Rizzoli And Isles’ Tina Huang: How My Mother’s Struggle With Parkinson’s Shaped Me [EXCLUSIVE VIDEO]

Tina Huang, who plays criminalist Susie Chang on TNT’s Rizzoli and Isles, wants to raise awareness for Parkinson’s disease, to which she recently lost her mother.

Tina Huang On Parkinson’s Disease

Huang’s mother passed away in December following years of battling Parkinson’s disease, which she was diagnosed with at the young age of 52. “Usually people think Parkinson’s is 90s, 80s, but she was very young, kind of in her prime,” Huang told uInterview in an exclusive interview.

“Small business owner, immigrant, climbed her way to the top, and she used to say, ‘Even with broken English,'” Huang said of her mother. “Just a wonderful woman, who set a really amazing example in my life. She was a strong woman who had gone through so much. To sort of make a life for herself and her family here in America. She did a pretty good job.”

Tina Huang On Rizzoli & Isles, Playing A Nudist [EXCLUSIVE]

While watching her mother succumb to Parkinson’s, Huang recognized the dearth of resources for those suffering from the disease, as well as their loved ones. She wants to use her platform as a known actress to spread Parkinson’s awareness and to encourage people to help support foundations dedicated to it.

“I feel like there are not enough resources that people know about, especially neurological disorders,” Huang explained. “I try to just talk about that experience enough. People should support the Michael J. Fox Foundation and the Parkinson’s Foundation, because funding is needed for research, support groups for people going through it. It’s very isolating, very very isolating.”

“But my mom was a champ, never felt sorry for herself, not for one moment,” Huang continued. “I just feel like people should talk about it more because I want to be able to provide that support for anyone else that might be going through it.”