Jamie Chung

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Jamie Chung

Some people become famous celebs because they’re literally following in their parents’ footsteps, who also happen to be either famous celebs themselves, or are well-respected figures in the entertainment industry and are more than capable of making a star out of their kids. Other celebs, like Jamie Chung here, become famous through sheer hard work and perseverance. This Korean-American actress paved a way for herself to Hollywood without any parental help; her parents never worked in any field of entertainment and definitely aren’t famous actors or musicians. Instead, they’re Korean immigrants who came to the US to pursue the American Dream, and just like most other first generation immigrants who went to the US for a better life, the American Dream for them meant working beackbreaking 60+ hour weeks at shitty jobs so they could afford basic necessities like housing, food and schooling for their kids.  

Jamie’s parents owned a hamburger restaurant while she was growing up in San Francisco, and you can bet your whole savings account that they made her work there as a regular while she was going to school and studying. Korean parents are known to be exceedingly strict with their kids, which might sound harsh, but when you’ve got nothing but a hamburger restaurant to rely on to not only afford housing and feed your family but also pay for your children’s education, you’re damn sure going to make those same kids whose schooling you’re paying for work at your restaurant, and no, they’re not getting paid a salary. But hey, even though Jamie’s childhood mostly consisted of work and studying, it nevertheless paid off for her, because her strict upbringing instrilled in her a strong, unparalleled sense of responsibility and focus.

Korean kids with strict upbringings don’t just know the importance of hard work - they’re living, breathing examples of what happens when you make a child adhere to a routine of almost non-stop work and obedience to their elders - or face capital punishment. That’s why most Korean people have an unrivaled discipline to them that even army drill sergeants don’t have, and that’s probably why Jamie never gave up on her road toward becoming an actress. But enough about Korean parenting - let’s dive deep into Jamie Chung and find out more about this Korean-American actress.

Jamie Was Initially Focused On Becoming A Genuine Business Bitch, But A Twist Of Fate Made Her End Up On A Reality MTV Show

Jamie studied hard in school growing up, and studied even harder in college. She first attended Lowell High School in San Francisco, which is known for it’s academic rigor despite it being a high school - in other words, if you get bad grades, you won’t be accepted into this school, but I’m sure that Jamie had good grades since, again, Korean parents. After graduating, she enrolled at the University of California, where she earned a degree in economics. So, judging just by her early academic life alone, one would think that Jamie had no interest at all in becoming an actress, and that’s precisely how it was. Jamie had zero aspirations of going to Tinsel Town, and was instead focused on pursuing a career in business or finance.

That being said, life can truly be unpredictable, and Jamie’s life took a seemingly random, unplanned turn when she, for whatever reason (according to her, it was a “for fun spur-of-the-moment thing”) auditioned for MTV’s The Real World in 2004. The Real World is kind of like a “Big Brother-esque” show that pits together a group of young adults into the same apartment or house, forcing them to live together for entertainment value. Jamie auditioned for the show while she was still studying in college without even expecting to be cast in it. But lo and behold, she was picked to be on the show, and once she appeared on it and received national attention, she started becoming interested in acting and proceeded to take acting classes after it finished.

She Then Decided To Plunge Herself Headfirst Into The World Of Hollywood, And Snagged Several Minor Roles

Chung's stint on the show was notable for her level-headed and calm demeanor, which distinguished her from some of the more volatile personalities on reality television. After The Real World, she also competed on the MTV reality competition series Real World/Road Rules Challenge: The Inferno II in 2005 before shifting her focus to acting full-time. She began taking acting classes and auditioning for roles, determined to make a name for herself as an actress rather than as a reality TV star. Her first few roles were small guest appearances on TV shows like Veronica Mars and CSI: NY. While these roles were minor, they did provide Chung with valuable on-set experience, allowing her to not only hone her acting skills and make them worthy of more plot-centric roles that get more screen time, but also providing her with the means to start building a rich resume for herself as an actress.

