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Jiaoying Summers

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Jiaoying Summers
梁娇颖
Summers in 2022
Born
Liáng Jiāoyǐng

(1990-01-18) January 18, 1990 (age 35)
Henan Province, China
NationalityAmerican
Alma materUniversity of Kentucky[1]
Occupations
  • Actress
  • comedian
  • producer
Years active2013–present
Children2
Websitejiaoyingsummers.com

Liang Jiaoying (Chinese: 王李丹妮),[2] professionally known as Jiaoying Summers (born January 18, 1990),[3][4] is a Chinese-American stand-up comedian, actress, and producer. She is best known for her TikTok videos and her focus on combating Asian racism and promoting Asian representation. Her stand-up comedy often focuses on her upbringing and East Asian culture.[5]

Early life and education

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Summers was born and raised in Henan Province in China. She was born during China's one-child policy, and her parents delivered her at home instead of a hospital "to avoid the shame of having a girl" as their only child.[4] Summers initially aspired to become an actress, inspired by watching films from a video rental shop her mother operated with her cousin.[1] She has described her father as a "non-functioning alcoholic."[6]

Summers came to the United States at the age of 18 and studied at the University of Kentucky,[4] where she earned a Bachelor's degree in economics with a minor in theater.[1] After graduating, she relocated to Los Angeles and studied acting for four years with acting instructor Howard Fine.[1]

Career

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In 2013, Summers served as the president for new business development for her family's construction company. She also interned for the IMAX Corporation in Los Angeles. In 2014, Summers won the title of Miss China in the international beauty pageant "Queen of the Universe".[7] She began acting in 2016.[8]

Summers is the founding partner and CEO of Summers Media, an international production company.[9]

Comedy

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During an audition for the police drama show Rebel, executive producer John Singleton heard Summers making jokes and suggested that she try performing stand-up comedy.[10] Following his advice, she performed at her first open mic night in 2019.[11] She began posting on TikTok in 2020, and has since gained more than 1.2 million followers and has accumulated over 1 billion views.[12][13]

Summers incorporates personal material into her comedy routines, including her "decision to talk about [China's] one-child policy as a survivor". Her video went viral, leading to being banned on TikTok, which is owned by Chinese company ByteDance. TikTok cited violation of community guidelines, and restored her account three months later. Summers has spoken about continued deflated viewership, leading her to suspect she had also been shadow banned.[4]

Summers performs regularly at The Laugh Factory, The Comedy Store, and Carolines NYC, was a headliner at the New York Comedy Festival in 2022 and headlined the Apollo theater in November 9, 2023.[12] She also starred in the Netflix Is A Joke festival's Women in Comedy show.[13] In 2022, Summers released a comedy special as part of the Comedy InvAsian series, on NBC Peacock.[14]

Summers is the owner of two comedy clubs, both located in Los Angeles: The Hollywood Comedy and The Pasadena Comedy.[15]

Personal life

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Summers shares two children, a son and a daughter, with her ex-husband, Xia Liangbing.[11][16][6]

Summers is the Asia ambassador for Operation USA, a non profit humanitarian organization supporting health, education and relief programs. She is also the international ambassador for the Linzhou Charity Federation.[7]

In 2022, Summers was inducted into the Asian Hall of Fame[17]

Filmography

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As actress

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Year Title Role Notes
2016 Major Crimes Tai Chi Student as Jiaoying Liang
2016 The Scarlet Thorn Lin Wu as Jiaoying Liang
2016 Alex and Lotus Lotus Wang as Jiaoying Liang
2016 Hollywood Diversity Michelle as Jiaoying Liang
2017 The Missing 6 Carrie Ling as Jiaoying Liang
2019 American Bistro Yu Yang uncredited
2020 The Madams Steph as Gia Summers

As producer

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Year Title Notes
2016 The Scarlet Thorn as Jiaoying Liang
2016 The Like Challenge as Jiaoying Liang
2019 An Unforgettable Winter as Jiaoying Liang
2020 Wo men zhe xie nian

References

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  1. ^ a b c d Johnson, Seth (September 28, 2023). "Comedian Jiaoying Summers shares a message of empowerment". NUVO. Archived from the original on February 5, 2025.
  2. ^ Lu, Feiran (April 21, 2024). "'Comedy is tragedy plus time' for top Chinese-American stand-up artist". Shanghai Daily. Archived from the original on February 5, 2025.
  3. ^ Summers, Jiaoying [@JiaoyingSummers] (January 18, 2025). "It's my bday today :) let me teach you Chinese on rednote! 🍠小红薯 my rednote" (Tweet). Archived from the original on February 5, 2025 – via Twitter.
  4. ^ a b c d Jackson, Nate (January 28, 2022). "Jiaoying Summers' joke about China's one-child policy made everyone laugh – except TikTok censors". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on January 29, 2022.
  5. ^ Yan, Alice (May 31, 2024). "Chinese-American 'comedy queen' Jiaoying Summers born and raised in rural China, reveals childhood taunts about weight". South China Morning Post. Archived from the original on February 5, 2025.
  6. ^ a b Jung, Jia H. (December 23, 2023). "Jiaoying Summers is No Joke". Sampan. Archived from the original on February 5, 2025.
  7. ^ a b "Meet Jiaoying Summers". VoyageLA.com. November 5, 2019. Retrieved February 11, 2023.
  8. ^ "Jiaoying Summers". IMDb. Retrieved February 13, 2023.
  9. ^ Germano, Prachedes Indyra (February 23, 2022). "The Queen of Comedy – Jiaoying Summers". Jejune Magazine. Retrieved February 12, 2023.
  10. ^ "Interview with TikTok Comedy Queen Jiaoying Summers". Cliché Magazine. January 25, 2022. Archived from the original on February 5, 2025.
  11. ^ a b Diamond, Joy (July 7, 2022). "Asian American comedians reclaim their narratives in S.F. 'Asians Are Funny' fundraiser". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved February 12, 2023.
  12. ^ a b "Stop Asian Hate feat. Jiaoying Summers". Carolines on Broadway. Retrieved February 11, 2023.
  13. ^ a b "Jiaoying Summers". Improv.com. Retrieved February 11, 2023.
  14. ^ Luparello, Joseph (September 14, 2022). "Chillin' With Jiaoying Summers". ChilledMagazine.com. Retrieved February 12, 2023.
  15. ^ Ang, Marc (September 19, 2021). "Comedy Is The Next Asian Entertainment Frontier & Jiaoying Summers Is The Trailblazer". TheHollywoodTimes.today. Retrieved February 13, 2023.
  16. ^ "SUMMERS, JIAOYING LIANG VS XIA, LIANGBING". March 23, 2023. Retrieved November 27, 2024.
  17. ^ Grein, Paul (October 10, 2022). "Daniel Ho, Hiroshima, Tia Carrere & More to Be Inducted Into Asian Hall of Fame". Billboard. Archived from the original on February 5, 2025.
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