Jiaoying Summers, born Liang Jiaoying (梁娇颖), was born on January 18, 1990, in Henan Province, China. She was raised during China’s one-child policy and has openly spoken about her childhood experiences, which later became a central theme in her stand-up comedy. At the age of 18, she moved to the United States to pursue higher education. She earned a Bachelor’s degree in Economics with a minor in Theatre from the University of Kentucky before relocating to Los Angeles, California, to study acting under renowned acting coach Howard Fine. Jiaoying is fluent in Mandarin Chinese and English and became a naturalized American citizen. She is active on Instagram under the username @jiaoyingsummers, where she has over 1.3M+ followers and regularly shares comedy clips, tour updates, family moments, and behind-the-scenes content. She also enjoys a massive following across TikTok, YouTube, and Facebook, where her comedy videos have accumulated more than one billion views worldwide. Her current comedy tour, “Lucky Pony Tour,” continues to sell out performances across North America.
Before pursuing comedy full-time, Jiaoying worked in business development for her family’s construction company and completed an internship with IMAX Corporation in Los Angeles. In 2014, she won the international beauty pageant title “Miss China” at the Queen of the Universe competition before shifting her focus toward acting. She appeared in productions including Major Crimes, The Scarlet Thorn, Alex and Lotus, Hollywood Diversity, The Missing 6, American Bistro, and The Madams. She also worked as a producer on projects including The Scarlet Thorn, The Like Challenge, An Unforgettable Winter, and Wo Men Zhe Xie Nian. Her career changed dramatically after filmmaker John Singleton encouraged her to try stand-up comedy following an audition. She performed her first open mic in 2019 and quickly gained attention for her unique storytelling style. Her comedy blends personal experiences, immigrant life, parenting, dating, and cultural identity with sharp observational humor. Jiaoying has performed regularly at renowned venues including The Laugh Factory, The Comedy Store, Hollywood Improv, Caroline’s on Broadway, Jimmy Kimmel’s Comedy Club, and the Apollo Theater. She headlined the New York Comedy Festival, appeared at the Netflix Is A Joke Festival’s Women in Comedy showcase, and released her Peacock comedy special as part of the Comedy InvAsian series. She is also the founder and CEO of Summers Media, an international production company, and previously operated comedy venues in Los Angeles dedicated to promoting diverse comedic talent.
Outside of entertainment, Jiaoying is an active philanthropist and advocate for Asian-American communities, women’s empowerment, and children’s welfare. She serves as an Asia Ambassador for Operation USA and is also an International Ambassador for the Linzhou Charity Federation. In 2022, she was inducted into the Asian Hall of Fame in recognition of her contributions to comedy and representation. Jiaoying is the mother of two children and has openly discussed living with bipolar disorder, helping reduce stigma surrounding mental health through honest conversations in interviews and on stage. She frequently shares family life, travel experiences, fitness routines, and motivational content on social media while continuing to perform internationally. Her ability to transform deeply personal experiences into universally relatable comedy has established her as one of the leading Asian-American comedians of her generation.