Charlyne Yi
Yi's screenwriting debut, the feature film Paper Heart, won the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival. As a comedian, their performances include music, magic, games, and often audience participation.
Early life
Yi was raised in Fontana, California; They are of Filipino, Mexican, and Korean descent. They attended the University of California, Riverside before leaving to pursue a full-time career in comedy. They had an early interest in performing while attending Bloomington High School and were involved in theatre.
Career
Yi began their career by performing in Bloomington, California. After high school, they performed shows in Los Angeles at The Steve Allen Theater, and The Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre. In 2005 and 2006 they performed in the New York Comedy Festival, and in 2007 HBO's U.S. Comedy Arts Festival in Aspen, Colorado.
Yi's film debut was in Judd Apatow's 2007 film Knocked Up. In 2008, Yi performed as part of the Apatow for Destruction Live comedy show at Montreal's Just for Laughs Festival.
In the 2009 film Paper Heart, a "hybrid documentary" in which Yi served as both executive producer and co-writer, Yi starred as a fictional version of themself, alongside Michael Cera.
Yi was chosen as one of Venus Zine's "25 under 25" women for 2009.
They appeared alongside Saturday Night Live cast member Fred Armisen in the 2009 music video for the song "Rabbit Habits" by Philadelphia experimental band Man Man.
Yi and Paul Rust formed the band The Glass Beef. The duo share one electric guitar and both sing lead vocals. In 2006, they released their debut album, The Farewell Album, produced by John Spiker, bassist of Tenacious D.
Yi was featured in the video "Song Away" by Hockey. They are currently in the band Sacred Destinies.
From October 2011 to May 2012, Yi starred in the Fox television series House as Dr. Chi Park, a young doctor with anger management issues.
Non-profit work
Yi has been involved with Oxfam America since 2010, working to raise awareness about poverty and hunger around the world. Yi started the non-profit Caring is Cool in 2011, and hosted a benefit show to raise money for the organization.
Personal life
Yi describes their gender identity as genderfluid. They use they/them pronouns.
On Twitter, Yi accused Marilyn Manson of sexual harassment on the set of House.
In 2018, Amber Tamblyn said of her husband David Cross, "Basically he was rightfully accused of doing something racist to the comedian Charlyne Yi," following tweets that Yi had posted on the subject in 2017. Cross asked Yi to reach out via direct message to discuss the situation. He later publicly apologized to them, claiming that he would "never intentionally hurt someone like that."
In 2021, they spoke out about their experience with James Franco, specifically discussing their efforts to quit his 2017 film, The Disaster Artist, after learning of the sexual misconduct allegations against him. Yi also criticized Seth Rogen for enabling Franco's behavior and continuing to work with him following the allegations.
In 2024, Yi said that while filming Time Bandits for Apple TV+, they were constantly assaulted by a male actor who, in the process, injured Yi's back. This was disputed by an on-set source, who said that their internal investigation couldn't substantiate the claim.
Yi married Jet Elfman, fellow member of their band Sacred Destinies, in 2016. Elfman filed for divorce in April of 2018, after being separated for a year.
Filmography
Film
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2007 | Knocked Up | Jodi | |
2008 | Cloverfield | Party Goer | |
Semi-Pro | Wheelchair Jody | ||
2009 | Paper Heart | Charlyne Yi | Nominated – Comedy Film Award for Best Actress |
All About Steve | Young Protester | ||
2010 | Fast | Donna Fast | Two-minute video short |
2012 | This Is 40 | Jodi | |
2014 | The Last Time You Had Fun | Betty | |
2016 | Nerdland | Becky | Voice |
2017 | The Disaster Artist | Safoya | |
Literally, Right Before Aaron | Claire | ||
The Lego Ninjago Movie | Terri IT Nerd | Voice | |
2018 | Puppet Master: The Littlest Reich | Nerissa | |
Next Gen | Mai Su | Voice
Nominated – Annie Award for Voice Acting in a Feature Production | |
Second Act | Ariana | ||
2019 | Always Be My Maybe | Ginger | |
Goldie | Goldie | Voice, short | |
Steven Universe: The Movie | Ruby | Voice, television film | |
Jexi | Elaine | ||
2020 | Trolls World Tour | Pennywhistle | Voice |
We Bare Bears: The Movie | Chloe Park | Voice | |
2021 | Happily | Gretel | |
The Mitchells vs. the Machines | Abbey Posey | Voice | |
2022 | My Father's Dragon | Magda | Voice |
Television
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2006 | Help Me Help You | Charlyne | Episode: "The Sheriff" |
2007 | 30 Rock | Grace Park | Episode: "The C Word" |
Cold Case | Dorky Girl | Episode: "Stand Up and Holler" | |
Powerloafing | Executive Assistant | ||
2008 | Miss Guided | Karey | Episode: "Pool Party" |
2011 | Love Bites | Sex Shop Manager | Episodes: "Unaired Pilot" & "Firsts" |
2011–2012 | House | Dr. Chi Park | 21 episodes |
2015 | Looking | Cashier | Episode: "Looking for a Plot" |
2015–2019 | Steven Universe | Ruby, various Rubies, Cluster | Voice, 12 episodes |
We Bare Bears | Chloe Park | Voice, series regular (18 episodes) | |
2016 | Love | Cori | 3 episodes |
Jane the Virgin | Angela | Episode: "Chapter Thirty-Nine" | |
Future-Worm! | Zoe | Voice, episode: "Bug vs. the Babysitter" | |
2017 | Twin Peaks | Ruby | Episode: "Part 15" |
Danger & Eggs | Layla | Voice, episode: "Keep Off the Grass/Pennies" | |
Room 104 | Gracie | Episode: "FOMO" | |
2018 | Lucifer | Ray-Ray / Azrael | 2 episodes |
DIY | Eli | Voice, TV short | |
2018–2023 | Summer Camp Island | Alice Fefferman | Voice, series regular (22 episodes) |
2019 | Steven Universe Future | Ruby, Eyeball Ruby, Ruby Bodyguards | Voice, 5 episodes |
2020 | Good Girls | Lucy | 2 episodes |
2021 | Tig n' Seek | Georgia | Voice, episode: "Must Love Bugs" |
2022 | Amphibia | The Guardian | Voice, episode: "The Hardest Thing" |
Guillermo del Toro's Cabinet of Curiosities | Charlotte Xie | Episode: "The Viewing" | |
2024 | Time Bandits | Judy | Yi withdrew halfway through filming |
Books
Year | Title | Type |
---|---|---|
2015 | Oh the Moon | Text/Image hybrid |
2019 | You Can't Kill Me Twice (So Please Treat Me Right) | Poetry |
References
- ^ "Charlyne Amanda Yi, Born 01/04/1986 in California". CaliforniaBirthIndex.org.
