When accepting the MTV Movie Award for “Best WTF Moment” at the award show on Sunday for a scene in The Hangover in which he emerges — nude — from the trunk of a car, Jeong added a moment of seriousness to a show. “Todd and Bradley Cooper … actually helped me through a really difficult time when my wife was going through breast cancer treatment,” said Jeong, tearing up. “The reason why I did this is that she taught me that life is short, and then don’t be afraid to take chances.”
Kendrick Kang-Joh "Ken" Jeong, MD (born c. 1969), sometimes referred to as "Dr. Ken," is an American comedian, actor, and physician.
Early life and medical career
Jeong was born in Detroit, Michigan, the son of Korean immigrants Young and D.K. Jeong, who was a professor at North Carolina A&T State University in Greensboro, North Carolina for 35 years. Jeong was raised in Greensboro and attended Walter Hines Page High School, where he took part in the High IQ team, played violin in the orchestra, and was elected to student council. He graduated at 16 and his achievements earned him Greensboro’s Youth of the Year award.
He completed his undergraduate studies at Duke University in 1990 and attained his medical degree at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1995. He then completed his Internal Medicine residency at Ochsner Medical Center in New Orleans while developing his stand-up comedy
Career in show business
His big break came when he won the Big Easy Laff-Off, of which NBC president Brandon Tartikoff and The Improv founder Budd Friedman were judges. They both urged Jeong to move to Los Angeles, and he began performing regularly at the Improv and Laugh Factory comedy clubs.
Jeong's background in theater and improv has led to several television appearances, including NBC's The Office, FOX's 'Til Death, HBO's Entourage and Curb Your Enthusiasm. Ken made his feature film debut as Dr. Kuni in Judd Apatow's Knocked Up which proved to be his breakout performance as Dr. Kuni. Subsequently, he has appeared in Pineapple Express, King Argotron in Role Models, All About Steve, The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard, Couples Retreat, and his role as Mr. Chow in The Hangover. He appeared in 2010's Furry Vengeance and will co-star in The Zookeeper, scheduled for 2011.
Jeong is a series regular as Señor Chang on NBC's sitcom Community.
Jeong is nominated for two 2010 MTV Movie Awards. Winning the award for Best WTF Moment as well as being nominated for MTV Movie Award for Best Villain for The Hangover.
Personal life
Jeong's wife, Tran Ho, is also a doctor. Together, they have twin daughters, Alexa and Zooey
