in the 2002 Eminemmusic videoWithout Me.
Other work
Tom is a co-author of Kiana's Body Sculpting, a 144-page guide to improving fitness and strength, which was published in 1994. She is a recipient of the prestigious United States Sports Academy award for her contributions to the health and fitness industry. Tom was interviewed on behalf of the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports at the inaugural X Games in Newport, Rhode Island in 1995. She was also a cheerleader for the Oakland Raiders for two seasons. She posed nude for the May 2002 edition of Playboy magazine. According to one interview, she was such a perfectionist that she had to wait until the right time in her career where she felt her body was in the best shape it had ever been.
Personal life
Tom has been married since March 2002. Her husband is Dennis Breshears, an Assistant Fire Chief for the Los Angeles County Fire Department. She has two daughters, Anelalani and Kiana Jr. Her father, Layne Tom Jr., was an actor who played various children in a number of Charlie Chan films. He also appeared in films with Shirley Temple, in the movie Hurricane, and was the Asian Boy Ranger in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. Kiana's mother, Marilynn is a former physical education teacher, as well as a tennis, basketball and volleyball coach. Kiana is part Hawaiian, Chinese and Irish. Her name means "Island Princess" in Hawaiian.
