Parrish was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, to Joanne (née Mew), who is of Han Chinese descent, and Mark Phillip Parrish, who is of European descent. She has one sister, Melissa Nohelani, who is eight years older and served in the U.S. Army. Her parents are former bodybuilders, and her mother worked for a Honolulu health club.\n', '

At age six, Parrish saw a production of The Phantom of the Opera at the Neal S. Blaisdell Center and fell in love with the idea of performing. She began playing the piano, and within a year was also studying acting, singing, tap and jazz dance. She entered several talent contests, and became well known to local Oahu residents. At age 14, she appeared in the 2003 remake of Star Search, performing the song "On My Own" from Les Misérables. She attended Moanalua Elementary School, and Moanalua High School for her freshman year. Parrish lived in Kaneohe, Hawaii until the age of 14, when she and her family moved to Burbank, Los Angeles so she could pursue a career in the entertainment industry. Parrish was then homeschooled in order to accommodate her work schedule.\n', '

Parrish began her acting career when she was cast as Young Cosette in the National Touring Company of Les Misérables, and later portrayed the role for two months in the Broadway production at the Imperial Theatre. She subsequently appeared in several community theatre productions in Hawaii – most notably as Jean Louise "Scout" Finch in Manoa Valley Theatre\'s revival of To Kill a Mockingbird in 1998. In 1999, Parrish landed her first substantial television role in NBC\'s action series Baywatch, appearing in two episodes as Hina, a young girl whom Mitch Buchannon (David Hasselhoff) saves from drowning.\n', '

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