Ronny Chieng
Malaysian comedian and actor
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ronny Xin Yi Chieng (Chinese: 钱信伊; pinyin: Qián Xìnyī; born 1984/1985)[1] is a Malaysian-American comedian and actor. He is a senior correspondent and rotating host on Comedy Central's The Daily Show, and he created and starred in the sitcom Ronny Chieng: International Student. He has also appeared in films such as Crazy Rich Asians and the English version of Inspector Sun and the Curse of the Black Widow.
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1984 or 1985 (age 40–41)
- Malaysia (until 2025)
- United States (since 2025)
- Comedian
- actor
Ronny Chieng | |||||||||||||||
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| 钱信伊 | |||||||||||||||
Chieng in 2018 | |||||||||||||||
| Born | Xin Yi Chieng 1984 or 1985 (age 40–41) Johor Bahru, Malaysia | ||||||||||||||
| Citizenship |
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| Education | |||||||||||||||
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| Years active | 2009–present | ||||||||||||||
| Spouse |
Hannah Pham (m. 2016) | ||||||||||||||
| Chinese name | |||||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 钱信伊 | ||||||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 錢信伊 | ||||||||||||||
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| Website | ronnychieng | ||||||||||||||
| Signature | |||||||||||||||
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Born in Johor, Malaysia, Chieng spent his youth there as well as in Singapore. He graduated from University of Melbourne in 2010 with a bachelor's degree in laws. Since 2012, he was active in the entertainment industry of Australia and the United States. In 2025, Chieng obtained American citizenship and renounced his Malaysian citizenship, as Malaysia does not recognize dual nationality.[2]
Early life and education
Chieng was born into a Malaysian Chinese[3] family in Johor Bahru, Malaysia.[4] He does not celebrate his birthday and prefers to keep his date of birth private.[5][a] He grew up in both Singapore and the United States, living in Manchester, New Hampshire, from 1989 to 1994.[6][7]
In his youth, Chieng was a Singapore Sea Scout of the Singapore Scout Association.[8] When he lived in Johor Bahru, Chieng commuted to Fuchun Primary School in Woodlands, Singapore.[8] He subsequently attended Pioneer Secondary School and Jurong Pioneer Junior College.[9]
Thereafter, Chieng attended the University of Melbourne in Australia. He lived at Trinity College and graduated in 2010 with Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Laws degrees.[10] He also obtained a Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice from the Australian National University in 2012.[11]
Career
In 2012, Chieng, alongside Matt Okine, won best newcomer at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival for his show The Ron Way.[12]
Chieng performed with Trevor Noah in 2013 at the Just for Laughs comedy festival in Montreal.[13][14] In 2015, he was asked to audition for the correspondent role on The Daily Show, which Noah hosted from 2015 to 2022.[13] In July 2016, he was named one of 10 Comics to Watch by Variety.[15] Three months later, he had a segment on The Daily Show in which he criticized a Jesse Watters clip on Fox News deemed by many as racist. He also revisited New York City's Chinatown neighborhood, where Watters had mocked residents, and conducted more respectful interviews in Mandarin and Cantonese.[16] The video went viral and received coverage in The Washington Post and on Slate.[17][18]
In 2017, Chieng began co-writing and starring in the sitcom Ronny Chieng: International Student, based on his own experience as a Malaysian student in Australia.[19] It was developed for Comedy Central in America and ABC TV in Australia.[3][20] In 2018, he made his film debut in Crazy Rich Asians, as Eddie Cheng, an obnoxious banker.[21][22]
In 2019, his first stand-up special with Netflix, Asian Comedian Destroys America!, was released,[22][23] directed by his Daily Show collaborator Sebastian DiNatale.[24] In early 2021, Chieng signed a deal with Netflix for two additional stand-up specials and a "docu-comedy."[25] He also appeared as the original character Jon Jon in the Marvel Studios film Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings;[26][27] it was also announced that Chieng and DiNatale will co-write a martial arts action-comedy film for Sony.[24]
The new "docu-comedy", titled Ronny Chieng Takes Chinatown, was released in 2022. The film co-stars YouTuber David Fung, with guest appearances from fellow Shang-Chi actor Simu Liu and professional NBA player Jeremy Lin.[28] Chieng's second Netflix special, Speakeasy, was released on 5 April 2022.[29][30]
In October 2022, Chieng commented on Rishi Sunak becoming Britain's first Asian Prime Minister during a Daily Show segment. He said, "I know everyone is excited that this is the first Asian prime minister, but let's be clear: Indians are not Asians, OK? They're still people—great people—just not Asian people.” Many internet netizens have criticized the comment, particularly Indians.[31][32]
In July 2024, Mayor of Honolulu, Rick Blangiardi signed a proclamation that 27 July, will be known as Ronny Chieng Day for his contributions to the entertainment industry, during Chieng's stay in Honolulu for his The Love to Hate It tour.[33]
