Hong Chau was born on June 25, 1979, to Vietnamese parents who were refugees, having fled their homeland in the late 1970s and taken shelter in a refugee camp in Thailand. A Vietnamese Catholic church in New Orleans, Louisiana, stepped in to sponsor Chau's family and facilitated their relocation to the United States.
Growing up in New Orleans, Chau developed an interest in the film industry and went on to study film at Boston University. After completing her education, she began pursuing an acting career, landing her first notable role in the television series Treme, which aired from 2010 to 2013.
In 2014, Chau appeared in the film Inherent Vice, followed by a string of guest star roles in various TV series in 2018. Her breakthrough role came in 2017 with the film Downsizing, in which she played the character Ngoc Lan Tran. Her performance earned her several supporting-actress award nominations.
Chau's subsequent projects included the TV series Watchmen, in which she had a supporting role in 2019, and the films American Woman and Driveways, in which she had leading roles the same year. In 2020, she starred in the second season of the TV series Homecoming, having had a supporting role in its first season in 2018.
In 2022, Chau appeared in supporting roles in the films Showing Up, The Menu, and The Whale, the latter of which earned her a nomination for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. Throughout her career, Chau has been praised for her versatility and range, with Variety noting in 2022 that she has been "prolific in recent years" and has had an "acclaimed turn" in several projects.
