Ken Jeong
Encyclopedia
Kendrick Kang-Joh "Ken" Jeong (born July 13, 1969), also known as "Dr. Ken," is an American comedian
Comedian
A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience, primarily by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting a fool, as in slapstick, or employing prop comedy...

, actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...

, and physician
Physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...

. Currently, he appears as Ben Chang on the NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...

 comedy series Community
Community (TV series)
Community is an American television comedy series created by Dan Harmon that airs on NBC. The series is about a group of students at a community college in the fictional locale of Greendale, Colorado. The series heavily uses meta-humor and pop culture references, often parodying film and television...

.

Early life and medical career

Jeong was born in Detroit, Michigan, the son of South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...

n immigrants Young and D.K. Jeong, who was a professor at North Carolina A&T State University in Greensboro
Greensboro, North Carolina
Greensboro is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the third-largest city by population in North Carolina and the largest city in Guilford County and the surrounding Piedmont Triad metropolitan region. According to the 2010 U.S...

, North Carolina for 35 years. Jeong was raised in Greensboro and attended Walter Hines Page High School
Walter Hines Page High School
Walter Hines Page Senior High School is a public secondary school in Greensboro, North Carolina commonly referred to as Page High School or simply Page. It runs on a traditional type schedule with the hours from 8:55-3:55...

, where he took part in the High IQ team, played violin in the orchestra, and was elected to student council. He graduated at 16 and his achievements earned him Greensboro's Youth of the Year award.

He completed his undergraduate studies at Duke University
Duke University
Duke University is a private research university located in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present day town of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco industrialist James B...

 in 1990 and attained his medical degree at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a public research university located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States...

 in 1995. He then completed his Internal Medicine residency at Ochsner Medical Center
Ochsner Medical Center
Ochsner Medical Center, historically also known as Ochsner Clinic, Ochsner Hospital, and Ochsner Foundation Hospital, is a hospital in Jefferson, Louisiana, a short distance from the city limits of New Orleans. As the flagship of the Ochsner Health System, it was founded by Dr. Alton Ochsner,...

 in New Orleans while developing his stand-up comedy.

Career in show business

His big break came when he won the Big Easy Laff-Off, of which NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...

 president Brandon Tartikoff
Brandon Tartikoff
Brandon Tartikoff was a television executive who was credited with turning around NBC's low prime time reputation with such hit series as Hill Street Blues, L.A. Law, ALF, Family Ties, The Cosby Show, Cheers, Seinfeld, Miami Vice, The Golden Girls, Knight Rider, The A-Team, St...

 and The Improv
The Improv
The Improv is a comedy club franchise. Originally, it was a single venue founded in 1963 by Budd Friedman and located in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood of New York City on West 44th near the SE corner of 9th Ave. A second location was opened in 1974 at 8162 Melrose Avenue in the Fairfax District...

 founder Budd Friedman
Budd Friedman
Budd Friedman is best known as the founder and original proprietor and MC of the Improvisation Comedy Club, which opened in 1963, on West 44th Street near the SE corner of 9th Avenue, in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood of Manhattan...

 were judges. They both urged Jeong to move to Los Angeles, and he began performing regularly at the Improv
The Improv
The Improv is a comedy club franchise. Originally, it was a single venue founded in 1963 by Budd Friedman and located in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood of New York City on West 44th near the SE corner of 9th Ave. A second location was opened in 1974 at 8162 Melrose Avenue in the Fairfax District...

 and Laugh Factory comedy club
Comedy club
A comedy club is a venue, typically a nightclub, bar, or restaurant where people watch or listen to performances, including stand-up comedians, improvisational comedians, impersonators, magicians, ventriloquists and other comedy acts...

s.

Jeong's background in theater and improv has led to several television appearances, including NBC's The Office, HBO's Entourage
Entourage (TV series)
Entourage is an American comedy-drama television series that premiered on HBO on July 18, 2004 and concluded on September 11, 2011, after eight seasons...

and Curb Your Enthusiasm
Curb Your Enthusiasm
Curb Your Enthusiasm is an American comedy television series produced and broadcast by HBO, which premiered on October 15, 2000. As of 2011, it has completed 80 episodes over eight seasons. The series was created by Seinfeld co-creator Larry David, who stars as a fictionalized version of himself...

