Stephanie Ann Hsu ( : born November 25, 1990) is an American actress. She received critical acclaim for her dual role as Joy Wang and Jobu Tupaki in the film ''

Everything Everywhere All at Once ''Everything Everywhere All at Once'' is a 2022 American Independent film, independent Absurdist fiction, absurdist comedy-drama film written and directed by Daniels (directors), Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, who produced it with Russo brot ...

'' (2022), which earned her a nomination for the

Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress The Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress is an award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It has been awarded since the 9th Academy Awards to an actress who has delivered an outstanding performanc ...

. Hsu trained at NYU Tisch School of the Arts and began her career in experimental theatre before starring on

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street ** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...

, originating the roles of Christine Canigula in '' Be More Chill'' (2015–2019) and Karen the Computer in '' SpongeBob SquarePants: The Broadway Musical'' (2016–2017). On television, she had recurring roles in the

Hulu Hulu (, ) is an American Subscription business model, subscription streaming media service owned by Disney Streaming, a subsidiary of the Disney Entertainment segment of the Walt Disney Company. It was launched on October 29, 2007, initially as ...

series '' The Path'' (2016–2018) and the

Amazon Prime Amazon Prime (styled as prime) is a paid subscription service of Amazon which is available in many countries and gives users access to additional services otherwise unavailable or available at a premium to other Amazon customers. Services inclu ...

series '' The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel'' (2019–2023).

Early life and education

Hsu was born to a single mother in

Torrance, California Torrance is a coastal city in the Los Angeles metropolitan area located in southwestern Los Angeles County, California, United States. The city is part of what is known as the South Bay (Los Angeles County), South Bay region of the metropolitan ...

. Her maternal grandmother had moved from

Mainland China "Mainland China", also referred to as "the Chinese mainland", is a Geopolitics, geopolitical term defined as the territory under direct administration of the People's Republic of China (PRC) in the aftermath of the Chinese Civil War. In addit ...

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

to escape the

Chinese Civil War The Chinese Civil War was fought between the Kuomintang-led Nationalist government, government of the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic of China and the forces of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Armed conflict continued intermitt ...

. As a teenager, Hsu's mother moved to the United States for a better education. Hsu attended

Palos Verdes Peninsula High School Palos Verdes Peninsula High School is a public high school in Rolling Hills Estates, Los Angeles County, California, United States, in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of 2023, it is a top-ranked school in the Los Angeles, CA Metro Area (#1 ...

. She moved to

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

to pursue theatre and graduated from NYU Tisch School of the Arts in 2012. She also trained with the

Atlantic Theater Company The Atlantic Theater Company is an Off-Broadway non-profit theater company based in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. Founded in 1985 by playwright David Mamet, actor William H. Macy, and a group of acting students, the compan ...

Career

Hsu began her career in experimental theatre and comedy. From 2013 to 2015, Hsu made regular appearances on the

MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...

reality comedy series ''

Girl Code ''Girl Code'' is an American comedy television series that premiered on MTV on April 23, 2013. It is a spin-off series to '' Guy Code''. The series features actresses, musicians, stand-up comics—plus a few men—who discuss the sisterhood tha ...

''. She landed her first recurring television role as Joy Armstrong in the

series '' The Path''. Hsu was called in for the first table reading of ''

The SpongeBob Musical ''SpongeBob SquarePants: The Broadway Musical'' (originally titled ''The SpongeBob Musical'', later retitled for the national tour) is a musical, co-conceived and directed by Tina Landau with songs by various artists and a book by Kyle Jarrow. I ...

'' in 2012 to read for Karen, the anthropomorphic computer. She would go on to play the character on stage in Chicago in 2016 before making her Broadway debut in 2017. Meanwhile, Hsu originated the main character of Christine Canigula in the first performance of '' Be More Chill'' at the regional

Two River Theater Two River Theater is a professional, not-for-profit, regional theater company producing plays and educational programs for audiences from central New Jersey and beyond. It is located in Red Bank, New Jersey, on the peninsula between the Navesink ...

Red Bank, New Jersey Red Bank is a borough in Monmouth County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Incorporated in 1908, the community is on the Navesink River, the area's original transportation route to the ocean and other ports. Red Bank is in the New York metro ...

