'Paper Girls' on Amazon Prime Video: How Ali Wong’s first stand-up comedy act was 'disgusting'
Even before she became popular as an actor, ‘Paper Girls’ star Ali Wong had a cult following as a stand-up comedian. The star of three uproarious Netflix comedy specials ‘Baby Cobra’, ‘Hard Knock Wife’ and ‘Don Wong’ is known for her uninhibited take on what many may term 'uncomfortable topics' in stand-up comedy scene. The actor, a comedian, and now an author, had performed 'Baby Cobra' and 'Hard Knock Wife' while she was pregnant. In those shows, Wong talked about topics including her miscarriages and how life after motherhood is not scary with references to having a baby and a career to handle. Laced with her distinctive style of humor and candor which elicited sincere laughs from audiences, Wong went on to become the most sought-after star in the world of stand-up comedy. Today, her two Netflix comic specials -- 'Baby Cobra', and 'Hard Knock Wife' -- are among the most watched ones on any streaming platform.
Wong also recently received an Emmy nomination for her latest Netflix comedy special ‘Don Wong’ in the 'Outstanding Writing' category for a variety special. Besides, the 40-year-old actress is all set to appear in the much-awaited Amazon Prime Video series ‘Paper Girls’. The show is about four girls — Erin (Riley Lai Nelet), Mac (Sofia Rosinsky), Tiffany (Camryn Jones), and KJ (Fina Strazza) — who are caught up in the crossfire between warring time travelers and are transported to 2019. Wong plays the grown-up version of Erin, who helps the tweens escape the present. Nate Corddry and Adina Porter also star in the ensemble series.
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Ali Wong’s introduction to comedy
In a 2019 Vanity Fair interview, Wong spoke about how she got a firsthand experience of the vibrant world of comedy in her childhood. The comedian said she got her first hit of audience laughter in sixth grade at a camp at San Francisco’s Cameron House.
Sharing about how she had been playing a game where the kids were told to attempt to mimic whatever the last person was doing, without a clear directive, Wong said, “I didn’t know what I was doing. But at one point, I guess, I was washing the elephant’s butt. People started laughing, and then I started really milking it, exaggerating. People were, like, crying-on-the-floor laughing. It was all physical. I wasn’t talking or anything, and I was the youngest person in that camp. That was very defining. I just remember it was all instinctual it was just, like, feeding off the energy from them.”
When did Wong start stand-up comedy?
Opening up about her first attempt at stand-up comedy, Wong replied, “I think I was 23, and it was at this place called the Brainwash Café. it was very grimy, and it was half café, half laundromat, and 100 per cent homeless shelter. I mean, there were times when it was an open mic, and I’d be doing my three minutes, and there were maybe three people in the audience. And one of them would just be a homeless guy, and I could see his hand moving underneath his pants.”
Wong's first stand-up comedy gig
In an interview with Health.com dated March 2020, Wong talked about her first-ever stand-up comedy experience. "It was very disgusting. It was all about sex. I had moved back from Vietnam and was single, living in San Francisco, and so horny. There were all these cute hipster men. It was fun. I would just go out with these guys and then talk about them on stage the next day. I would talk about their erectile dysfunction and stuff like that. If you can imagine, it was even dirtier than my material is now,” she said.
What is Wong’s current net worth?
According to CA knowledge.com, as of 2022, Ali Wong’s current net worth is $4 million.
What is Wong’s relationship status?
According to People magazine, as of 2022, Ali Wong and her ex-husband Justin Hakuta are not together anymore. They both divorced each other after eight years of marriage. They continue to co-parent their two daughters, Mari and Nikki.
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‘Paper Girls’ releases globally on July 29, 2022, on Amazon Prime Video. The series stars Sofia Rosinsky, Riley Lai Nelet, Camryn Jones, and Fina Strazza alongside Ali Wong in leading roles.