. Ken made his feature film debut as Dr. Kuni in Judd Apatow
Judd Apatow
Judd Apatow is an American film producer, director, and screenwriter. He is well known for his work in comedy films, especially for films he has been involved with throughout the latter half of the 2000s. He is the founder of Apatow Productions, a film production company that also developed the...

's Knocked Up
Knocked Up
Knocked Up is a 2007 American romantic comedy drama film co-produced, written, and directed by Judd Apatow. Starring Seth Rogen, Katherine Heigl, Paul Rudd, and Leslie Mann, the film follows the repercussions of a drunken one-night stand between Rogen's slacker character and Heigl's just-promoted...

which proved to be his breakout performance. Subsequently, he has appeared in Pineapple Express
Pineapple Express (film)
Pineapple Express is a 2008 American stoner action comedy directed by David Gordon Green, written by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg and starring Rogen and James Franco. Producer Judd Apatow, who previously worked with Rogen and Goldberg on Knocked Up and Superbad, assisted in developing the story,...

; Role Models as King Argotron; All About Steve
All About Steve (film)
All About Steve is a 2009 American comedy film, directed by Phil Traill, which stars Sandra Bullock, Thomas Haden Church and Bradley Cooper. It is distributed by 20th Century Fox...

; The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard
The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard
The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard is a 2009 comedy film directed by Neal Brennan, starring Jeremy Piven and Ed Helms. The film was released on August 14, 2009.- Plot :...

; Couples Retreat
Couples Retreat
Couples Retreat is a 2009 American comedy film written and directed by Peter Billingsley with contributions to the script by Jon Favreau, Vince Vaughn, Dana Fox, Curtis Hanson, and Greg Beeman. Vaughn and Favreau star with Faizon Love, Jason Bateman, Kristin Davis, Kristen Bell, Malin Åkerman and...

; and as Mr. Chow in The Hangover
The Hangover (film)
The Hangover is a 2009 American comedy film directed by Todd Phillips and written by Jon Lucas and Scott Moore. The film stars Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, Zach Galifianakis, Heather Graham, Justin Bartha and Jeffrey Tambor...

and The Hangover Part II. He co-starred in Zookeeper
Zookeeper (film)
Zookeeper is a 2011 comedy film starring Kevin James, and featuring the voices of Adam Sandler, Sylvester Stallone, Nick Nolte, Don Rickles, Judd Apatow, Jon Favreau, Cher and Faizon Love. The film contains computer animation, is produced by Sandler's production company, Happy Madison, and is...

and Transformers: Dark of the Moon, released in summer 2011.

He attacked (kayfabe
Kayfabe
In professional wrestling, kayfabe is the portrayal of events within the industry as "real" or "true". Specifically, the portrayal of professional wrestling, in particular the competition and rivalries between participants, as being genuine or not of a worked nature...

) pro wrestler John Cena
John Cena
John Felix Anthony Cena is an American professional wrestler, actor, rapper, and television personality. He is currently signed to WWE as a member of its WWE Raw brand....

 with a cane on the August 3, 2009 episode of WWE Raw
WWE RAW
WWE Raw ) is a sports entertainment television program for WWE that currently airs on the USA Network in the United States...

.

Jeong is a series regular as Señor Chang on NBC's sitcom Community
Community (TV series)
Community is an American television comedy series created by Dan Harmon that airs on NBC. The series is about a group of students at a community college in the fictional locale of Greendale, Colorado. The series heavily uses meta-humor and pop culture references, often parodying film and television...

.

Jeong was nominated for two 2010 MTV Movie Awards
MTV Movie Awards
The MTV Movie Awards is a film awards show presented annually on MTV . It also contains movie parodies that used official movie footage with hosts and other celebrities and music performances. The nominees are decided by producers and executives at MTV. Winners are decided online by the general...

, winning the award for Best WTF Moment as well as being nominated for MTV Movie Award for Best Villain
MTV Movie Award for Best Villain
This is a following list of the MTV Movie Award winners and nominees for Best Villain.-References:...

for The Hangover
The Hangover (film)
The Hangover is a 2009 American comedy film directed by Todd Phillips and written by Jon Lucas and Scott Moore. The film stars Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, Zach Galifianakis, Heather Graham, Justin Bartha and Jeffrey Tambor...

.