- ^ LaPorte, Nicole (May 31, 2007). "Suddenly, Yi is sitting pretty". Los Angeles Times.
Yi's fortune turned pretty quickly considering the Fontana native is only 21
- ^ Saba, Michael (September 30, 2009). "Charlyne Yi: Geek Love". Paste. Archived from the original on December 6, 2009. Retrieved April 28, 2020.
- ^ Boyd, Betsy (February 26, 2007). "Charlyne Yi: 10 Comics to Watch". Variety. Retrieved April 24, 2007.
- ^ Chang, Elysha (October 24, 2017). "David Cross, Charlyne Yi and the Luxury of Forgetting". gq.com.
- ^ "Interview: Charlyne Yi". The Believer. March 2010. Archived from the original on March 7, 2010.
- ^ "About".
- ^ Farris, Christopher (February 11, 2019). "These Filipinos Are the Voices of Modern Cartoon and Anime Characters". Esquire. Hearst Communications. Archived from the original on July 8, 2019. Retrieved June 30, 2020.
- ^ Prentice, Claire (August 3, 2010). "Preview: Charlyne Yi – Dances on the Moon". edinburgh-festivals.com. Archived from the original on November 23, 2010.
- ^ Keepnews, Peter (November 3, 2005). "Upstart Comedians Goofing on Andy". The New York Times. Retrieved April 24, 2007.
- ^ "Just For Laughs highlights". Variety. July 10, 2008.
- ^ "Film Review: Paper Heart". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on January 10, 2010. Retrieved March 10, 2009.
- ^ Venus Zine Staff (March 1, 2009). "25 under 25". Venus Zine. Archived from the original on March 6, 2009. Retrieved February 16, 2017.
Funny lady Charlyne Yi's name may not sound familiar, but you have seen them in movies and TV shows like Knocked Up and Miss Guided, and now in Paper Heart, a half-documentary, half-narrative starring Yi's real-life love interest Michael Cera about the meaning of love. Aww.
- ^ "Song Away by Hockey with Charlyne Yi". Archived from the original on October 8, 2011. Retrieved March 28, 2011.
- ^ "Bio: Charlyne Yi / Dr. Chi Park". Archived from the original on July 13, 2012., FOX website for the House MD series
- ^ "Charlyne Yi as Dr. Chi Park on House". channelAPA.com. November 1, 2011. Archived from the original on November 21, 2011. Retrieved November 9, 2011.
- ^ Kramer, Anna (September 16, 2010). "Actress Charlyne Yi fights hunger with Oxfam". Oxfam America. Archived from the original on October 31, 2013.
- ^ "Charlyne Yi | Caring is Cool is my new NON-PROFIT I made to help". Tumblr. July 17, 2011. Archived from the original on July 17, 2011.
- ^ Yi, Charlyne. "charlyne-yi.com". Archived from the original on May 24, 2022. Retrieved June 10, 2022.
- ^ Bitette, Nicole (February 17, 2018). "Actress Charlyne Yi claims Marilyn Manson harassed them and others on set of 'House'". Daily News. New York.
- ^ Wanshel, Elyse (July 3, 2018). "Amber Tamblyn Says David Cross Was 'Rightfully Accused Of Doing Something Racist'". HuffPost.
- ^ "David Cross Stirs Up Controversy With Apology to Charlyne Yi for Alleged Racist Incident". Teen Vogue. October 18, 2017. Retrieved October 7, 2024.
- ^ Tenreyro, Tatiana (May 11, 2021). "Charlyne Yi provides 'checklist' for Seth Rogen to make good after 'siding' with James Franco". The A.V. Club. Retrieved September 3, 2021.
- ^ Dolak, Kevin (May 16, 2024). "Charlyne Yi Says They Were Physically and Mentally Abused on 'Time Bandits' Series Set". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved May 16, 2024.
- ^ "Charlyne Yi's Secret Husband Files for Divorce". Retrieved October 7, 2024.
- ^ "'House' Star Charlyne Yi's Husband Files for Divorce". April 30, 2018. Retrieved October 7, 2024.
- ^ "Charlyne Yi (visual voices guide)". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved November 8, 2023. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information.
- ^ Petski, Denise (May 21, 2018). "'Lucifer': Fox Sets Airdate For Two Bonus Episodes Of Canceled Series". Deadline Hollywood.
External links
- Charlyne Yi at IMDb
- June 2009 Interview Archived June 16, 2015, at the Wayback Machine with L.A. Record