Actress, 40, Makes a Federal Case of Her Age

(CN) - A formerly anonymous actress who sued Amazon.com and its Internet Movie Database last year for revealing her age has identified herself, and her age, in an amended federal complaint.

Huong Hoang, 40, of Texas, goes by the stage name of Junie Hoang. She has appeared in "I Didn't Know I Was Pregnant," "My Big Phat Hip Hop Family," "Gingerdead Man 3: Saturday Night Cleaver" and other titles.

She sued Amazon last year, seeking several millions of dollars in Seattle Federal Court, claiming the company used her personal and credit card information without her consent to cross-reference public records and other sources to learn her age and post it on her profile.

That caused her to lose work, she says in her amended complaint, "because lesser-known forty-year-old actresses are not in demand in the entertainment business." She adds that "because plaintiff looks so much younger than her actual age indicates, plaintiff has experienced rejection in the industry for each 'forty-year-old' role for which she has interviewed because she does not and cannot physically portray the role of a forty-year-old woman."

Hoang says Amazon and its subsidiary got ahold of her personal and credit card information when she subscribed to IMDb's Pro pay service.

Hoang's original complaint was dismissed in December. The court found the actress has no grounds to proceed with an anonymous complaint.

"In the entertainment industry, youth is king," she says in her amended complaint, also in Seattle Federal Court. "If one is perceived to be 'over-the-hill,' i.e. approaching 40, it is nearly impossible for an up-and-coming actress, such as the plaintiff, to get work as she is thought to have less of an 'upside,' therefore casting directors, producers, directors, agents/managers, etc. do not give her the same opportunities, regardless of her appearance or talent."

Hoang's IMDb profile now refers to her as Junie. It says she was born on July 16, 1971 in Saigon, Vietnam, started to dance at 16, was salutatorian of her high school class and earned a degree in biomedical science from Texas A&M University's College of Veterinary Medicine.

It lists her latest film, "Dysfunction Friends," starring Stacey Dash, as being in post-production as of Dec. 19.

She seeks an injunction, $75,000 in compensatory damages and more than $1 million in punitive damages for privacy invasion, fraud, breach of contract and violation of consumer laws. She is represented by John Dozier of Dozier Internet Law, of Glen Allen, Va., and by Derek Newman with Newman Du Wors of Seattle.

Follow @davejourno

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