Jeong was also nominated for "Breakout Star Male" for Community
Community (TV series)
Community is an American television comedy series created by Dan Harmon that airs on NBC. The series is about a group of students at a community college in the fictional locale of Greendale, Colorado. The series heavily uses meta-humor and pop culture references, often parodying film and television...

at the 2010 Teen Choice Awards
2010 Teen Choice Awards
2010 Teen Choice Awards were held on August 8, introducing a lot of new categories now separated into "Movie", "TV", "Music", "Summer", "Fashion" and "Other". The show aired on August 9, 2010 on Fox, co-hosted by Katy Perry, who also performed, and Cory Monteith, Chris Colfer, Kevin McHale, and...

.

In the fall of 2010, Adidas
Adidas
Adidas AG is a German sports apparel manufacturer and parent company of the Adidas Group, which consists of the Reebok sportswear company, TaylorMade-Adidas golf company , and Rockport...

 basketball began a wide-ranging marketing campaign in which Jeong stars as the character "Slim Chin" alongside NBA stars Dwight Howard
Dwight Howard
Dwight David Howard is an American basketball player for the Orlando Magic of the National Basketball Association . Howard, who usually plays center but can also play power forward, had an outstanding high school career at Southwest Atlanta Christian Academy...

 and Derrick Rose
Derrick Rose
Derrick Martell Rose is an American professional basketball player for the Chicago Bulls of the National Basketball Association ....

.

On May 22, 2011, Jeong hosted the 2011 Billboard Music Awards
2011 Billboard Music Awards
The 2011 Billboard Music Awards were held May 22, 2011 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada and hosted by Ken Jeong. The awards recognized the most popular artists and albums from 2010....

in Las Vegas on ABC.

On June 15, 2011, Jeong was featured in a Hands Only CPR PSA campaign from the American Heart Association
American Heart Association
The American Heart Association is a non-profit organization in the United States that fosters appropriate cardiac care in an effort to reduce disability and deaths caused by cardiovascular disease and stroke. It is headquartered in Dallas, Texas...

.

Ken Jeong will star in and produce the film The Chung Factor, which was purchased by Lionsgate on October 25, 2011.

Personal life

Jeong's wife, Tran Ho, a Vietnamese American, is also a doctor. Together, they have twin daughters, Alexa and Zooey.

Filmography

Film
Year Film Role Other notes
2007 Knocked Up
Knocked Up
Knocked Up is a 2007 American romantic comedy drama film co-produced, written, and directed by Judd Apatow. Starring Seth Rogen, Katherine Heigl, Paul Rudd, and Leslie Mann, the film follows the repercussions of a drunken one-night stand between Rogen's slacker character and Heigl's just-promoted...

Dr. Kuni
2008 Step Brothers
Step Brothers (film)
Step Brothers is a 2008 American slapstick buddy-comedy film directed by Adam McKay, produced by Judd Apatow and Jimmy Miller, and stars Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly, who originally teamed up in Talladega Nights . The screenplay was written by Ferrell and McKay, from a story written by Ferrell,...

Employment Agent
Pineapple Express
Pineapple Express (film)
Pineapple Express is a 2008 American stoner action comedy directed by David Gordon Green, written by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg and starring Rogen and James Franco. Producer Judd Apatow, who previously worked with Rogen and Goldberg on Knocked Up and Superbad, assisted in developing the story,...

Ken
Role Models
Role Models
Role Models is a 2008 American comedy film directed by David Wain about two energy drink salesmen who are ordered to perform 150 hours of community service as punishment for various offenses. For their service, the two men work at a program designed to pair kids with adult role models. The film...

King Argotron
2009 The Hangover
The Hangover (film)
The Hangover is a 2009 American comedy film directed by Todd Phillips and written by Jon Lucas and Scott Moore. The film stars Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, Zach Galifianakis, Heather Graham, Justin Bartha and Jeffrey Tambor...

Leslie Chow
The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard
The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard
The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard is a 2009 comedy film directed by Neal Brennan, starring Jeremy Piven and Ed Helms. The film was released on August 14, 2009.- Plot :...

Teddy Dang
All About Steve
All About Steve
All About Steve is a 2009 American comedy film, directed by Phil Traill, which stars Sandra Bullock, Thomas Haden Church and Bradley Cooper. It is distributed by 20th Century Fox...

