Biography
Jennifer Betit Yen is an actor (New Amsterdam (NBC), Search Party (TBS), Royal Pains (USA), Film Lab Presents, The Beacon Street Girls), writer (The Opposite of a Fairy Tale) and writer/producer (La La Land, IWATTAU, Mirror Mirror, My Not So subConscious, The Opposite of a Fairy Tale). She has received mentions by The New York Times and Backstage Magazine for her acting work. Jennifer also has the distinction of having a DAY named after her in New York City! New York City Mayor Bill DeBlasio and the First Lady named Jennifer the official honoree of the annual Asian Pacific American Heritage Celebration at Gracie Mansion, commending her for her acting and activism work, and officially proclaimed May 9, 2019, "Jennifer Betit Yen Day" in New York City. Jennifer played lead roles in the pilot series La La Land and My Not So subConscious. Her film, The Opposite of a Fairy Tale, a fictional take on elder abuse, sold out at MOCA and was an official selection of the 39th Annual Asian American International Film Festival, the Palm Springs Desert Film Society, the SAG-AFTRA Foundation NY Shorts Showcase, at the NYC Conference on Elder Abuse, at WOMANKIND, and screened at HBO. A graduate of Cornell University and Boston University School of Law, Jennifer is the President of the Film Lab, a non-profit promoting diversity in the arts. She created the IWATTAU ("Immigrants: We Are Them. They Are Us") project, through which New Yorkers from all walks of life shared their hopes and fears about immigration on a multi-media platform to create a non-polarizing, constructive dialogue. The stories were the inspiration for the stage production IWATTAU, which was written up in Broadway World, and allowed the audience to interact with a panel of experts after the show in a dialogue about xenophobia and what we can do to combat it. She is also a staunch animal welfare advocate and founded the start up A2Px. In her spare time, she boxes and enjoys fine vegan dining with her husband and running with her beloved rescue mutt.
