Ronny Chieng
钱信伊
Chieng in 2018
Born	Xin Yi Chieng 1984 or 1985 (age 39–40) Johor Bahru, Malaysia
Citizenship	Malaysia (until 2025) United States (since 2025)
Education	University of Melbourne (BCom,LLB) Australian National University (LPC)
Occupations	Comedian actor
Years active	2009–present
Spouse	Hannah Pham ​ (m. 2016)​
Chinese name
Simplified Chinese	钱信伊
Traditional Chinese	錢信伊
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Qián Xìnyī Yue: Cantonese Jyutping Cin4 Seon3 Ji1 Southern Min HokkienPOJ Chîⁿ Sìn-i
Website	ronnychieng.com
Signature

Ronny Xin Yi Chieng (Chinese:钱信伊;pinyin:Qián Xìnyī; born 1984/1985)^[1] is an American comedian and actor. He is a senior correspondent and rotating host onComedy Central'sThe Daily Show, and he created and starred in the sitcomRonny Chieng: International Student. He has also appeared in films such asCrazy Rich Asians and the English version ofInspector Sun and the Curse of the Black Widow.

Born inJohor, Malaysia, Chieng spent his youth there as well as inSingapore. He graduated fromUniversity 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 obtainedAmerican citizenship and renounced hisMalaysian citizenship, as Malaysia does not recognizedual nationality.^[2]

Chieng was born into aMalaysian Chinese^[3] family inJohor 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 inManchester, New Hampshire from 1989 to 1994.^[6][7]

In his youth, Chieng was a SingaporeSea Scout of theSingapore Scout Association.^[8] When he lived in Johor Bahru, Chieng commuted to Fuchun Primary School inWoodlands, Singapore.^[8] He subsequently attendedPioneer Secondary School andJurong Pioneer Junior College.^[9]

Thereafter, Chieng attended theUniversity of Melbourne in Australia. He lived atTrinity College and graduated in 2010 withBachelor of Commerce andBachelor of Laws degrees.^[10] He also obtained aGraduate Diploma in Legal Practice from theAustralian National University in 2012.^[11]

In 2012, Chieng, alongsideMatt Okine, won best newcomer at theMelbourne International Comedy Festival for his showThe Ron Way.^[12]

Chieng performed withTrevor Noah in 2013 at theJust for Laughs comedy festival in Montreal.^[13][14] In 2015, he was asked to audition for the correspondent role onThe Daily Show, which Noah hosted from 2015 to 2022.^[13] In July 2016, he was named one of 10 Comics to Watch byVariety.^[15] Three months later, he had a segment onThe Daily Show in which he criticized aJesse Watters clip onFox News deemed by many as racist. He also revisited New York City'sChinatown neighborhood, where Watters had mocked residents, and conducted more respectful interviews inMandarin andCantonese.^[16] The video went viral and received coverage inThe Washington Post and onSlate.^[17][18]

In 2017, Chieng began co-writing and starring in the sitcomRonny Chieng: International Student, based on his own experience as a Malaysian student in Australia.^[19] It was developed forComedy Central in America andABC TV in Australia.^[3][20] In 2018, he made his film debut inCrazy 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 hisDaily 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 theMarvel Studios filmShang-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", titledRonny Chieng Takes Chinatown, was released in 2022. The film co-stars YouTuberDavid Fung, with guest appearances from fellowShang-Chi actorSimu Liu and professional NBA playerJeremy Lin.^[28] Chieng's second Netflix special,Speakeasy, was released on 5 April 2022.^[29][30]

In October 2022, Chieng commented onRishi Sunak becoming Britain's first Asian Prime Minister during aDaily 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 internetnetizens 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 inHonolulu for hisThe Love to Hate It tour.^[33]

In November 2024, Chieng was featured in the lineup forComics Come Home 28 at TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts.^[34]

Starting inseason 14 ofKing of the Hill, Chieng became the new voice of Kahn Souphanousinphone who was previously voiced in earlier seasons byToby Huss.^[35][36]

On 15 July 2025, Chieng andHasan Minhaj announcedHasan Hates Ronny | Ronny Hates Hasan, a co-headlining North American tour.^[37] Minhaj has called Chieng a "sadistic pervert" because of his activities onInstagram.^[38]

Chieng has lived in New York City since moving back to the U.S. in 2015.^[39] He is married to Hannah Pham.^[40] The couple met and began dating while studying commerce and law at theUniversity of Melbourne. Pham later obtained a master's degree in law atNew York University and worked as an attorney in the United States.^[41] Although Chieng lived in Australia for a decade, he does not have citizenship or permanent residency status there.^[42][43] In April 2025, Chieng became a United States citizen.^[44][2]

He practicesBrazilian jiu-jitsu and holds the rank ofblue belt.^[45]

Chieng is an avid collector of watches, an interest that first began with aSeiko 5 that he purchased during his university years in Australia. His watch collection was featured on an episode of theHodinkee seriesTalking Watches and includes a rare variant of the Seiko Chronograph Ref. 6139-6010 and a vintageGMT-Master Ref. 16753 "Root Beer".^[46] Another of his watches, a two-tone Rolex dated to 1984 that he inherited from his late father, appeared on an episode ofAntiques Roadshow and was valued at $5,000.^[4]

• Official website
• Ronny Chieng atIMDb

• 1980s births
• 21st-century Malaysian male actors
• Australian National University alumni
• Comedians from New Hampshire
• Living people
• Malaysian comedians
• Malaysian emigrants to Australia
• Malaysian emigrants to the United States
• Malaysian male film actors
• Malaysian male television actors
• Malaysian people of Chinese descent
• Malaysian stand-up comedians
• Male actors from Manchester, New Hampshire
• People educated at Trinity College (University of Melbourne)
• People from Johor Bahru
• People from Singapore
• People who lost Malaysian citizenship
• Primetime Emmy Award winners
• Singaporean comedians
• Late night television talk show hosts
• American male film actors
• American male television actors
• American male voice actors
• 21st-century American male actors
• American comedians of Chinese descent
• American male comedians

• CS1 Simplified Chinese-language sources (zh-hans)
• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata
• Use American English from November 2025
• All Wikipedia articles written in American English
• Use dmy dates from July 2025
• Articles containing Chinese-language text
• Biography with signature
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• Articles containing simplified Chinese-language text
• Official website different in Wikidata and Wikipedia
• Year of birth missing (living people)