Angus
Couples Retreat
Couples Retreat
Couples Retreat is a 2009 American comedy film written and directed by Peter Billingsley with contributions to the script by Jon Favreau, Vince Vaughn, Dana Fox, Curtis Hanson, and Greg Beeman. Vaughn and Favreau star with Faizon Love, Jason Bateman, Kristin Davis, Kristen Bell, Malin Åkerman and...

Therapist No.2
2010 How to Make Love to a Woman
How to Make Love to a Woman
How to Make Love to a Woman is a 2009 American comedy film directed by Scott Culver and written by Dennis Kao, both making their respective debuts...

Curtis Lee
Furry Vengeance
Furry Vengeance
Furry Vengeance is a 2010 American comedy film directed by Roger Kumble. It stars Brendan Fraser, Matt Prokop, and Brooke Shields.-Plot:It all started when a prairie dog screams after Riggs' car passes by it and throwing a cigar, not minding about the environment...

Neal Lyman
Despicable Me
Despicable Me
Despicable Me is a 2010 American computer-animated 3D comedy film from Universal Pictures and Illumination Entertainment that was released on July 9, 2010 in the United States. The film features the voices of Steve Carell, Jason Segel, Russell Brand, Julie Andrews, Will Arnett, Kristen Wiig, and...

Talk Show Host Voice role
Vampires Suck
Vampires Suck
Vampires Suck is a 2010 vampire spoof film based on the Twilight film series and directed by Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer. It stars Jenn Proske, Matt Lanter, Christopher N...

Daro
2011 Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son
Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son
Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son is a 2011 crime comedy film directed by John Whitesell and written by Matthew Fogel and Don Rhymer. The film is the second sequel to Big Momma's House and stars Martin Lawrence reprising his role as FBI agent Malcolm Turner...

Mailman Cameo
Zookeeper
Zookeeper (film)
Zookeeper is a 2011 comedy film starring Kevin James, and featuring the voices of Adam Sandler, Sylvester Stallone, Nick Nolte, Don Rickles, Judd Apatow, Jon Favreau, Cher and Faizon Love. The film contains computer animation, is produced by Sandler's production company, Happy Madison, and is...

Venom
The Hangover Part II Leslie Chow
Transformers: Dark of the Moon Jerry Wang
Television
Year Title Role Notes
1997 The Big Easy Dr. Tang Episode: Night Music
1998 Black Jag Kurt TV-pilot
2001 The Downer Channel Store Owner Episode: 1.2
2002 Girls Behaving Badly
Girls Behaving Badly
Girls Behaving Badly is an American reality comedy television show on the Oxygen cable channel, and is also syndicated to television stations across the United States and Canada by Sony Pictures Television....

Various characters
2003 Cedric the Entertainer Presents
Cedric the Entertainer Presents
Cedric the Entertainer Presents was an American sketch comedy television series starring Cedric the Entertainer. The series premiered September 18, 2002 on Fox and after the first season, Fox renewed the show for a second season but right before the show aired its second season, Fox canceled the...

Asian Thunder
2003–2005 MADtv
MADtv
MADtv is an American sketch comedy television series. It licensed the name and logo of Mad, but otherwise had no connection with the humor magazine outside the animated Spy vs. Spy and Don Martin cartoon shorts and images of Alfred E. Neuman that the show featured during the late 1990s. Its first...

Various characters 4 episodes
2004 Significant Others Gynecologist
Crossing Jordan
Crossing Jordan
Crossing Jordan is an American television crime/drama series that aired on NBC from September 24, 2001 to May 16, 2007. It stars Jill Hennessy as Jordan Cavanaugh, M.D., a crime-solving forensic pathologist employed in the Suffolk County, Massachusetts, Medical Examiner's Office...

Steve Choi Episode: Slam Dunk
Grounded for Life
Grounded for Life
Grounded for Life is an American television sitcom that debuted on January 10, 2001 as a mid-season replacement on the FOX Network. It was created by Mike Schiff and Bill Martin. It ran for two seasons on the network until being cancelled only two episodes into its third season...

Owner Episode: I'm Looking Through You
2005 Two and a Half Men
Two and a Half Men
Two and a Half Men is an American television sitcom that premiered on CBS on September 22, 2003. Starring Charlie Sheen, Jon Cryer, and Angus T. Jones, the show was originally about a hedonistic jingle writer, Charlie Harper; his uptight brother, Alan; and Alan's growing son, Jake...

