When actor Ken Jeong was an aspiring medical student at Duke University, he developed a passion for acting. Even though The Masked Singer panelist received his medical degree from UCLA in 1995 and is still a licensed physician in California, he chose to hang up his white lab coat and pursue a career in acting, which has paid off handsomely. While Jeong is no longer a practicing physician, he is married to a doctor. In 2002, Ken Jeong met his future wife, Tran Ho, when they hit it off at a singles mixer for doctors.
Jeong has had an impressive career
After earning his medical degree, Jeong started working at Kaiser Permanente Hospital in West California. But he never lost his desire to become an accomplished actor. He eventually landed bit roles on television shows such as Two and a Half Men, Curb Your Enthusiasm, The Office, and more.
In 2007, “The Funniest Doctor in America” landed his first movie role in Judd Apatow’s Knocked Up. With a little nudge from his wife, Jeong left the medical profession to pursue a full-time acting career.
In 2009, he became a household name after appearing as Asian mobster Mr. Chow in the comedy The Hangover with Bradley Cooper and Zach Galifianakis. The film became one of the highest-grossing R-rated comedies, leading to two successful sequels.
The role opened the door to many other high-profile projects for the Korean actor, such as Pain & Gain, Crazy Rich Asians, Tom & Jerry, and more. From 2009 to 2015, the father of two starred as Ben Chang in the NBC television series Community, going on to create and star in Dr. Ken, which aired from 2015 to 2017. Jeong has also done countless voiceovers for iconic projects such as Kung Fu Panda, Despicable Me, and Bob’s Burgers, to name a few.
Since 2019, the 53-year-old actor has been sitting alongside judges Jenny McCarthy, Nicole Scherzinger, and Robin Thicke on the Fox reality singing competition with a twist, The Masked Singer.
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How Ken Jeong met his wife
In a podcast episode of Death, Sex & Money, Jeong talked about meeting his wife for the first time. He explained she was also a doctor working at the same hospital, and the two of them would pass by each other occasionally in the hallway while doing rounds. He remembers thinking, “She was very pretty, very together.”
The Pentaverate star said they both attended a “doctors’ night out,” where young doctors in their late 20s and early 30s got together for happy hour at a local bar. They hit it off immediately, referring to themselves as the Carrie Fischer and Bruno Kirby couple in the movie When Harry Met Sally. Jeong explained, “We had both broken up with our respective mates at that time, and we were both bonding over that.”
The doctor-turned-comedian recalled they wanted to leave but realized they had so much in common, so they continued talking, saying, “We both realized — oh my god, this is amazing. She made me laugh. She was really the first person I ever met that made me laugh so hard. She’s just so funny.”
Jeong admitted, “We really bonded by our love of comedy. You don’t meet a lot of people in medicine, much less date them, who like that, but we had that in common.”
Jeong’s wife persuaded him to become a full-time actor
In 2004, after dating for two years, the couple exchanged marriage vows. In 2007, they welcomed the birth of their twin daughters, Alexa and Zooey.
The Killing Hasselhoff actor said in the podcast interview that he loved incorporating his wife into his stand-up comedy routine (with her permission). Jeong explained, “She’s Vietnamese, doctor, last name Ho. I’m not f******* with you. Doctor Ho. I’m a comic, this is pure joy. ‘Get in the car Ho! Make me some rice, Ho. You complete me, Ho.’”
After his success in Knocked Up, Tran persuaded her then-husband to pursue his acting career. Jeong explained that despite his “hackiest ho jokes,” his wife was thick-skinned and took it all in stride, saying, “I knew I married a comedic actor at heart. Not a doctor.”
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