Jona Xiao

Xiao was born in Changsha, China, and moved to New York as an infant, before ultimately settling in St. Louis, Missouri, with her family, starting acting in middle school. Growing up, she was called racial slurs and decided to be an actress to break against stereotypes. Xiao founded Career ACTivate, which specialises in helping actors jumpstart and progress their careers.

Xiao was cast in Spider-Man: Homecoming in a role that she denies was initially written for an Asian-American actress. Marisa Tomei, who plays Aunt May in the film, lobbied for Xiao to be cast. Her role ended up getting cut in the final film.

In 2021, Xiao lent her voice to a younger Namaari in Raya and the Last Dragon.