Jona Xiao (born May 18, 1989) is an American actress born in China.

Jona Xiao
肖乔娜
Born
Qiaona Xiao

(1989-05-18) May 18, 1989 (age 35)
Changsha, Hunan, China
OccupationActress
Years active2005–present
Jona Xiao
Traditional Chinese肖喬娜
Simplified Chinese肖乔娜
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinXiāo Qiáonà

Early life

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Xiao was born in Changsha, China and moved to New York as infant,[1] before ultimately settling in St. Louis, Missouri with her family; starting acting in middle school. Growing up, she was called racial slurs and decided to be an actress to break against stereotypes.[2] Xiao founded Career ACTivate, which specializes in helping actors jumpstart and progress their careers.[3]

Career

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Xiao was cast in Spider-Man: Homecoming in a role that she denies was initially written for an Asian-American actress. Marisa Tomei, who plays Aunt May in the film, lobbied for Xiao to be cast.[1] Her role ended up getting cut in the final film.[4]

In 2021, Xiao lent her voice to a younger Namaari in Raya and the Last Dragon.[5]

Filmography

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Film

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Year Title Role Notes
2007 Alice Upside Down Loretta
2010 The Mandarin Orange Boy Lian
2015 Tag Arden
2016 Keeping Up with the Joneses Stacey Chung
2017 Gifted Lijuan
Spider-Man: Homecoming Gina Deleted scenes[6]
2018 Flavors of Youth Lulu (voice) English dub
2019 Mercy Kathy Short film
2021 Raya and the Last Dragon Young Namaari (voice)

Television

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Year Title Role Notes
2009 The Forgotten Female Med Student Episode: "Pilot"
2012 Female Vampires Online Jin Episode: "Her Highness"
Victorious Nina Episode: "Driving Tori Crazy"
Crackhorse Presents Rebecca Episode: "Becoming One"
Paul Goetz's Last Ditch Effort Lori Episode: "Thumb and Thumber"
2 Broke Girls Hipster #3 Episode: "And the Pearl Necklace"
2013 Kroll Show TBA 2 episodes
Bones Miriam Young Episode: "The Party in the Pants"
The Young and the Restless Angie 1 episode
Trophy Wife Graduate 3 Episode: "Pilot"
2014 Days of Our Lives Joelle 1 episode
Saving Face Soo Jin Park TV Pilot
Rizzoli & Isles Young Mother Episode: "It Takes a Village"
2016 Halt and Catch Fire Julie Yang 4 episodes
2017 Being Mary Jane Natalie Wu Recurring (season 4)
2019 Fête Linseed Episode: "2017"
2021 Hightown Daisy Recurring (season 2)
Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness Shen May (voice) Web series
The Flash Rainbow Raider 2.0 / Carrie Bates Episode: "Good-Bye Vibrations"
2025 Eyes of Wakanda (voice) In production

References

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  1. ^ a b Pham, Jason (April 12, 2017). "A Long Way From 'Rappingstiltskin': Jona Xiao Talks 'Spider-Man,' Diversity and Teaching Mandarin to Jon Hamm". NBC News. Retrieved June 23, 2017.
  2. ^ Yong, Haren (November 2, 2013). "Exclusive Interview with Rising Starlet Jona Xiao". Gornoblonde. Retrieved October 5, 2016.
  3. ^ Smith, Deborah (March 19, 2015). ""Create Yourself." Spotlight Interview with Jona Xiao by Deborah Smith". Ms. in the Biz. Retrieved October 5, 2016.
  4. ^ Alexander, Julia (June 27, 2017). "Spider-Man: Homecoming actress teases important, secret role in film (update)". Polygon. Retrieved August 16, 2017.
  5. ^ "Actress Jona Xiao Proves Powerful as Young Antagonist in Disney's 'Raya and the Last Dragon'". Ein Presswire. March 3, 2021. Retrieved May 1, 2021.
  6. ^ "Jona Xiao Joins 'Spider-Man: Homecoming'". Variety. August 22, 2016. Retrieved November 16, 2024.
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