Born in Illinois and raised in Toronto, Jean Yoon is a playwright, actor, advocate and Mom who makes her home in Toronto. Jean began her theatre career in the early 1980s in Toronto. In the 1990s, Jean was active as a cultural equity advocate and new play producer. She was Cross Cultural Coordinator for Theatre Ontario 1991/92, and then Co-Artistic Director of Cahoots Theatre Projects 1992 to early 1994, cementing Cahoots’ role as a leader in new play development for playwrights of diverse cultures.

Jean’s playwriting credits include the Dora-nominated stage play, The Yoko Ono Project, a multimedia performance art comedy, produced in Toronto, January 2000. Her comedic adaptation of a classic Korean folktale Hongbu & Nolbu: The Tale of the Magic Pumpkins premiered at Young Peoples Theatre in 2005 and was published by Duke University Press in 2012. Jean also has several other writing credits as well as many acting credits in the theatre world.

Jean is best known for her work on the CBC television adaptation of Kim’s Convenience, for which she has received the ACTRA Award for Outstanding Performance Female 2017, and five CSA nominations. Other notable screen credits include Orphan Black, Dragon Boys, The Expanse, Save Me, Nurses and voicing Connie in the Emmy Award winning PBS show Peg + Cat.

Jean was honoured with the Birks Diamond Tribute for Women in Film and Television in September 2019, and the ACTRA Toronto Award of Excellence in February 2020.