Ali Wong

Alexandra Dawn Wong was born on April 19, 1982, in San Francisco, California. She is the youngest of four children. Her Vietnamese mother, Tam Wong, moved to the U.S. in 1960 and worked as a social worker. Her Chinese-American father, Adolphus Wong, was an anesthesiologist for Kaiser Permanente for 30 years. Wong graduated from San Francisco University High School in 2000, where she was student body class president. She attended UCLA, majoring in Asian American studies, and later continued her education in Vietnam through a Fulbright program. After college, Wong pursued stand-up comedy, moving to New York City and often performingmultiple times a night.

Wong’s career progressed with appearances on ‘The Tonight Show’ and ‘John Oliver’s New York Stand Up Show’. She was cast as a series regular in ‘Are You There, Chelsea?’ and appeared on ‘Chelsea Lately’. In 2014, she played Dr. Lina Lark in the ABC medical drama ‘Black Box’. Wong also worked as a staff writer for two episodes of ‘Fresh Off the Boat’ in 2015. Her breakout success came with her Netflix stand-up specials, starting with ‘Baby Cobra’ in 2016, which she filmed while seven months pregnant. She followed this with ‘Hard Knock Wife’ in 2018, also filmed during pregnancy, and ‘Don Wong’ in 2022. These specials brought her widespread recognition for her candid and observational humor.

In addition to her stand-up, Wong has starred in and produced several projects. She co-wrote, produced, and starred in the 2019 Netflix romantic comedy film ‘Always Be My Maybe’. She has also lent her voice to animated series such as ‘Tuca & Bertie’ (2019–2022) and ‘Big Mouth’ (2019–2025). Her role as Amy Lau in the 2023 Netflix dark comedy series ‘Beef’ earned her a Golden Globe Award and two Primetime Emmy Awards, making her the first Asian background woman to win a lead acting Emmy in a Limited Series or Movie. Her latest Netflix special, ‘Single Lady’, released in 2024, also received a Golden Globe Award.