# Charlyne Yi

Charlyne Amanda Yi (born January 4, 1986) is an American actor, comedian, musician, and writer, known for their role as Dr. Chi Park in the Fox medical drama House (2011–2012), and for providing the voices of the Rubies in the Cartoon Network animated series Steven Universe (2015–2018) and its epilogue series Steven Universe Future (2019–2020), Chloe Park in We Bare Bears (2015–2019), Alice in Summer Camp Island (2018–2023), Mai in Next Gen (2018), and Larry in StuGo (2025–present).
Yi's screenwriting debut, the feature film Paper Heart, won the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival. As a comedian, their performances include music, magic, games, and often audience participation.

## Early life

Yi was raised in Fontana, California. They are of Filipino, Mexican, and Korean descent. They attended the University of California, Riverside before leaving to pursue a full-time career in comedy. They had an early interest in performing while attending Bloomington High School and were involved in theatre.

## Career

Yi began their career by performing in Bloomington, California. After high school, they performed shows in Los Angeles at The Steve Allen Theater, and The Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre. In 2005 and 2006 they performed in the New York Comedy Festival, and in 2007 HBO's U.S. Comedy Arts Festival in Aspen, Colorado.
Yi's film debut was in Judd Apatow's 2007 film Knocked Up. In 2008, Yi performed as part of the Apatow for Destruction Live comedy show at Montreal's Just for Laughs Festival.
In the 2009 film Paper Heart, a "hybrid documentary" in which Yi served as both executive producer and co-writer, Yi starred as a fictional version of themself, alongside Michael Cera.
Yi was chosen as one of Venus Zine's "25 under 25" women for 2009.
They appeared alongside Saturday Night Live cast member Fred Armisen in the 2009 music video for the song "Rabbit Habits" by Philadelphia experimental band Man Man.
Yi and Paul Rust formed the band The Glass Beef. The duo shares one electric guitar, and both sing lead vocals. In 2006, they released their debut album, The Farewell Album, produced by John Spiker, bassist of Tenacious D.
Yi was featured in the video "Song Away" by Hockey. In 2013, Yi and Jet Elfman formed the band Sacred Destinies.
From October 2011 to May 2012, Yi starred in the Fox television series House as Dr. Chi Park, a young doctor with anger management issues.

## Non-profit work

Yi has been involved with Oxfam America since 2010, working to raise awareness about poverty and hunger worldwide. Yi started the non-profit Caring is Cool in 2011, and hosted a benefit show to raise money for the organization.

## Personal life

Yi describes their gender identity as genderfluid. They use they/them pronouns.
In 2016, Yi married Jet Elfman, their Sacred Destinies bandmate. After a year of separation, Elfman filed for divorce in April 2018.
On Twitter, Yi accused Marilyn Manson of sexual harassment on the set of House.
In 2018, Amber Tamblyn said of her husband David Cross, "Basically he was rightfully accused of doing something racist to the comedian Charlyne Yi," following tweets that Yi had posted on the subject in 2017. Cross asked Yi to reach out via direct message to discuss the situation. He later publicly apologized to Yi, claiming that he would "never intentionally hurt someone like that."
In 2021, Yi spoke out about their experience with James Franco, specifically discussing their efforts to quit his 2017 film, The Disaster Artist, after learning of the sexual misconduct allegations against him. Yi also criticized Seth Rogen for enabling Franco's behavior and continuing to work with him following the allegations.
In 2024, Yi stated that while filming Time Bandits for Apple TV+, they were repeatedly assaulted by a male actor who injured Yi's back. An on-set source disputed Yi's claims, which were investigated and found unsubstantiated.