. She would reprise the role in its off-Broadway run at the

Pershing Square Signature Center The Pershing Square Signature Center is a complex of three Off-Broadway theatres in the Theatre Row section of West 42nd Street in New York City. It is on the first floors of the 43-floor MiMa Building apartment complex. Pershing Square Signat ...

in 2018 and Broadway run at the Lyceum Theatre in 2019. For her performance, she received

Lucille Lortel Lucille Lortel (née Wadler, December 16, 1900 – April 4, 1999) was an American actress, artistic director, and theatrical producer. In the course of her career Lortel produced or co-produced nearly 500 plays, five of which were nominated for ...

and

Drama Desk Award The Drama Desk Awards are among the most esteemed honors in New York theater, recognizing outstanding achievements across Broadway, Off-Broadway, and Off-Off-Broadway productions within the same categories. The awards are considered a signific ...

nominations. In 2019, Hsu joined the recurring cast of the

series '' The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel'' for its third season as Mei Lin. She and the rest of the cast won the 2020 SAG Award for Best Ensemble in a Comedy Series. Hsu starred in the 2020 independent film ''Asking for It''. Her breakthrough role came in 2022 when Hsu co-starred as Joy Wang, the depressed daughter of

Michelle Yeoh Yeoh Choo Kheng (; born 6 August 1962), known professionally as Michelle Yeoh (), is a Malaysian actress. In a career spanning over four decades, Yeoh has appeared Michelle Yeoh filmography, in projects encompassing a wide array of genres, a ...

's character, and as the nihilistic antagonist Jobu Tupaki in

A24 A24 Films LLC, commonly referred to as A24, is an American Privately held company, independent entertainment company that specializes in film and television production, as well as film distribution. The studio is based in Manhattan. The company ...

's absurdist

comedy-drama Comedy drama (also known by the portmanteau dramedy) is a hybrid genre of works that combine elements of comedy and Drama (film and television), drama. In film, as well as scripted television series, serious dramatic subjects (such as death, il ...

film ''

''. The film opened at the 2022

South by Southwest South by Southwest (SXSW) is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and Convention (meeting), conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Texas. It began in 1987 and has conti ...

(SXSW) to acclaim, and Hsu's performance was lauded by critics and audiences. She received the

Independent Spirit Award for Best Breakthrough Performance The Independent Spirit Award for Best Breakthrough Performance is an award presented annually at the Independent Spirit Awards to honor outstanding performances given by a new talent in an independent film An independent film, independent movie, ...

and nominations for the Critics' Choice Award, the

Screen Actors Guild Award Screen Actors Guild Awards (also known as SAG Awards) are accolades given by the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA). The award was founded in 1995 to recognize outstanding performances in movie an ...

, and the

. In June 2023, she was invited to join

the Academy An academy is an institution of secondary education or higher learning, research, or honorary membership. Academy may also refer to: Education * Academy (English school), formerly known as city academy, type of publicly financed but independently ...

as an actor. Hsu guest starred in the " Escape from Shit Mountain" episode of the first season of

Peacock Peafowl is a common name for two bird species of the genus '' Pavo'' and one species of the closely related genus '' Afropavo'' within the tribe Pavonini of the family Phasianidae (the pheasants and their allies). Male peafowl are referred t ...

series '' Poker Face'' which was released in 2023. Later that year Hsu starred in

Adele Lim Adele Lim (born 15 August 1975) is a Malaysian screenwriter, producer, and director. She is best known for being a co-writer on '' Crazy Rich Asians'', the first film by a major Hollywood studio to feature a majority cast of Asian descent in a ...

's film '' Joy Ride''. She also appeared in

Disney+ The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...

's '' American Born Chinese'', reuniting with fellow ''Everything Everywhere All at Once'' costars Yeoh,

Ke Huy Quan Ke Huy Quan ( ; ; born August 20, 1971), also known as Jonathan Ke Quan, is an American actor. List of awards and nominations received by Ke Huy Quan, His accolades include a Golden Globe Award and an Academy Award. Born in Vietnam, Quan immig ...

, and

James Hong James Hong (born February 22, 1929) is an American actor, producer and director. Known as one of the most prolific character actors of all time, he has worked in over 400 productions in U.S. media since the Golden Age of Hollywood in the 1950s. ...

Personal life

Hsu is

queer ''Queer'' is an umbrella term for people who are non-heterosexual or non- cisgender. Originally meaning or , ''queer'' came to be used pejoratively against LGBTQ people in the late 19th century. From the late 1980s, queer activists began to ...

Acting credits

Film

Television

Stage

Web

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hsu, Stephanie 1990 births Living people Actresses from Torrance, California American actresses of Chinese descent American actresses of Taiwanese descent Tisch School of the Arts alumni 21st-century American actresses American stage actresses American film actresses Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture Screen Actors Guild Award winners 21st-century American LGBTQ people LGBTQ people from California American queer actresses American LGBTQ people of Asian descent