Helen Hong () is an American stand-up comedian, actress, director, and producer. She has appeared in such works as ''

Jane the Virgin ''Jane the Virgin'' is an American romantic comedy-drama and satirical telenovela developed by Jennie Snyder Urman. The series premiered October 13, 2014, on The CW and concluded on July 31, 2019. It is a loose adaptation of the Venezuelan te ...

'', '' Parks and Recreation'', and the

Coen Brothers Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, together known as the Coen brothers (), are an American filmmaking duo. Their films span many genres and styles, which they frequently subvert or parody. Among their most acclaimed works are '' Blood Simple'' (198 ...

' ''

Inside Llewyn Davis ''Inside Llewyn Davis'' () is a 2013 period black comedy drama film written, directed, produced, and edited by Joel and Ethan Coen. Set in 1961, the film follows one week in the life of Llewyn Davis, played by Oscar Isaac in his breakthrough ...

''. She has a regular spot on

NPR National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...

's '' Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!'' and hosts a trivia

podcast A podcast is a Radio program, program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. Typically, a podcast is an Episode, episodic series of digital audio Computer file, files that users can download to a personal device or str ...

called ''Go Fact Yourself''. She formerly hosted the podcast ''Little Ethnic Girls''. She has a recurring role on

Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (nicknamed Nick) is an American pay television channel and the flagship property of the Nickelodeon Group, a sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on April 1, 1979, as the first ca ...

's ''

The Thundermans ''The Thundermans'' is an American comedy television series created by Jed Spingarn that aired on Nickelodeon from October 14, 2013 to May 25, 2018. The series stars Kira Kosarin, Jack Griffo, Addison Riecke, Diego Velazquez, Chris Tallman, ...

'' and had a recurring role as Mrs. Song in

Starz Starz (stylized in all caps as STARZ; pronounced "stars") is an American pay television network owned by Starz Entertainment, and is the flagship property of Starz Inc. Launched in 1994 as a multiplex service of what is now Starz Encore, ...

's '' Blunt Talk''. Hong is known for her comedic ''

NowThis NowThis Media is an American progressive social media-focused media organization founded in 2012. The company specializes in creating short-form videos. Their target audience are Gen Z and Millennials. History NowThis was founded by ''Huff ...

'' videos.

Early life

Hong's parents are immigrants to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

from

Korea Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically Division of Korea, divided at or near the 38th parallel north, 3 ...

. She was raised on the East Coast but spent some time in Korea as well. Hong attended high school at

Tottenville High School Tottenville High School is located at 100 Luten Avenue, in Huguenot, Staten Island, New York. Tottenville H.S. is in Administrative District 31, and is operated by the New York City Department of Education. The school's principal is Gina Batti ...

Staten Island Staten Island ( ) is the southernmost of the boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County and situated at the southernmost point of New York (state), New York. The borough is separated from the ad ...

, New York and North Andover High School in North Andover, Massachusetts and attended the

University of Massachusetts The University of Massachusetts is the Public university, public university system of the Massachusetts, Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The university system includes six campuses (Amherst, Boston, Dartmouth, University of Massachusetts Lowell ...

Amherst, Massachusetts Amherst () is a city in Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Connecticut River valley. Amherst has a council–manager form of government, and is considered a city under Massachusetts state law. Amherst is one of several Massach ...

Career

Hong was not a standup comedy fan before a random shot of inspiration prompted her to take standup classes at

Carolines on Broadway Carolines on Broadway was a venue for stand-up comedy situated at 750 Seventh Avenue, on Broadway between 49th and 50th Streets, in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. The club operated from 1981 to 2022. History Caroline H ...

. During the course of the class, she realized that standup was what she wanted to pursue as a career. Hong has performed at

The Laugh Factory Laugh Factory is a chain of comedy clubs in the United States. The chain is owned by Laugh Factory Inc., and the founder and current chief executive is Jamie Masada. Endurance record The Laugh Factory keeps track of an endurance record for ...

, Bonkerz, The Hollywood Improv, Zanies Comedy Club, Stir Crazy Comedy Club,

Flappers Comedy Club Flappers Comedy Club and Restaurant is a live comedy club in Burbank, Notable celebrity comedians who have performed at Flappers have included Jerry Seinfeld, Maria Bamford, Kevin Hart, Gabriel Iglesias, Bill Burr, Dana Carvey, Adam Sandler, Chr ...

, The Ice House Comedy Club, the Mary D. Fisher Theatre,

Punch Line San Francisco Punch Line San Francisco is a comedy club located at 444 Battery St in San Francisco's Financial District. It has a sister club in Sacramento, California, and is also associated with Cobb's Comedy Club, now in the North Beach neighborhood of ...

and numerous other venues. Hong has performed at events such as the

Sedona International Film Festival The Sedona International Film Festival (SIFF) is an annual, eight-day film festival in Sedona, Arizona. The festival was founded in 1994. History In 2023, the festival was listed on ''MovieMakers "20 Great Film Festivals in Vacation Destinat ...

, the Punchlines & Pumps Comedy Show at the

Potawatomi Hotel & Casino Potawatomi Casino & Hotel, formerly Potawatomi Bingo Casino, is a Native American casino in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States, owned and operated by the Forest County Potawatomi Community. It first opened its doors March 7, 1991. Located o ...

, the

New York Underground Comedy Festival The New York Underground Comedy Festival is a comedy festival. Founded in 2003 with 3 shows in 3 nights at the Laurie Beechman Theatre, the festival has grown to 10 days and 300+ shows making it the largest comedy festival in New York. The NYUCF ...

, and The Great American Comedy Festival. Hong has also performed in

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

for Armed Services Entertainment.

Personal life

Hong is the daughter of two Korean immigrants and was raised in New York. She has publicly expressed her passion for feminist movements and regularly shares her political stances and opinions on different forms of media. Hong is an active

Bernie Sanders Bernard Sanders (born September8, 1941) is an American politician and activist who is the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States Senate, United States senator from the state of Vermont. He is the longest-serving independ ...

supporter. Hong is a survivor of breast cancer.

Awards and recognition

*In 2014, BuzzFeed named Hong as one of "18 Comedians Who Could Take Over ''

The Late Show The Late Show may refer to: Film * ''The Late Show'' (film), a 1977 film * ''Late Show'', a 1999 German film by director Helmut Dietl Music * ''The Late Show'' (Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis album), a 1961 live album by jazz saxophonists Eddie "Loc ...

''" *In 2011, ''

The Huffington Post ''HuffPost'' (''The Huffington Post'' until 2017, itself often abbreviated as ''HPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and covers p ...

'' included her on their list "53 Of Our Favorite Female Comedians"

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

*
Helen Hong official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hong, Helen Living people 1985 births American stand-up comedians American people of Korean descent American women comedians