In November 2024, Chieng was featured in the lineup for Comics Come Home 28 at TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts.[34]
Starting in season 14 of King of the Hill, Chieng became the new voice of Kahn Souphanousinphone who was previously voiced in earlier seasons by Toby Huss.[35][36]
On 15 July 2025, Chieng and Hasan Minhaj announced Hasan Hates Ronny | Ronny Hates Hasan, a co-headlining North American tour.[37] Minhaj has called Chieng a "sadistic pervert" because of his activities on Instagram.[38]
In December 2025, Chieng made public service announcements on the MTA New York City Transit Authority's subway system, about the retirement of the MetroCard.[39]
Personal life
Chieng has lived in New York City since moving back to the U.S. in 2015.[40] He is married to Hannah Pham.[41] The couple met and began dating while studying commerce and law at the University of Melbourne. Pham later obtained a master's degree in law at New York University and worked as an attorney in the United States.[42] Although Chieng lived in Australia for a decade, he does not have citizenship or permanent residency status there.[43][44] In April 2025, Chieng became a United States citizen.[45][2]
He practices Brazilian jiu-jitsu and holds the rank of blue belt.[46]
Chieng is an avid collector of watches, an interest that first began with a Seiko 5 that he purchased during his university years in Australia. His watch collection was featured on an episode of the Hodinkee series Talking Watches and includes a rare variant of the Seiko Chronograph Ref. 6139-6010 and a vintage GMT-Master Ref. 16753 "Root Beer".[47] Another of his watches, a two-tone Rolex dated to 1984 that he inherited from his late father, appeared on an episode of Antiques Roadshow and was valued at $5,000.[4]
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Crazy Rich Asians | Edison "Eddie" Cheng | |
| 2021 | Wish Dragon | Pipa God (voice) | Animated film |
| Bliss | Kendo | ||
| Long Story Short | Sam | ||
| Trust | Adam | ||
| Godzilla vs. Kong | Jay Wayne | ||
| Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings | Jon Jon | ||
| 2022 | Helvellyn Edge | AC Sloan | [26][48] |
| M3GAN | David | ||
| Inspector Sun and the Curse of the Black Widow | Inspector Sun (voice) | English Dub | |
| 2023 | Shortcomings | Mr. Wong | |
| Joy Ride | Chao | ||
| Vacation Friends 2 | Yeon | ||
| 2024 | Kung Fu Panda 4 | Captain Fish (voice) | |
| Unfrosted | Chuck | ||
| 2025 | The Tiger | Zane | Short film |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Problems | Mr. Meowgi | 4 episodes |
| 2013–2014 | Legally Brown | Various | 13 episodes |
| It's a Date | Winston | 2 episodes | |
| Have You Been Paying Attention? | Himself | 3 episodes | |
| 2014 | This is Littleton | Various Characters | 4 episodes |
| 2015–present | The Daily Show | Himself (correspondent) | |
| 2016 | Comedy Showroom | Himself | 1 episode |
| The Katering Show | Himself | 1 episode | |
| 2017 | Ronny Chieng: International Student | Himself | 7 episodes |
| Fancy Boy | Accountant | TV series | |
| 2018–2025 | Scissor Seven | Seven (voice) | 20 episodes |
| 2019 | Asian Comedian Destroys America! | Himself | Netflix comedy special |
| 2020 | Aunty Donna's Big Ol' House of Fun | Himself (voice) | Episode: "'Lympics" |
| 2021–2022 | Young Rock | Greg Yao | 6 episodes |
| 2021–2023 | Doogie Kameāloha, M.D. | Dr. Lee | 17 episodes |
| 2021 | Ten Year Old Tom | Pete (voice) | Episode: "Tom Urinates on Boston/First Responder" |
| 2022 | Speakeasy | Himself | Netflix comedy special |
| 2023 | History of the World, Part II | Kublai Khan | 3 episodes |
| Mulligan | Johnny Zhao (voice) | 3 episodes | |
| American Born Chinese | Ji Gong | 4 episodes | |
| Awkwafina Is Nora from Queens | Arthur | Episode: "Car Fished" | |
| The Daily Show | Himself (guest host) | Episode: "Jordan Jonas"[49] | |
| Last Week Tonight with John Oliver | Consultant 2 | Episode: "McKinsey"[50] | |
| 2024 | Grimsburg | (voice) | Episode: "The Flute Show" |
| The Daily Show | Himself (guest host) | 7 episodes | |
| Interior Chinatown | Fatty Choi | ||
| Gremlins: The Wild Batch | (voice) | [51] | |
| Love to Hate It | Himself | Netflix comedy special | |
| 2025 | Last Week Tonight with John Oliver | Moderator 2 | Episode: "Online content moderation, particularly for Facebook" |
| Krapopolis | Lapithos (voice) | Episode: "Mazed and Kingfused" | |
| The Daily Show | Himself (guest host) | ||
| King of the Hill | Kahn Souphanousinphone (voice) | Replaced Toby Huss | |
| TBA | The Miniature Wife | Filming[52] |
Awards
Melbourne Comedy Festival
| Year | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Best Newcomer Award | Won |
| 2014 | Directors' Choice Award | Won |
Sydney Comedy Festival
| Year | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Best of the Fest | Nominated |
| 2014 | Won |
ARIA Music Awards
| Year | Title | Award | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | The Ron Way | Best Comedy Release | Nominated | [53] |
| 2015 | Chieng Reaction | Nominated |
Notes
- In his November 2024 appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Chieng discussed how rumors that his birthday is in November had been widely circulated on the Internet. He showed his legal ID to Jimmy Kimmel, who verified on air that Chieng was not born in November without revealing Chieng's actual birthdate.