## Filmography
### Film

Film work by Charlyne Yi :
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2007 | Knocked Up | Jodi | |
| 2008 | Cloverfield | Party Goer | |
| 2008 | Semi-Pro | Wheelchair Jody | |
| 2009 | Paper Heart | Charlyne Yi | Nominated – Comedy Film Award for Best Actress |
| 2009 | All About Steve | Young Protester | |
| 2010 | Fast | Donna Fast | Two-minute video short |
| 2012 | This Is 40 | Jodi | |
| 2014 | The Last Time You Had Fun | Betty | |
| 2016 | Nerdland | Becky | Voice |
| 2017 | The Disaster Artist | Safoya | |
| 2017 | Literally, Right Before Aaron | Claire | |
| 2017 | The Lego Ninjago Movie | Terri IT Nerd | Voice |
| 2018 | Puppet Master: The Littlest Reich | Nerissa | |
| 2018 | Next Gen | Mai Su | Voice Nominated – Annie Award for Voice Acting in a Feature Production |
| 2018 | Second Act | Ariana | |
| 2019 | Always Be My Maybe | Ginger | |
| 2019 | Goldie | Goldie | Voice, short |
| 2019 | Steven Universe: The Movie | Ruby | Voice, television film |
| 2019 | Jexi | Elaine | |
| 2020 | Trolls World Tour | Pennywhistle | Voice |
| 2020 | We Bare Bears: The Movie | Chloe Park | Voice |
| 2021 | Happily | Gretel | |
| 2021 | The Mitchells vs. the Machines | Abbey Posey | Voice |
| 2022 | My Father's Dragon | Magda | Voice |

### Television

Television work by Charlyne Yi :
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2006 | Help Me Help You | Charlyne | Episode: "The Sheriff" |
| 2007 | 30 Rock | Grace Park | Episode: "The C Word" |
| 2007 | Cold Case | Dorky Girl | Episode: "Stand Up and Holler" |
| 2007 | Powerloafing | Executive Assistant | |
| 2008 | Miss Guided | Karey | Episode: "Pool Party" |
| 2011 | Love Bites | Sex Shop Manager | Episodes: "Unaired Pilot" & "Firsts" |
| 2011–2012 | House | Dr. Chi Park | 21 episodes |
| 2015 | Looking | Cashier | Episode: "Looking for a Plot" |
| 2015–2018 | Steven Universe | Ruby, various Rubies, Cluster | Voice, recurring role (12 episodes) |
| 2015–2019 | We Bare Bears | Chloe Park | Voice, recurring role (18 episodes) |
| 2016 | Love | Cori | 3 episodes |
| 2016 | Jane the Virgin | Angela | Episode: "Chapter Thirty-Nine" |
| 2016 | Future-Worm! | Zoe | Voice, episode: "Bug vs. the Babysitter" |
| 2017 | Twin Peaks | Ruby | Episode: "Part 15" |
| 2017 | Danger & Eggs | Layla | Voice, episode: "Keep Off the Grass/Pennies" |
| 2017 | Room 104 | Gracie | Episode: "FOMO" |
| 2018 | Lucifer | Ray-Ray / Azrael | 2 episodes |
| 2018 | DIY | Eli | Voice, TV short |
| 2018–2023 | Summer Camp Island | Alice Fefferman | Voice, main role (22 episodes) |
| 2019–2020 | Steven Universe Future | Ruby, Eyeball Ruby, Ruby Bodyguards | Voice, 5 episodes |
| 2020 | Good Girls | Lucy | 2 episodes |
| 2021 | Tig n' Seek | Georgia | Voice, episode: "Must Love Bugs" |
| 2022 | Amphibia | The Guardian | Voice, episode: "The Hardest Thing" |
| 2022 | We Baby Bears | Alice Fefferman | Voice, episode: "Witches" |
| 2022 | Guillermo del Toro's Cabinet of Curiosities | Charlotte Xie | Episode: "The Viewing" |
| 2024 | Time Bandits | Judy | Yi withdrew halfway through filming |
| 2025–present | StuGo | Larry | Voice, main role |

## Books

Books by Charlyne Yi :
| Year | Title | Type |
| 2015 | Oh the Moon | Text/Image hybrid |
| 2019 | You Can't Kill Me Twice (So Please Treat Me Right) | Poetry |