Ali Wong has been up and coming since her Netflix stand-up comedy specials “Baby Cobra,” “Hard Knock Wife,” and “Don Wong,” but with her latest venture, “Beef,” it’s safe to say she’s arrived at the top. In the Netflix dark comedy series, Wong plays Amy Lau, an overworked, self-made entrepreneur with a seemingly charmed life, who, after a road rage incident, becomes interlocked with Danny, a depressed, struggling contractor with a chip on his shoulder, played by “The Walking Dead” fan favorite Steven Yeun.
At its core, the series is a meditation on an omnipresent sadness in modern culture, inherent in so many people, that can burn into anger. The show is crafted around escalating rounds of violence and retaliation, but ultimately has a kindler, gentler message.
“It’s just really important to connect with people, in a healthy way, when you can,” Wong said to Time. “Make an effort to do that. Because if you don’t, you might fall into this situation where, in an effort to connect, you’re being really self-destructive.”
Wong was born in the Pacific Heights neighborhood of San Francisco, California, in 1982. Interestingly enough, she never had intentions of pursuing comedy. She was a gifted student who excelled in the classroom, served as student body president, and dreamt of becoming an academic. She majored in Asian-American studies at UCLA, where she graduated summa cum laude, and after college she studied in Vietnam through a Fulbright program.
During her time in school, Wong started acting on stage with a Los Angeles based theater company, and with that, her love of performing was born. She first tried stand-up comedy at the age of 23 and soon moved to New York City to pursue comedy, where she began to perform up to nine times a night. Her star quickly began to rise, and by 2011, Variety had named her one of the "10 Comics to Watch".
Wong then went on to appear on “The Tonight Show”, “John Oliver's New York Stand Up Show,” and Dave Attell's “Comedy Underground Show.” She starred with Randall Park in the 2019 Netflix film “Always Be My Maybe,” and from 2019 to 2022, she voiced Bertie in the Netflix animated sitcom “Tuca & Bertie.” Her book,”Dear Girls: Intimate Tales, Untold Secrets and Advice for Living Your Best Life,” was published in 2019.