An actor who attempted to sue the online movie database IMDb has lost her landmark case against the site, after she was angered that they used her real age in her details. The 42 year-old Texan Huong “Junie” Hoang was backed by US acting unions in her case against the site, The Guardian reports. She first went to court anonymously in 2011, but a judge forced Hoang to file the case again, with her identity revealed. However, IMDb triumphed over the actress in the second court case, arguing that they had a right to present accurate information about the actors displayed on the site.

In 2011, Hoang hoped to sue IMDb for $1million (£650,000) in punitive damages and $75,000 in compensation. At the time, her lawyer said “If one is perceived to be 'over the hill', ie 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.'” The case was later honed in to focus on the breach of user agreement that was argued to have occurred between the actor and the site owners. Hoang argued that she deliberately chose not to disclose her real; age when she signed up to IMDb Pro – an area of the site that is widely used by professionals in Hollywood, for casting purposes. She explained that her attempts to have the details removed by IMDb were refused and she said that she lost out on roles as a result.

Hoang was backed by the Screen Actors Guild, who issued a statement to say “An actor's actual age is irrelevant to casting. What matters is the age range that an actor can portray. For the entire history of professional acting, this has been true but that reality has been upended by the development of IMDb as an industry standard used in casting offices across America."