Male Nurse Episode: Woo-Hoo, a Hernia-Exam!
Mind of Mencia
Mind of Mencia
Mind of Mencia is an American television comedy series on the cable channel Comedy Central. Hosted by Carlos Mencia, it aired from 2005 to 2008.- History :...

Ken
Jimmy Kimmel Live! Astronaut Episode: July 29, 2005
The Office Bill Episode: E-mail Surveillance
E-mail Surveillance
"E-mail Surveillance" is the ninth episode of the second season of the American comedy television series The Office, and the show's fifteenth episode overall...

2006 Three Strikes
Three Strikes (TV series)
Three Strikes was a situation comedy pilot from Jon Stewart's production company for Comedy Central.A character-based comedy set in the world of minor league baseball, it was written by Alex Gregory and Peter Huyck, whose credits include King of the Hill, Frasier, The Larry Sanders Show and Late...

Roido's Interpreter TV-pilot
Entourage
Entourage (TV series)
Entourage is an American comedy-drama television series that premiered on HBO on July 18, 2004 and concluded on September 11, 2011, after eight seasons...

Coffee Shop Manager Episode: The Release
The Release (Entourage)
The Release is an alternative-rock band from Boston. Their sound combines the raw energy of punk, the musicianship and soul of classic rock and blues, combined with catchy hook-filled songs that mix elements of everything from progressive rock to reggae...

2007 The Shield
The Shield
The Shield is an American television drama series starring Michael Chiklis which premiered on March 12, 2002 on FX in the United States and concluded on November 25, 2008 after seven seasons...

Skip Osaka Episode: Back to One
Curb Your Enthusiasm
Curb Your Enthusiasm
Curb Your Enthusiasm is an American comedy television series produced and broadcast by HBO, which premiered on October 15, 2000. As of 2011, it has completed 80 episodes over eight seasons. The series was created by Seinfeld co-creator Larry David, who stars as a fictionalized version of himself...

Man in Jersey No.1 Episode: The Anonymous Donor
Boston Legal
Boston Legal
Boston Legal is an American legal dramedy created by David E. Kelley, which was produced in association with 20th Century Fox Television for the ABC...

Coroner Myron Okubo Episode: The Innocent Man
2008 Held Up Doctor TV-pilot
'Til Death
'Til Death
’Til Death is an American sitcom which aired on the Fox network from September 7, 2006, to June 20, 2010. The series was created by husband-and-wife team Josh Goldsmith and Cathy Yuspa, who were also the writers and executive-producers...

Dr. Park Episode: Snip/Duck
Episode: Circumdecision
Worst Week
Worst Week
Worst Week is an American TV series which originally aired on CBS from September 22, 2008 to June 6, 2009. The series was based on the British sitcom The Worst Week of My Life...

Phil Episode: The Bird
Episode: The Apartment
2009 Off Duty Jackie Chan TV-pilot
American Dad!
American Dad!
American Dad! is an American animated television series created by Seth MacFarlane and owned by Underdog Productions and Fuzzy Door Productions. It is produced in association with 20th Century Fox Television...

Dr. Perlmutter Episode: Family Affair
Episode: Every Which Way But Lose
Every Which Way But Lose
"Every Which Way But Lose" is the seventeenth episode of the fourth season of the animated series American Dad!.-Plot:When Steve loses his dad's respect by not coming in first in a chemistry competition at school, he joins a junior football team, the Wolverines. However, Stan becomes the team's...

Party Down
Party Down
Party Down is an American comedy television series created and primarily written by John Enbom, Rob Thomas, Dan Etheridge, and Paul Rudd that aired on the Starz network in the United States.-Conception:...

Alan Duk Sin Say Shun Awards After Party
Stennheiser-Pong Wedding Reception
Men of a Certain Age
Men of a Certain Age
Men of a Certain Age is an American comedy-drama television series, which premiered on TNT on December 7, 2009. The hour-long program stars Ray Romano, Andre Braugher and Scott Bakula as three best friends in their late forties dealing with the realities of middle age. The show ran for two years,...

Kuo Episode: Pilot
2009–present Community
Community (TV series)
Community is an American television comedy series created by Dan Harmon that airs on NBC. The series is about a group of students at a community college in the fictional locale of Greendale, Colorado. The series heavily uses meta-humor and pop culture references, often parodying film and television...

Señor Ben Chang Series regular

External links

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