Joe Wong: Bio, Comedy Style, and Where to Watch

Who is Joe Wong?

Joe Wong (Chinese: 黄西, Huang Xi) was born on February 16, 1970, in Jilin Province, China. He moved to the United States in 1994 at age 24 for graduate studies and earned a PhD in biochemistry from Rice University in 2000. He worked in pharmaceutical research in Boston, screening cancer drugs, before attending a show by comedian Emo Philips and deciding to pursue stand-up. He started performing in Boston in 2001 at venues including All Asia Bar and Stash’s Comedy Jam.

He made his national breakthrough with an appearance on The Late Show with David Letterman on April 17, 2009. Multiple appearances on The Ellen DeGeneres Show boosted his profile further. On St. Patrick’s Day 2010, he headlined the 66th annual Radio and Television Correspondents’ Association Dinner in Washington, D.C., where he roasted then-Vice President Joe Biden. He returned to Letterman in February 2010 and March 2012, and appeared on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert in December 2018. He won the Third Annual Great American Comedy Festival in June 2010. He performed on WTF with Marc Maron in 2016. In 2024, he performed at the Netflix Is A Joke Fest — including the first-ever Mandarin-language show at the festival. He tours in both English and Chinese and hosted the popular Chinese TV talk show Is This True? for ten years. He has been featured in the book First Generation: 36 Trailblazing Immigrants and Refugees Who Make America Great. He has published an autobiography, The Tao of Humor, in China (2011 bestseller), and multiple other books and e-books. He has acted in feature films in the U.S. and China.

Joe Wong’s Comedy Style

Wong performs with a deadpan delivery and a precision that reflects both his scientific background and his experience as an outsider navigating American culture. His material explores cultural identity, immigration, and the absurdities of navigating two very different worlds — built from genuine experience and delivered with the patience of someone who spent years in a biochemistry lab learning to wait for results. The bilingual touring is not a novelty; it reflects a comedian who has genuinely built two distinct audiences in two languages.

Where to Find Joe Wong

Find tour dates at joewongcomedian.com and follow on Instagram @joewongcomedy.

Joe Wong has performed at the Comedy Cellar in New York City’s Greenwich Village. Check the current lineup and upcoming shows at comedycellar.com.

Catch Comedy Cellar shows live from New York on Mint Comedy at watch.mintcomedy.com.