Since she made her acting debut in 2006, film and television audiences have watched Zoë Chao grow from playing minor, supporting characters to landing lead roles. Her growth has been evident in her performances and successes. Zoë Chao is an American actress born to a Chinese immigrant father and an English-Irish mother.
Zoë Chao has effectively balanced her onscreen acting career with credits in film and television. Although known mostly as a character actor, Chao’s starring roles have seen her co-star with several top actors. Examining her stellar performances, these are the 9 best Zoë Chao’s movies and TV shows.
Strangers (2017–2018)
Facebook Watch’s comedy-drama series Strangers was Zoë Chao’s first major role on television. Until that point in her career, Chao either guest-starred or took on recurring roles. Zoë Chao played the series’ lead character, Isobel Song. In Strangers, Chao’s character is forced to offer her apartment as Airbnb to be able to afford the rent after her boyfriend breaks up with her for cheating on him with a woman. Chao’s performance beautifully embodied the bi-sexuality, bi-coastal, and bi-racial attributes of the character. Strangers received mostly positive reviews. The two-season TV show aired its 17 episodes from September 4, 2017, to August 26, 2018.
Almost Love (2019)
Zoë Chao was cast as Haley, one of the Almost Love (2019) ensemble cast members. The movie, a Mike Doyle-directed romance comedy-drama, examines several aspects of relationships and romance. Chao’s character is a teacher helping one of her students with his SATs. However, she becomes conflicted when he talks about his romantic feelings towards her. In the end, she chooses not to requite his love and urges him to find it with someone younger.
Love Life (2020–2021)
In HBO Max’s romantic comedy anthology series Love Life, Zoë Chao plays both major and guest-starring appearances. In season 1, Chao, who played Sara Yang, is the best friend and roommate of Darby Carter (Anna Kendrick). As Darby Carter, Love Life’s lead character, struggles to find true love, Sara Yang is always available to be the voice of reasoning and wisdom. Chao and Kendrick’s roles are reduced to guest appearances in Love Life season 2. The series received mixed to average ratings from critics and audiences.
Long Weekend (2021)
Since the turn of the 2020s, Zoë Chao has begun landing leading and co-leading roles in films. One such role is playing Vienna in the romantic comedy-drama Long Weekend (2021). Vienna meets Bart (Finn Wittrock) at the cinema after she wakes him up at the end of the movie. Bart, a down-on-his-luck writer, meets Vienna at a point where he needs it the most. As the plot progresses, Vienna is revealed to be from the future. A Long Weekend (2021) explored the themes of love, loss, depression, and hope. Zoë Chao was beautifully cast and played the character with much zest.
Senior Year (2022)
In the 2022 comedy Senior Year, Zoë Chao is cast as the villain. Co-starring with Rebel Wilson, Mary Holland, and Sam Richardson, Zoë Chao is cast as the older Tiffany “Tiff” Blanchette-Balbo. She’s Stephanie “Steph” Conway’s (Rebel Wilson) archnemesis from when they were in High School. Tiff plots with Steph’s fellow cheerleaders to sabotage Steph’s cheerleading performance. Ultimately, the sabotage leaves Steph in a coma for 20 years. Directed by Alex Hardcastle, Senior Year was released on May 13, 2022, on the Netflix streaming platform.
The Afterparty (2022–2023)
The Apple TV+ comedy murder anthology mystery series The Afterparty cast Zoë Chao in a major role. Besides several star-studded recurring characters, Chao’s Zoë Zhu is one of three main characters. Zoë Zhu is Brett’s (Ike Barinholtz) ex-wife, who later becomes Aniq Adjaye (Sam Richardson). The Afterparty aired for 2 seasons, from January 28, 2022, to September 6, 2023. The series cast Tiffany Haddish as its lead actor.
Your Place or Mine (2023)
Zoë Chao had an eventful year in 2023, starring in three feature films. She played Minka, the jilted Gen Z girlfriend of Ashton Kutcher‘s character in Your Place or Mine (2023). Although expected to play the villain when Debbie Dunn (Reese Witherspoon) arrived in New York City, the two quickly got along, mostly because Minka was looking for closure as to why Peter Coleman (Ashton Kutcher) broke up with her. Although Kutcher and Witherspoon’s chemistry was criticized, there was no denying the brilliance and execution of Zoë Chao’s performance.
If You Were the Last (2023)
The year 2023 ended gloriously for Zoë Chao, as she co-led the science fiction romance comedy If You Were the Last. She starred alongside Anthony Mackie, playing astronauts stranded together in a multi-year exploration mission. Alone, without clues if a rescue mission is possible, the astronauts grow closer as friends and explore the possibilities of starting a romantic relationship. While several critics and audiences opined about the plot’s predictability, If You Were the Last‘s plot is a breath of fresh air from the recent remakes and sequels/prequels that have flooded Hollywood.
Party Down (2023)
Zoë Chao joined the cast of Starz’s sitcom Party Down in the show’s third season. Like Jennifer Garner and Tyrel Jackson Williams, Chao’s character is introduced as one of the series’ regulars. Chao is cast as Lucy Dang, an aspiring celebrity chef and food artist who’s also an employee of Party Down. Like the first two seconds before its season 3 revival, Party Down season 3 had a 95% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Besides her performance in Party Down, Zoë Chao will voice the character Nina Mazursky in the upcoming DC Universe (DCU) adult animated TV series Creature Commandos.