The title of Kiki Yeung’s 2025 comedy special, Don’t Get Sick and Die, always gets a laugh from others.
For the Los Angeles-based comedian, however, the phrase was not originally a punchline.
“It was everything coming out of my parents’ mouths,” Yeung, 47, says. “‘If your red blood cell count drops again, you’ll get sick and die. If you stay up late, you’ll get sick and die.’”
The warning became a constant refrain after Yeung survived a life-threatening autoimmune illness as a teenager. This experience would shape not only her approach to health and wellness, but also her comedy, career and sense of self.
Today, Yeung is a successful stand-up comic, actress, producer and touring headliner whose work often explores family expectations, cultural identity and mental well-being. Yet behind the laughter is a story of illness, recovery and the long journey towards self-acceptance.
Born in Hong Kong, Yeung immigrated to the United States at age 12, settling with her family in Bothell, in the US state of Washington, shortly before Hong Kong’s handover to China.