American actress
Ramona Abish Young [ 1] (born May 23, 1998) is an American actress. She is known for her recurring roles on the television series Man Seeking Woman , The Real O'Neals , and Santa Clarita Diet . Young is also known for her regular roles as Kaya on Z Nation , Mona Wu on Legends of Tomorrow and Eleanor on Never Have I Ever .
Early life
Ramona was educated in both Hong Kong , her parents' homeland, and the United States off and on until she was eight years old.[ 2] Young graduated early from California State University, Los Angeles and studied acting at Playhouse West. On her family, Young stated "I don’t have family in the business. My grandfather is an eastern doctor. My grandmother sold clothes on the sidewalk. My mother is in the Navy . My father is a psychologist and professor."[ 3]
Career
One of Young's first credited roles was an appearance in a 2014 episode of the short-lived ABC sitcom Super Fun Night .[ 4] In 2015, she wrote, produced, and starred in a short film, titled Reflections .[ 5] She also directed and did various other production duties on another short film, Live Exit Here , for which she additionally starred in, wrote, and produced.
In 2016, Young began portraying Kaya , an Inuk woman, during the third season of Syfy 's Z Nation , later becoming a main cast member.[ 6] [ 7] She originally auditioned for the role of Sun Mei .[ 5] That same year, Young was cast in another recurring role as Allison, a lesbian teenager, on the second season of ABC's The Real O'Neals .[ 4]
In January 2017, Young joined the cast of FXX 's Man Seeking Woman in a recurring capacity as Robin for the third season.[ 8] The following month, Young was featured in the Netflix series Santa Clarita Diet , playing an eponymous deadpan store clerk in all three seasons.[ 9] [ 10] [ 11] In 2017, she was also cast as a series regular in the Fox comedy pilot Thin Ice .[ 12] The project was later passed on.[ 13]
Young portrayed Angelica in the 2018 comedy film Blockers .[ 14] In July 2018, it was announced that Young had joined the main cast of The CW 's Arrowverse series Legends of Tomorrow as Mona Wu (previously named Alaska Yu)[ 15] for the show's fourth season .[ 16]
In 2020, it was revealed that Young had joined the cast of Mindy Kaling 's Netflix series Never Have I Ever .[ 17]
Personal life
Young is a first-generation Chinese American . She speaks Mandarin and Cantonese fluently and can understand a few less widely known dialects because of her grandmother.[ 2] Young has been doing martial arts since about the age of four. She specifically practices Brazilian jiu-jitsu.[ 5]
Filmography
Film
Key
†
Denotes works that have not yet been released
Year
Title
Role
Notes
2010
Specter
Eve / Ghost
Short
2015
Live Exit Here
N/A
Also director, writer, producer, etc.
Twelve
Missy Tollegs
Wanderers
Catalina
Short
Reflections
Florence Ming
Short; Also writer & producer
2016
Star-Crossed
Dipper
Short; Also writer
Subversion
Brit Jones
Short
The Thinning
Adele
Set Life
Paula
Short
Harry Decisions
N/A
Cinematographer
Date Night
Ava / Candace / Kaylee
Short
2017
Amuse'd
Ramona
Short
2018
Blockers
Angelica
All About Nina
Mika
Bottomland
Marilyn
Short
2020
Unpregnant
Emily
2022
The Prank
Tanner
Wendell & Wild
Sweetie (voice)
[ 18]
2023
Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken
Bliss (voice)
2024
Half Baked: Totally High
Cori
Television
Year
Title
Role
Notes
2012
This Indie Thing
Kevin's Rude Fan
Episode: "A Little Respect"
2014
Super Fun Night
Geeky Girl #2
Episode: "Cookie Prom"
2016–2018
Z Nation
Kaya
Main role (seasons 3-5)
2016–2017
The Real O'Neals
Allison Adler-Wong
Recurring role (season 2)
2017
Man Seeking Woman
Robin
Recurring role (season 3)
2017–2019
Santa Clarita Diet
Ramona
Recurring role (seasons 1-3)
2017
Thin Ice
Isis
Unsold pilot
Review
Bo
Episode: "Co-Host, Ass-Slap, Helen Keller, Forgiveness"
Flip the Script
The Grip
Episode: "Diva Director"
2018–2020
Legends of Tomorrow
Mona Wu
Main role (season 4), recurring role (season 5); 17 episodes
2020-2023
Never Have I Ever
Eleanor Wong
Main role (seasons 2–4), recurring role (season 1)
2023
Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai
Fox Spirit (voice)
Episode: "Always Buy a God a Drink First"
TBA
The Paper
TBA
Upcoming TV Series
Music video
Year
Title
Role
Notes
2016
If Your BFFs Breakup Were a Music Video
Rachel
BuzzFeed Video
References
^ Webb Mitovich, Matt. "Legends of Tomorrow Season 5 Premiere Recap: What We Do in the Waverider" . TVLine . TVLine . Archived from the original on August 31, 2022. Retrieved August 31, 2022 .
