Ken Jeong
| Ken Jeong | |
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| Born | Kendrick Kang-Joh Jeong July 13, 1969 Detroit, Michigan, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Duke University University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill |
| Occupation | Actor, comedian, physician |
| Years active | 1997–present |
| Website | |
| www.kenjeong.com | |
Kendrick Kang-Joh "Ken" Jeong (born July 13, 1969),[1] also known as "Dr. Ken," is an American comedian, actor, and physician.[2] Currently, he appears as Ben Chang on the NBC comedy series Community.
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Early life and medical career
Jeong was born in Detroit, Michigan, the son of South Korean immigrants Young and D.K. Jeong, who was a professor at North Carolina A&T State University in Greensboro, North Carolina.[3][4] Jeong was raised in Greensboro and attended Walter Hines Page High School, 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.[3]
He completed his undergraduate studies at Duke University in 1990 and attained his medical degree at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1995.[2] He then completed his Internal Medicine residency at Ochsner Medical Center in New Orleans while developing his stand-up comedy.[5]
Career in show business
He won the Big Easy Laff-Off, of which NBC president Brandon Tartikoff and The Improv founder Budd Friedman were judges. They both urged Jeong to move to Los Angeles, and he began performing regularly at the Improv and Laugh Factory comedy clubs.
Jeong's background in theater and improv has led to several television appearances, including NBC's The Office, HBO's Entourage and Curb Your Enthusiasm. Ken made his feature film debut as Dr. Kuni in Judd Apatow's Knocked Up which proved to be his breakout performance. Subsequently, he has appeared in Pineapple Express; Role Models as King Argotron; All About Steve; The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard; Couples Retreat; and as Mr. Chow in The Hangover and The Hangover Part II. He co-starred in Zookeeper and Transformers: Dark of the Moon, released in summer 2011.
He attacked (kayfabe) pro wrestler John Cena with a cane on the August 3, 2009 episode of WWE Raw.
Jeong is a series regular as Señor Chang on NBC's sitcom Community.
Jeong was nominated for two 2010 MTV Movie Awards, winning the award for Best WTF Moment as well as being nominated for MTV Movie Award for Best Villain for The Hangover.
Jeong was also nominated for "Breakout Star Male" for Community at the 2010 Teen Choice Awards.
In the fall of 2010, Adidas basketball began a wide-ranging marketing campaign in which Jeong stars as the character "Slim Chin" alongside NBA stars Dwight Howard and Derrick Rose.
On May 22, 2011, Jeong hosted the 2011 Billboard Music Awards in Las Vegas on ABC.[6]
On June 15, 2011, Jeong was featured in a Hands Only CPR PSA campaign from the American Heart Association.[7]
Ken Jeong will star in and produce the film The Chung Factor, which was purchased by Lionsgate on October 25, 2011.[8]
Personal life
Jeong's wife, Tran Ho, a Vietnamese American, is also a doctor. Together, they have twin daughters, Alexa and Zooey.[9]
Filmography
References
- ^ Ancestry.com. U.S. Public Records Index, Volume 1 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010.
- ^ a b "Medical Board of California – Physician/Surgeon License". http://www2.mbc.ca.gov/LicenseLookupSystem/PhysicianSurgeon/Lookup.aspx?licenseType=A&licenseNumber=65869.
- ^ a b Lopez, Robert (June 19, 2009). "Greensboro native finds funny bone in movie". News & Record. http://www.news-record.com/content/2009/06/19/article/greensboro_native_finds_funny_bone_in_movie. Retrieved 2010-03-22.
- ^ Lee, Chris (June 10, 2009). "Doctor provides best medicine". The Columbus Dispatch. http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/arts/stories/2009/06/10/2_HANGOVER_FUNNYGUY.ART_ART_06-10-09_D5_OQE4LU0.html. Retrieved September 13, 2009.
- ^ "Dr. Ken Jeong". Justforlaughs.com. Retrieved June 3, 2007.
- ^ "Far*East Movement will perform at Ken Jeong-hosted Billboard Music Awards". Asia Pacific Arts. May 12, 2011. http://asiapacificarts.usc.edu/article@apa?fareast_movement_will_perform_at_ken_jeong-hosted_billboard_music_awards_16721.aspx.
- ^ "Ken Jeong AHA Hands-Only CPR video". June 15, 2011. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5hP4DIBCEE.
- ^ "Ken Jeong to star in and co-produce The Chung Factor". Asia Pacific Arts. 10/31/2011. http://asiapacificarts.usc.edu/article@apa?ken_jeong_to_star_in_and_co-produce_the_chung_factor_17612.aspx.
- ^ Deerwester, Jayme (September 3, 2009). "Ken Jeong transitions from doctor to in-demand jokester". USA Today. http://iamkoream.com/ken-jeong-is-good-for-us/#comment-4016.
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Ken Jeong |
- 1969 births
- Actors from Michigan
- American comedians
- American film actors
- American physicians
- American people of Korean descent
- American television actors
- Living people
- People from Detroit, Michigan
- People from Greensboro, North Carolina
- Duke University alumni
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill alumni
- American actors of Korean descent
