Ali Wong

Alexandra Dawn Wong (born April 19, 1982) is an American actress and comedian. Her accolades include two Primetime Emmy Awards, three Golden Globe Awards, one Actor Award, and a Grammy Award nomination. She was named one of Times 100 most influential people in 2020 and 2023.

She is best known for her Netflix stand-up specials Baby Cobra (2016), Hard Knock Wife (2018), Don Wong (2022), and Single Lady (2024). The last of these won her a Golden Globe Award. She won another Golden Globe and two Primetime Emmy Awards for her starring role in the Netflix dark comedy series Beef (2023), becoming the first Asian background woman to win a lead acting Emmy in a Limited Series or Movie.

Wong was a cast member on the ABC show American Housewife (2016–2021) and served as a writer for two episodes of the sitcom Fresh Off the Boat in 2015. She has voiced characters on the animated series Tuca & Bertie (2019–2022) and Big Mouth (2019–2023). She has also written and starred in the romantic comedy film Always Be My Maybe (2019).

Early life Alexandra Dawn Wong was born in the neighborhood of Pacific Heights, San Francisco, on April 19, 1982. She is the youngest of four children in her family. Her Vietnamese mother, Tam "Tammy" Wong, moved from Huế, South Vietnam (now Vietnam) in 1960 to work as a social worker in the U.S. Her Chinese-American father, Adolphus Wong (1937–2011), was born in San Francisco and worked as an anesthesiologist for Kaiser Permanente for 30 years.

In 2000, Wong graduated from San Francisco University High School in San Francisco where she was student body class president. She went to UCLA, majoring in Asian American studies. During her junior year, she studied in Hanoi, Vietnam. After college, she continued her education in Vietnam through a Fulbright program.

Career

After graduating from college, Wong first tried stand-up comedy when she was 23. She soon moved to New York City to pursue comedy and began performing as often as nine times in one night.

In 2011, Variety named her one of the "10 Comics to Watch". Soon after, she appeared on The Tonight Show, John Oliver's New York Stand Up Show and Dave Attell's Comedy Underground Show. She was also cast as series regular in the NBC comedy series Are You There, Chelsea? and appeared on Chelsea Lately. Next, she was in VH1's Best Week Ever, and MTV's Hey Girl in 2013. Additionally, she starred in Oliver Stone's Savages,

In 2014, Wong played Dr. Lina Lark in the ABC medical drama series Black Box, opposite Kelly Reilly and Vanessa Redgrave. She guest-starred in three episodes of Inside Amy Schumer. Wong worked as a writer on Fresh Off the Boat, which premiered in 2015. Randall Park, who was a main cast member, had suggested Wong for the writing role. Netflix released a stand-up special called Baby Cobra; the special was filmed at the Neptune Theater in Seattle in September 2015, when Wong was seven months pregnant with her first child. According to New York Magazine, "The special's arrival on Netflix is the sort of star-making moment that unites the tastes of the unlikeliest fans".

On September 11, 2016, Wong spoke at, and walked the runway during New York Fashion Week for Opening Ceremony's show. Also in 2016, Wong starred in the ABC sitcom American Housewife until its cancellation in 2021. In 2018, Wong's second Netflix special, Hard Knock Wife, was released. It was filmed in 2017 at the Winter Garden Theatre in Toronto when she was seven months pregnant with her second child. In the same year, she voiced the character Citrus Twisty, a soda genie, in an episode of OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes.

Wong starred with Randall Park in the 2019 Netflix film Always Be My Maybe, a film directed by Nahnatchka Khan, and written by Wong, Park, and Michael Golamco. From 2019 to 2022, Wong voiced Bertie in the Netflix/Adult Swim animated sitcom Tuca & Bertie. On October 15, 2019, Wong published a book entitled Dear Girls: Intimate Tales, Untold Secrets and Advice for Living Your Best Life. She described it as a life guide for her daughters to read when they become adults. The book won the 2019 Goodreads Choice Award for Humor. In February 2022, Wong released her third Netflix stand-up special, Don Wong.

Wong co-starred with Steven Yeun in the 2023 Netflix drama-comedy series Beef, and was credited as an executive producer alongside Yeun. For her performance in Beef, Wong received a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Miniseries or Television Film. She was the first actress of Asian descent to win a Golden Globe in the category. Wong won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie making her the first actress of Asian descent to win a lead acting Emmy Award in this category.

In October 2024, Wong was featured on the YouTube talk show Hot Ones.

Personal life Wong met entrepreneur Justin Hakuta, the son of inventor Ken Hakuta, at the wedding of mutual friends in 2010. At the time, Hakuta was a Fulbright Scholar and a student at Harvard Business School. They married in 2014 and have two daughters. In April 2022, Wong and Hakuta announced they had separated. Wong has said that they remain "best friends". In December 2023, Wong filed for divorce citing "irreconcilable differences", and the divorce was finalized in May 2024.

Wong briefly dated actor Bill Hader in late 2022. In April 2023, they reportedly resumed their relationship. They were seen together at the 75th Emmy Awards on January 15, 2024. In April 2025, Hader discussed how Wong supported him after his home was impacted by the January 2025 Southern California wildfires. In January 2026, it was reported that Wong and Hader had amicably split, due to work schedules and family obligations.

