Ruilin's parents were illiterate, but he read books for hours by candlelight and eventually got into university-a rarity so soon after the Cultural Revolution (1966–1976), which effectively shut down universities. His father, Ruilin, was raised in a rural part of the Inner Mongolia region of mainland China, growing up in a straw and mud hut. Yang was born in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, to a family that had emigrated from China in the 1980s. He also appeared in the television series Girls5Eva, and Ziwe both in 2021. Yang is also known for his appearances in the LGBTQ romantic comedies Fire Island and Bros both released in 2022. He was promoted to the main cast before the 47th season. Yang was promoted to on-air cast member for SNL's 45th season as a featured player, in September 2019, becoming its first Chinese-American, third openly gay male, and fourth-ever cast member of Asian descent. Since September 2018, he has been on the writing staff of Saturday Night Live ( SNL). He also posts pop-culture lip-syncing videos on Twitter. He co-hosts a comedy pop-culture podcast, Las Culturistas, with Matt Rogers. Bowen Yang ( Chinese: 楊伯文 born November 6, 1990) is an Australian-born American actor, comedian, podcaster, and writer based in New York City.
