Who Is Ali Wong, The Actor Who Plays Amy On Beef?
The multi-faceted performer is more than the fiery lead on Netflix’s latest thriller…
Who is Ali Wong? Bazaar Arabia shares everything you need to know about the American actor and comedian.
Born Alexandra Dawn Wong in San Francisco, California, Ali Wong began her career in show business as a stand-up comedian. The performer appeared on The Tonight Show and John Oliver’s New York Stand Up Show shortly after being named one of the “10 Comics to Watch” by Variety in 2011.
Since then, Ali has made her mark in the world of acting with comedic and dramatic roles on Fresh Off the Boat, Always Be My Maybe, Birds of Prey, and most recently, Netflix’s existential thriller Beef alongside South Korean-American actor Steven Yeun. As audiences fervently binge-watch the A24-produced dark comedy starring the powerhouse, they can’t help but wonder where else they know her from.
Who is Ali Wong, the actor who plays Amy on Beef?
Who is Ali Wong, the actor who plays Amy on Beef?
She majored in Asian-American studies at UCLA
Ali graduated from San Francisco University High School in 2000 after which she got into UCLA, choosing to major in Asian-American studies. This is when the actor was introduced to the world of performing as she took part in the activities hosted by the university’s theatre company.
She was a writer for Fresh Off the Boat
In the early years of her career, Ali didn’t limit herself to the comedy circuit as she contributed to the writers’ room of the hit ABC sitcom Fresh Off the Boat starring frequent collaborator Randall Park, Constance Wu, Hudson Yang, and others.
She has three Netflix stand-up specials under her belt
In 2016, Netflix released its first-ever stand-up special featuring Ali called Baby Cobra, the worldwide success of which thrust her into the limelight. The comedian went on to release two more specials, Hard Knock Wife and Don Wong, in 2018 and 2022 respectively.
Her ex-husband is Justin Hakuta, the son of inventor Ken Hakuta
Often brought up in her comedy bits as well as in interviews, Ali’s husband Justin is the son of the popular TV inventor Ken Hakuta who hosted The Dr. Fad Show, an inventive game show for kids which aired from 1988 to 1994. Ali and Justin split amicably in 2022 after the release of Don Wong in which she talked about her frustration with her marriage.
She has voiced some well-known animated characters
Apart from her work in stand-up comedy, acting, and writing, the multi-faceted performer also has played impressive voice acting roles including Maddy on BoJack Horseman, Betty Bird on The Angry Birds Movie, Felony on Ralph Breaks The Internet, Super Super Big Doctor on Phineas and Ferb the Movie: Candace Against the Universe and most recently, Bertie on Tuca & Bertie.
Lead Image Courtesy/@a24 on Instagram