Zoë Carroll Chao (born September 19, 1985) is an American television and stage actress and screenwriter, principally known for her role as Isobel in ''

Strangers A stranger is a person who is unknown to another person or group. Because of this unknown status, a stranger may be perceived as a threat until their identity (social science), identity and Character structure, character can be ascertained. Differ ...

'', and Zoe in '' The Afterparty''.

Early life

Chao was born in

Providence, Rhode Island Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts Bay ...

, United States. Her mother has

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

roots, and her father is a second-generation

Chinese American Chinese Americans are Americans of Han Chinese ancestry. Chinese Americans constitute a subgroup of East Asian Americans which also constitute a subgroup of Asian Americans. Many Chinese Americans along with their ancestors trace lineage from ...

. Chao has also stated that she grew up in a family of

visual artists The visual arts are art forms such as painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, ceramics, photography, video, filmmaking, design, crafts and architecture. Many artistic disciplines such as performing arts, conceptual art, and textile arts al ...

. After graduating from The

Wheeler School Wheeler School is a private school located on the East Side of Providence, Rhode Island, United States. The school serves students from the preschool level through twelfth-grade. History Early history In 1889, an art school for girls was establ ...

in 2004, she received her BA in

art history Art history is the study of aesthetic objects and visual expression in historical and stylistic context. Traditionally, the discipline of art history emphasized painting, drawing, sculpture, architecture, ceramics and decorative arts; yet today ...

from

Brown University Brown University is a private research university in Providence, Rhode Island. Brown is the seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, founded in 1764 as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providenc ...

and her MFA from the graduate acting program at

UCSD The University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego or colloquially, UCSD) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in San Diego, California. Established in 1960 near the pre-existing Scripps Insti ...

Career

Chao has participated in theatre productions, including

La Jolla Playhouse La Jolla Playhouse is a not-for-profit, professional theatre on the campus of the University of California, San Diego. History La Jolla Playhouse was founded in 1947 by Gregory Peck, Dorothy McGuire, and Mel Ferrer. In 1983, it was revived under ...

s' ''Sideways'', ''Surf Report'', and WoW Festivals' ''Our Town,'' and

Ensemble Theatre Company Ensemble may refer to: Art * Architectural ensemble * ''Ensemble'' (album), Kendji Girac 2015 album * Ensemble (band), a project of Olivier Alary * Ensemble cast (drama, comedy) * Ensemble (musical theatre), also known as the chorus * ''E ...

's ''Amadeus''. In 2016, she appeared in the Off Broadway play ''Friend Art'' at

Second Stage A multistage rocket or step rocket is a launch vehicle that uses two or more rocket ''stages'', each of which contains its own engines and propellant. A ''tandem'' or ''serial'' stage is mounted on top of another stage; a ''parallel'' stage i ...

. She has worked with directors

Christopher Guest Christopher Haden-Guest, 5th Baron Haden-Guest (born February 5, 1948) is an American-British screenwriter, composer, musician, director, actor, and comedian. Guest is most widely known in Hollywood for having written, directed, and starred in ...

, Les Waters,

Ping Chong Ping may refer to: Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Ping, a domesticated Chinese duck in the illustrated book '' The Story about Ping'', first published in 1933 * Ping, a minor character in ''Seinfeld'', an NBC sitcom * Ping, a c ...

and

Chris Ashley Chris Ashley is an artist who creates his work through the use of coding with simple instruction to create shapes, add colors and texture to his paintings. Through the use of this new medium, he is able to create freedoms and use this freedom to ...

. Chao also starred in her own TV series, ''The God Particles'', which she wrote and produced. She co-produced the 2017 short ''Like Animals''. She is perhaps best known for starring as Isobel in ''

'', the first three episodes of which were screened at the

Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival (formerly Utah/US Film Festival, then US Film and Video Festival) is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with more than 46,66 ...

. In 2022, Chao was in the main cast of the

Apple TV+ Apple TV is a digital media player and microconsole developed and marketed by Apple Inc. It is a small network appliance hardware that plays received media data such as video and audio to a television set or external display. Since its secon ...

mystery comedy series '' The Afterparty''.

Personal life

During the filming of ''

'', Chao relocated from New York City to Los Angeles.

Filmography

Film

Television

Awards and nominations

, - , 2015 , Best Female Performance in a Comedy , International Academy of Web Television Awards ,

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Chao, Zoë 1985 births Living people Actors from Providence, Rhode Island Actresses from Rhode Island 21st-century American actresses 21st-century American screenwriters 21st-century American women writers American actresses of Chinese descent American film actresses American people of English descent American people of Irish descent American television actresses American television writers American women television writers Brown University alumni Screenwriters from Rhode Island University of California, San Diego alumni Writers from Providence, Rhode Island