In 2007, Chung Landed Her First Recurring TV Role

After a series of minor roles for various TV shows, Jamie finally landed her first recurring role in a TV show; 2007’s Greek, a dramedy that revolves around college students involved in the Greek system - you know, those American fraternities and sororities. Chung’s character Kara debuts in Greek’s second seasons as a love interest for one of the main protagonists, and while the role itself was still relatively small, it was still Chung’s first recurring role in a TV show and helped her develop her acting portfolio further. In that same year, Chung also starred in I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry, an Adam Sandler comedy that features him and Kevin James which, for all intents and purposes, did not age well.

In 2012, Jamie Finally Landed Her Breakout Role In Hangover II And Went On To Star In Leading Roles For Other High-Profile Movies

Most actors eventually get their breakout role, and Chung’s came in 2012 when she was cast as Amber, Stu’s would-be-wife in The Hangover II. In that second Hangover movie the gang goes to Thailand to addend Stu’s wedding and ends up losing Amber’s younger brother at the bachelor party the night before. Long story short, they later wake up in a dingy hotel room with a monkey and gangster Leslie Chow who was also in the first film, after a night of various alcohol and drug-fuelled misadventures, and go looking for Amber’s younger brother. Chung’s role wasn’t anything major, but the movie itself was a massive box office success as it was riding hot off the colossal success of its first iteration, so it undoubtedly put a lot of eyes on Chung and helped her immensely toward becoming the globally-famous actress that she is today.

After Hangover II, Chung’s Acting Career Took Great Leaps And Bounds Toward Stardom

By 2012 - or at least during 2012 when Hangover II came out, Jamie had become a well-known actress, having appeared in various roles for over 10 TV shows and more than a handful of movies, including of course the just-mentioned Hangover sequel, which by then was the biggest movie she’d been in. Chung was even cast as Chi Chi, Goku’s wife, in Dragonball Evolution, a 2009 live adaptaion of the popular anime Dragonball which was supposed to be very popular as the franchise’s tens of millions of fans had very high hopes for it. However, Dragonball Evolution flopped so bad that even the franchise’smost hardcore fans refuse to acknowledge its existence and shudder whenever they hear it mentioned. It also didn’t do Chung any favors in regards to her acting career. But that was 2009 - this is 2012, and by now, Chung was well on her way toward becoming a super successful, globally famous actress - the Lucy Liu of the 2010s.

She was cast as Mulan in the fantasy series Once Upon a Time, which ran from 2012 to 2016. Her portrayal of Mulan demanded of her a different set of acting skills than her previous roles due to the fact that Mulan is a butt-kicking warrior and not some modern-day sorority sister or bride-to-be. Safe to say that Chung knocked that role out of the park, which was highly praised due to its LGBT undertones seeing as how Mulan apparently had a thing for another woman in that show. Chung also starred as in a martial arts epic titled The Man With The Iron Fists, which was directed by none other than the leader of the Wu Tang Clan, the RZA. If her role as Mulan turned her into an ass-kicking baddie, then her role as Lady Silk in this 2012 martial arts epic made her a genuine ass-kicking goddess.

The Last 10 Years Of Chung’s Acting Career Are Absolutely Stacked

Chung would go on to star in dozens of movies, TV shows and other media via voice acting throughout the 2010s to today, with some of her most notable roles being for the TV shows Gotham and The Gifted, the Disney animated feature Big Hero 6 for which she did some impeccable voice acting work, and a gritty crime drama named Eden, which brought out the best of her acting prowess and features her in her most well-known role.

Big Hero 6 was especially good for Jamie’s acting career as it opened the door for a ton of voice acting roles for her, and by now at the time of me writing this bio, Jamie’s lent her voice for a total of 14 projects, most of which are either video games or animated shows, including Destiny 2, two different animated Batman movies, a 2024 animated series based on norse mythology named “Twilight of the Gods,” The Big Hero 6 series which ran from 2017-2021, Kingdom Hearts III and so on. All that and Jamie’s only 41 years old, so it’s safe to say that her IMDb page won’t stop piling up for at least another decade or two.

  • She can play various characters thanks to her diverse acting skillset
  • She’s lent her voice for a dozen projects at the time of my writing this bio
  • Jamie’s easily one of the sexiest Asian-American celebrities
  • She never went back to MTV after going Hollywood