Charlyne Yi Biography

Fast Facts

• Earned the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival for her work on "Paper Heart․"
• Established the non-profit organization Caring is Cool in 2011
• Worked with the non-profit Oxfam America beginning in 2010
• Initially studied at the University of California, Riverside, but left before graduation in order to pursue comedy full time
• Recalls her first foray into comedy being when she would bring popsicle sticks with jokes written on them into school to make her peers laugh
• Quote: "The truth is the strongest form of anything, whether serious or funny․ Whatever comes natural is probably the truth․"
• Quote: "[On earning the stereotype that she is a 'nerd'] "I wouldn't consider myself a 'nerd'․ I don't know what really makes someone a nerd․ It's kind of shocking to me actually that I have been stereotyped․""
• Quote: "[Regarding her thoughts about starting a career in stand-up] "I didn't even understand what [comedy] was or what stand-up was․ I thought it was a fad in the '80s․""
• Once toured with bandmate Paul Rust with the group, The Glass Beef
• Made her film debut in 2007 with "Knocked Up" and later secured her first recurring series role on "House" in 2011