Zoë Carroll Chao (born September 19, 1985) is an American television and stage actress and screenwriter, principally known for her roles as Isobel in ''
Strangers
A stranger is a person who is unknown or unfamiliar to another person or group. Because of this unknown status or unfamiliarity, a stranger may be perceived as a threat until their identity (social science), identity and Character structure, chara ...
'' and Zoë in ''
The Afterparty''.
Early life
Chao was born in
Providence, Rhode Island
Providence () is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Rhode Island, most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. The county seat of Providence County, Rhode Island, Providence County, it is o ...
, United States.
Her mother has Irish and English ancestry, while her father is of Chinese descent. Her paternal grandmother immigrated from China to Michigan.
Chao has 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, image, filmmaking, design, crafts, and architecture. Many artistic disciplines such as performing arts, conceptual art, and texti ...
.
After graduating from the
Wheeler School in 2004, she received her
BA in
art history
Art history is the study of Work of art, artistic works made throughout human history. Among other topics, it studies art’s formal qualities, its impact on societies and cultures, and how artistic styles have changed throughout history.
Tradit ...
from
Brown University
Brown University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. It is the List of colonial colleges, seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the US, founded in 1764 as the ' ...
and her
MFA from the graduate acting program at
UCSD
The University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego in communications material, formerly and colloquially UCSD) is a public land-grant research university in San Diego, California, United States. Established in 1960 near the pre-existing ...
.
Career
Chao has participated in theatre productions, including
La Jolla Playhouse's ''Sideways'', ''Surf Report'', and WoW Festivals' ''Our Town,'' and
Ensemble Theatre Company's ''Amadeus''. In 2016, she appeared in the Off Broadway play ''Friend Art'' at
Second Stage. She has worked with directors
Christopher Guest
Christopher Haden-Guest, 5th Baron Haden-Guest (born 5 February 1948), known professionally as Christopher Guest, is a British-American actor, comedian, screenwriter and director. Guest has written, directed, and starred in his series of comedy ...
,
Les Waters,
Ping Chong and Chris Ashley.
Chao also starred in her own TV series, ''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 ''
Strangers
A stranger is a person who is unknown or unfamiliar to another person or group. Because of this unknown status or unfamiliarity, a stranger may be perceived as a threat until their identity (social science), identity and Character structure, chara ...
'', the first three episodes of which were screened at the
Sundance Film Festival
The Sundance Film Festival is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with 423,234 combined in-person and online viewership in 2023.
The festival has acted ...
.
In 2022-23, Chao was in the main cast of the
Apple TV+
Apple TV+ is an American subscription over-the-top streaming service owned by Apple. The service launched on November 1, 2019, and it offers a selection of original production film and television series called Apple Originals. The service w ...
mystery comedy series ''
The Afterparty''. In 2024, Chao appeared as
Nina Mazursky in the animated television series ''
Creature Commandos
The Creature Commandos are the name of several military special forces groups appearing in American comic book, American comic books published by DC Comics. Co-created by writer J. M. DeMatteis and artist Pat Broderick, the team first appeared i ...
'', written and created by
James Gunn
James Francis Gunn Jr. (born August 5, 1966) is an American filmmaker. He began his career as a screenwriter in the mid-1990s, starting at Troma Entertainment with ''Tromeo and Juliet'' (1996). He then began working as a director, starting wi ...
for the
DC Universe
The DC Universe (DCU) is the shared universe in which most stories in American comic book titles published by DC Comics take place. In context, the term "DC Universe" usually refers to the main DC Continuity (fiction), continuity. It contains v ...
based on the team of the
same name.
In 2024, Chao was cast in the comedy ''
Let's Have Kids!'' opposite
Karen Gillan.
Personal life
During the filming of ''
Strangers
A stranger is a person who is unknown or unfamiliar to another person or group. Because of this unknown status or unfamiliarity, a stranger may be perceived as a threat until their identity (social science), identity and Character structure, chara ...
'', Chao relocated from New York City to Los Angeles.
Filmography
Film
Television
Awards and nominations
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chao, Zoë
1985 births
Living people
Actresses from Providence, Rhode Island
21st-century American actresses
21st-century American screenwriters
21st-century American women writers
American television writers
American actresses of Chinese descent
American film actresses
American television actresses
American women television writers
Brown University alumni
Screenwriters from Rhode Island
University of California, San Diego alumni
Writers from Providence, Rhode Island