Filmography Film Year Title Role Notes 2012 Savages Claire 2013 Dealin' with Idiots Katie 2016 The Angry Birds Movie Betty Bird (voice) 2017 The Lego Ninjago Movie General Olivia (voice) Father Figures Ali The Hero Herself 2018 Ralph Breaks the Internet Felony (voice) 2019 Always Be My Maybe Sasha Tran Also writer and producer 2020 Birds of Prey Ellen Yee Onward Gore (voice) Phineas and Ferb the Movie: Candace Against the Universe Super Super Big Doctor (voice) 2026 Steps Lilith (voice)

Television Year(s) Title Role Notes 2011 Breaking In Ana Ng 3 episodes 2012 Are You There, Chelsea? Olivia 12 episodes 2014 Black Box Dr. Lina Lark 13 episodes 2014–2015 Inside Amy Schumer Various characters 3 episodes 2015 BoJack Horseman Maddy (voice) Episode: "Escape from L.A." 2016 Animals Dana (voice) Episode: "Rats" 2016–2021 American Housewife Doris Series regular 2017 Fresh Off the Boat Margot Episode: "The Flush" 2018 Ask the StoryBots The Brain Episode: "How Do Ears Hear?" OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes Twisty (voice) Episode: "Soda Genie" 2019–2022 Tuca & Bertie Bertie (voice) Main role and executive producer 2019–2025 Big Mouth Ali (voice) 19 episodes 2020 Love, Victor Ms. Thomas Recurring role 2022 Human Resources Becca Lee (voice) 5 episodes Paper Girls Adult Erin 5 episodes 2023 Beef Amy Lau Main role and executive producer 2024 Jentry Chau vs. the Underworld Jentry Chau (voice) Lead role and executive producer Monsters at Work Jill (voice) 5 episodes

As herself Year Title Notes 2012 Chelsea Lately 9 episodes 2013 Hey Girl 5 episodes Best Week Ever 16 episodes 2016 Ali Wong: Baby Cobra Netflix comedy special 2017 Bill Nye Saves the World Episode: "Sex, Drugs and Superbugs" 2018 Ugly Delicious Episode: "Stuffed" Ali Wong: Hard Knock Wife Netflix comedy special 2022 Celebrity IOU "Ali Wong's Renovation Surprise" Ali Wong: Don Wong Netflix comedy special 2023 RuPaul's Drag Race Guest judge; Episode: "Two Queens, One Joke" RuPaul's Drag Race: Untucked 2024 Ali Wong: Single Lady Netflix comedy special

Book Year Title Publisher Identifier 2019 Dear Girls Random House Paperback: Hardcover:

Awards and nominations + Awards and nominations received by Ali WongOrganizationsYearCategoryWorkResult AACTA Awards 2024 Best Actress in a Series Beef Best Drama Series Actor Awards 2024 Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie American Film Institute Awards 2023 Top 10 Television Programs of the Year Annie Awards 2020 Outstanding Achievement for Voice Acting in an Animated Television/Broadcast Production Tuca & Bertie Astra TV Awards 2024 Best Streaming Limited or Anthology Series Beef Best Actress in a Streaming Limited or Anthology Series or Movie British Academy Television Awards 2024 Best International Programme Critics' Choice Television Awards 2024 Best Limited Series Best Actress in a Limited Series or Movie Made for Television 2025 Best Comedy Special Ali Wong: Single Lady Directors Guild of America Awards 2025 Outstanding Directing – Variety Specials Dorian Awards 2023 Best TV Performance – Comedy Beef Gold Derby Awards 2023 Limited/Movie Actress Golden Globe Awards 2024 Best Limited or Anthology Series or Television Film Best Actress – Miniseries or Television Film 2025 Best Performance in Stand-Up Comedy on Television Ali Wong: Single Lady Goodreads Choice Awards 2019 Humor Dear Girls Gotham Awards 2019 Breakthrough Series – Short Form Tuca & Bertie 2023 Beef Outstanding Performance in a New Series Gotham TV Awards 2026 Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series Grammy Awards 2026 Best Comedy Album Single Lady Independent Spirit Awards 2024 Best New Scripted Series Beef Best Lead Performance in a New Scripted Series NAACP Image Awards 2024 Outstanding Actress in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special People's Choice Awards 2018 Comedy Act Herself 2019 Comedy Movie Star Always Be My Maybe 2021 Comedy Act The Milk & Money Tour 2024 Bingeworthy Show of the Year Beef Female TV Star of the Year Comedy TV Star of the Year Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards 2024 Outstanding Character Voice-Over Performance Tuca & Bertie: Fledging Day Primetime Emmy Awards 2022 Outstanding Writing for a Variety Special Ali Wong: Don Wong 2024 Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series Beef Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie 2025 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Variety Special (Pre-Recorded) Ali Wong: Single Lady 2026 Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series Beef Producers Guild of America Awards 2024 Best Limited Series Television 2025 Outstanding Producer of Live Entertainment, Variety, Sketch, Standup & Talk Television Ali Wong: Single Lady Satellite Awards 2024 Best Miniseries or Television Film Beef Best Actress – Miniseries or Television Film TCA Awards 2023 Outstanding Achievement in Movies, Miniseries and Specials