Jona Xiao
{{short description|American actress (born 1989)}}
{{BLP primary sources|date=October 2016}}
{{Infobox person
|image =
|caption =
| name = Jona Xiao
| native_name = 肖乔娜
| native_name_lang= zh-hans
| birth_name = Qiaona Xiao
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1989|5|18|mf=y}}
| birth_place = Changsha, Hunan, China
| occupation = Actress
| yearsactive = 2005–present
}}
{{Chinese|t=肖喬娜|s=肖乔娜|p=Xiāo Qiáonà}}
Jona Xiao (born May 18, 1989) is an American actress born in China.
Early life
Xiao was born in Changsha, China and moved to New York as infant, 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.{{cite web | url=https://gornoblonde.wordpress.com/2013/11/02/exclusive-interview-with-rising-starlet-jona-xiao/ | title=Exclusive Interview with Rising Starlet Jona Xiao | date=November 2, 2013 | accessdate=October 5, 2016 | author=Yong, Haren | website=Gornoblonde}} Xiao founded Career ACTivate, which specializes in helping actors jumpstart and progress their careers.{{cite web | url=http://msinthebiz.com/2015/03/19/create-yourself-spotlight-interview-with-jona-xiao-by-deborah-smith/ | title="Create Yourself." Spotlight Interview with Jona Xiao by Deborah Smith | date=March 19, 2015 | accessdate=October 5, 2016 | author=Smith, Deborah | website=Ms. in the Biz}}
Career
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.{{cite web|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/long-way-rappingstilskin-jona-xiao-talks-spider-man-diversity-teaching-n740261|title=A Long Way From 'Rappingstiltskin': Jona Xiao Talks 'Spider-Man,' Diversity and Teaching Mandarin to Jon Hamm|author=Pham, Jason|website=NBC News|date=April 12, 2017|accessdate=June 23, 2017}} Her role ended up getting cut in the final film.{{cite web|url=https://www.polygon.com/2017/6/27/15880056/spider-man-homecoming-jona-xiao|title=Spider-Man: Homecoming actress teases important, secret role in film (update)|author=Alexander, Julia|website=Polygon|date=June 27, 2017|accessdate=August 16, 2017}}
In 2021, Xiao lent her voice to a younger Namaari in Raya and the Last Dragon.{{cite web|url=https://www.einnews.com/pr_news/536204113/actress-jona-xiao-proves-powerful-as-young-antagonist-in-disney-s-raya-and-the-last-dragon|title=Actress Jona Xiao Proves Powerful as Young Antagonist in Disney's 'Raya and the Last Dragon'|website=Ein Presswire|date=March 3, 2021|access-date=May 1, 2021}}
Filmography
=Film=
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Year
! Title ! Role ! Notes |
|---|
| 2007
| Loretta | |
| 2010
| The Mandarin Orange Boy | Lian | |
| 2015
| Tag | Arden | |
| 2016
| Stacey Chung | |
| rowspan="2"| 2017
| Gifted | Lijuan | |
| Spider-Man: Homecoming
| Gina | Deleted scenes{{cite web|url=https://variety.com/2016/film/news/jona-xiao-spider-man-homecoming-1201842327/|title=Jona Xiao Joins 'Spider-Man: Homecoming'|website=Variety|date=August 22, 2016|access-date=November 16, 2024}} |
| 2018
| Lulu (voice) | English dub |
| 2019
| Mercy | Kathy | Short film |
| 2021
| Young Namaari (voice) | |
=Television=
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Year
! Title ! Role ! class="unsortable" |Notes |
|---|
| 2009
| Female Med Student | Episode: "Pilot" |
| rowspan="5"| 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" |
| rowspan="4"| 2013
| 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" |
| rowspan="3"| 2014
| Joelle | 1 episode |
| Saving Face
| Soo Jin Park | TV Pilot |
| Rizzoli & Isles
| Young Mother | Episode: "It Takes a Village" |
| 2016
| Julie Yang | 4 episodes |
| 2017
| Natalie Wu | Recurring (season 4) |
| 2019
| Fête | Linseed | Episode: "2017" |
| rowspan="3"| 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
| Iron Fist (voice) | In production |
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{IMDb name|2033115}}
- {{Official website|http://www.jona-xiao.com/}}
- [https://movie.douban.com/celebrity/1241858/ Jona Xiao on Douban]
- [http://people.mtime.com/1493721/ Jona Xiao on Mtime] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180523173432/http://people.mtime.com/1493721/ |date=2018-05-23 }}
{{authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Xiao, Jona}}
Category:American film actresses
Category:21st-century American actresses
Category:American actresses of Chinese descent
Category:Actresses from Changsha
Category:American television actresses