^ a b Chew, Cohan (April 26, 2018). "INTERVIEW: SANTA CLARITA DIET'S RAMONA YOUNG DISCUSSES DREW BARRYMORE, NETFLIX AND REPRESENTATION" . Resonate . Archived from the original on August 5, 2018. Retrieved August 4, 2018 .
^ "Ramona Young" . Naluda Interviews . Archived from the original on August 5, 2018. Retrieved August 4, 2018 .
^ a b Raftery, Liz (July 26, 2016). "Exclusive: The Real O'Neals Casts a Lesbian Friend for Kenny" . TV Guide . Archived from the original on November 29, 2018. Retrieved July 31, 2018 .
^ a b c Busser, Lauren (December 5, 2016). "Ramona Young Discusses 'The Real O'Neals' and 'Z Nation' [Exclusive Interview]" . Tell Tale TV . Archived from the original on August 6, 2018. Retrieved August 4, 2018 .
^ Young, Paul (September 30, 2016). "Z Nation Review: Murphy's Miracle" . Screen Rant . Archived from the original on December 23, 2017. Retrieved July 31, 2018 .
^ Morrison, Matt (December 17, 2017). "Z Nation Renewed For Season 5 At Syfy" . Screen Rant . Archived from the original on June 15, 2018. Retrieved July 31, 2018 .
^ Wiegand, David (January 3, 2017). " 'Man Seeking Woman' for viewers seeking laughs" . SFGate . Archived from the original on December 9, 2017. Retrieved August 4, 2018 .
^ Roschke, Ryan (January 6, 2017). "Drew Barrymore's Netflix Comedy Is a Lot Darker and Grislier Than You Think" . PopSugar . Archived from the original on June 2, 2017. Retrieved July 31, 2018 .
^ Reiher, Andrea (March 23, 2018). "A "heated agreement" leads to Santa Clarita Diet's best season-2 episode yet" . The A.V. Club . Archived from the original on July 4, 2018. Retrieved July 31, 2018 .
^ Lipsett, Joe (March 29, 2019). "[TV Review] There's Plenty to Die For in "Santa Clarita Diet" Season Three" . Bloody Disgusting! . Archived from the original on November 4, 2021. Retrieved October 12, 2020 .
^ Petski, Denise (February 23, 2017). "Damon Wayans Jr. To Star In Seth Rogen's FX AI Comedy Pilot; Ramona Young Joins 'Thin Ice' " . Deadline Hollywood . Archived from the original on February 9, 2018. Retrieved August 3, 2018 .
^ Petski, Denise (February 23, 2017). "Fox Update: Network Passes On All Remaining Pilots" . Deadline Hollywood . Archived from the original on June 20, 2018. Retrieved August 3, 2018 .
^ Robinson, Joanna (April 6, 2018). "The Story Behind Blockers' Unexpected Gay Romance" . Vanity Fair . Archived from the original on December 8, 2018. Retrieved August 4, 2018 .
^ Romano, Nick (July 21, 2018). "DC's 'Legends of Tomorrow' adds two new characters for season 4" . Entertainment Weekly . Archived from the original on July 22, 2018. Retrieved July 22, 2018 .
^ Mitovich, Matt (November 5, 2018). "Legends of Tomorrow Sneak Peek: How Does the Time Bureau 'Dare to Defy'?" . TVLine . Archived from the original on November 7, 2018. Retrieved November 10, 2018 .
^ Hersko, Tyler (April 16, 2020). " 'Never Have I Ever': Netflix Drops Trailer for Mindy Kaling's Upcoming Teen Series" . IndieWire . Archived from the original on April 19, 2020. Retrieved April 20, 2020 .
^ King, Jack (March 14, 2022). " 'Wendell & Wild' Teaser Announces Ving Rhames, David Harewood, and More Joining Voice Cast" . Collider . Archived from the original on October 6, 2022. Retrieved March 14, 2022 .
External links