Ronny Chieng

A top comic talent in Australia, Ronny Chieng's smart, observational humor helped boost him to international stardom as a correspondent for "The Daily Show with Trevor Noah" (Comedy Central, 2015- ). Born in Johor Bahur, Malaysia in 1985, Chieng was the son of Chinese parents who raised him in Singapore and later, Manchester, New Hampshire. He returned to the Pacific to study at the University of Melbourne, Australia, where he earned degrees in commerce and law in 2009. That same year, Chieng gave his first performance as a stand-up comedian at a college-sponsored competition and was named the winner; he soon rose up the ranks on the Australian comedy circuit, performing at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival's 2011 ComedyZone showcase, which presented top up-and-coming talent, as well as the Brisbane Comedy Festival in 2012. That same year, he won the Melbourne Comedy Festival's Best Newcomer Award with his one-hour special, "The Ron Way," which led to performances at the Montreal Just For Laughs Comedy Festival and in London's West End. "The Ron Way" was filmed in 2013 and broadcast on Australia's Network Ten in 2013, and was soon followed by a second comedy special, "Can You Do This? No You Can't," which premiered at the 2014 Melbourne Comedy Festival. Chieng also began acting on various Australian TV comedy series, including "Problems" (ABC, 2012- ) and "This is Littleton" (ABC2, 2014). The following year, Chieng was named as one of three new correspondents for "The Daily Show with Trevor Noah."