Felicia Tang Lee was a Perth Catholic schoolgirl with big dreams - but instead of making a name in mainstream Hollywood, she drifted into the world of adult film.

The final chapter of her life was a gruesome one.

The 31-year-old, who also worked as a bikini model and had uncredited parts in The Fast And The Furious, Rush Hour 2 and Cradle 2 The Grave, was found dead earlier this month in a Los Angeles home she shared with her accused killer and boyfriend, Brian Lee Randone.

US authorities allege she suffered a slow, painful death at the hands of Randone - a former pastor and reality TV show contestant.

Her injuries were so severe Randone was charged with a count of torture as well as murder.

Autopsy results are pending but investigators believe she was beaten and suffocated.

The killing has shocked her close-knit family and friends.

"Felicia loved life and lived it to its fullest," Lee's family, who have declined interview requests, said in a statement.

"However, she was more than just a public figure.

"Felicia was above all a human being, a daughter, a sister, a friend to many who continue to love and honour her, as much in life and in her passing."

Lee was born in Singapore and moved to Perth with her family when she was 11-years-old, enrolling in an all-girl private Catholic school.

Two years later her family moved to Los Angeles.

At the age of 19, she began modelling for fashion catalogues and bikini calendars.

Later she moved into adult films, starring in titles including Asian Fever, Hotel Decadence and Sugar Daddy Wanted.

Lee also made numerous appearances on Playboy TV and was a competitor on a pay-per-view strip poker TV tournament hosted by Carmen Electra.

Lee and Randone met poolside at the MGM Grand Casino in Las Vegas in April and the couple lived together in a house in the LA suburb of Monrovia.

Just after noon on September 11, Randone made an emergency call to authorities, telling them Lee was not breathing.

Paramedics could not revive her.

Authorities said evidence obtained from the home did not match up with Randone's version of events.

He was charged four days later and is being held in an LA County jail in lieu of $US2 million ($2.29 million) bail.

Randone, originally from Omaha, Nebraska, obtained a bachelor's degree from the Moody Bible Institute in Chicago and a master's of divinity degree from Southwestern Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas.

He became a reality TV star when in 2000 he appeared as a contestant on The Sexiest Bachelor In America.

- AAP