Bowen Yang

Bowen Yang is an American comedian, actor, writer, and podcaster. He gained widespread recognition for his work on the NBC sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live, where he initially served as a staff writer before transitioning into an on-air cast member. He is also well known as the co-host of the comedy and pop-culture podcast Las Culturistas, alongside Matt Rogers.

Yang was born on November 6, 1990, in Brisbane, Australia, to Chinese immigrant parents who later moved the family to Canada and eventually settled in Aurora, Colorado. During his high school years at Smoky Hill High School, he participated in an improv comedy group. Yang later attended New York University, where he continued performing improv while pursuing pre-medical studies. Although he earned a bachelor's degree in chemistry, his admiration for actress Sandra Oh's performance on Grey's Anatomy ultimately inspired him to pursue acting and comedy instead of medicine.

Before working full-time in entertainment, Yang taught himself graphic design software and worked as a graphic designer for a luxury home design website from 2013 to 2018. He gained online visibility through viral lip-sync videos on Twitter and by co-creating Las Culturistas in 2016. In addition to his podcast, Yang performed stand-up and made early screen appearances on shows such as Broad City, High Maintenance, Awkwafina Is Nora from Queens, and The Other Two, as well as the 2019 film Isn't It Romantic.

In 2018, Yang joined Saturday Night Live as a staff writer for its 44th season, contributing to several prominent sketches. The following year, he was promoted to a featured cast member, making history as the show's first Chinese-American cast member. He achieved repertory status in 2021 and earned a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series, becoming the first featured player on the show to receive that recognition. During his seven-season tenure, he portrayed notable public figures and original characters before departing the series in December 2025.

Beyond sketch comedy, Yang has appeared in feature films such as the 2022 LGBTQ romantic comedies Fire Island and Bros, as well as the musical fantasy films Wicked and Wicked: For Good. His work on television includes writing for Schmigadoon! and guest roles on series like Girls5Eva and Ziwe. Throughout his career, Yang has earned various honors, including selection to Forbes' 30 Under 30 list in 2019 and inclusion in Time's 100 most influential people in 2021.