Stand-up comedian Jiaoying Summers never has a plan B. She didn鈥檛 have one when she borrowed money to go to the United States when she was 18. She didn鈥檛 have one when she decided to buy her own club to perform in. She didn鈥檛 have one when she married a man 20 years her senior.

Summers, whose Chinese name is Liang Jiaoying, looks back over her 34 years of life and says she never weighed decisions as right or wrong. Rather, she has just plowed ahead with her dreams and become one of the most successful Asian-Americans in US stand-up comedy.

The single mother of two has been inducted into the Asian Hall of Fame and remains an activist in efforts to fight racism against Asians.

Shanghai Daily talked with Summers via a video call to the US, where it was 8am. She sat in front of the camera in full make-up, looking as energetic and vibrant as she does on stage.

鈥淗ave you ever watched the show 鈥楾he Marvelous Mrs Maisel?鈥欌�� she asked. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 pretty much my life. I鈥檓 a living Mrs Maisel.鈥�

Liang does, in some respects, resemble the fictional Jewish-American housewife who finds she has a talent for stand-up comedy after her husband abruptly leaves her.

After graduation from university with a major in finance, Summers studied method acting for a few years and performed at her first open mic night in 2019. Now, every week, she flies around the US to perform in theaters and clubs. She is popular with a wide mix of audiences 鈥� whites, Asians, blacks and Hispanics.

Last year, she made history as the first Chinese-born comedian ever to headline at the Apollo Theater in New York City. She is also founding partner and chief executive of Summers Media, an international production company.

The secret to her success?

鈥淣ever be apologetic, be yourself and be the best,鈥� she told Shanghai Daily. 鈥淢any people tried to tell me how to dress 鈥� 鈥榶ou can鈥檛 be too sexy or beautiful because you鈥檙e a comedian!鈥� Many told me to adjust my speech 鈥� 鈥榊ou can鈥檛 be popular with that accent!鈥� But I never listened. I can be the best in whatever I am wearing and however I talk.鈥�

She added, 鈥淚n fact, I鈥檓 proud of my accent because it not only represents who I am, but it also shows that I鈥檓 smart enough to speak two languages. I don鈥檛 need to change anything that is 鈥榤e.鈥欌��

The 鈥渘ever apologize鈥� personality seems to have been born with Summers, despite the fact that she grew up under the influence of a hypercritical mother.

Summers was born in the city of Linzhou in Henan Province, the eldest of the three children. The family made a living through a congee shop run by her mother Li Shuyun, whom Summers describes as is a 鈥渢ypical Asian mom.鈥�

By 鈥渢ypical,鈥� she means a mother who is relentless in goading her child to become successful. Life was never-ending maternal admonitions: 鈥淵ou are too tan. You鈥檙e not good-looking, not to mention that you have a mouth like a piggy. You know you have to study harder than others, don鈥檛 you?鈥�

Under such stress, Summers always had to prove that she was good enough for her mother, but her efforts rarely earned any praise.

As a teenager Summers often watched Hollywood movies at her cousin鈥檚 DVD shop, entertaining dreams of becoming an actress and maybe the first Chinese actress to win an Academy Award. Her mother snorted at her aspirations.

鈥淟ook at your large mouth and square face,鈥� her Mother Li told her. 鈥淓ven if you become an actress, you would only be able to play buffoons.鈥�

When Summers told her mother she wanted to go to the US in her junior high school year, her mother was equally derisive.

鈥淎fter using all kinds of tactics for four years,鈥� Summers told Shanghai Daily, 鈥渟he finally said that if I could raise 100,000 yuan (US$13,815) within three days, she would let me go because at least I wouldn鈥檛 starve to death in the US.鈥�

Summers rushed to a friend of her father鈥檚 and asked to borrow 100,000 yuan. The friend agreed. Now that her mother had nothing more to block her, Summers was on her way to making a dream come true.

But before she could tackle Hollywood, she knew she needed to earn a living, so she enrolled in the University of Kentucky to study finance, and then worked parttime to save up money.

The road to realizing dreams is always long and twisty. When Summers finally reached Los Angeles, the comments from agents and audition sessions echoed her mother鈥檚: 鈥淵ou are plain looking. You have an accent and no performance experience. No, you can鈥檛 be an actress.鈥�

But along with the rejections came suggestion that she might improve her chances if she enrolled in acting classes. So she began studying method acting.

Her efforts paid off, if not quite in the way she expected. When she started again to audition for roles, she was advised that she might try becoming a stand-up comedian.

Her acting lessons helped her out. She knew how to set up a story on stage and the timing necessary to make punch lines land. She wrote her own jokes, drawing on her own life experience.

鈥淚 take down everything that touches me, whether it鈥檚 a piece of news, or my past or even all the accusations mom hurled at me,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hey all become jokes on my stage.鈥�

It鈥檚 not easy for a newbie to crack the stand-up comedy scene in Los Angeles. Summers stood in long lines of wannabes at open mic nights, waiting for a five-minute chance on stage, and realized she would never make any progress that way.

鈥淥ne day I thought to myself, 鈥榃hy not buy a club of your own?鈥欌�� she said. 鈥淚f I owned my own club, I could perform whenever I wanted for as long as I wanted. So I bought one. I鈥檓 not afraid of the unknown or taking risks.鈥�

As well as perform, Summers opened her club to other hopeful stand-up comedians. Some people liked her comedy routines; others scorned them. But either way, the club began to gain fame in Los Angeles, and popular Chinese-American comedian Joe Wong, who often performed there, became a friend.

Summers is now the owner of two comedy clubs in Los Angeles, The Hollywood Comedy and The Pasadena Comedy.

As her fame spread and her fan base grew both online and off, Liang was asked to perform at theaters with large audiences. But her burgeoning success didn鈥檛 change her.

鈥淲hen you鈥檙e confident and proud of yourself, discrimination will not harm you but will go away,鈥� she said. 鈥淏ut if you are always trying to cater to the mainstream and lose yourself, you won鈥檛 be happy with what you get.鈥�

Mother Li didn鈥檛 change either. When Summers decided to marry a man 20 years older, her mother warned: 鈥淵ou will be a widow one day.鈥� And when Summers and her husband finally divorced, her mother didn鈥檛 hesitate to say, 鈥淚 told you so.鈥�

But when Li came to the US to help Summers raise her two children, the two managed to forge a more sympathetic relationship.

鈥淢ost Chinese parents are tough not because they don鈥檛 love you, but because they are worried about you,鈥� Summers said. 鈥淭hey worry that you won鈥檛 be able to support yourself, so they want you to have a stable career, like a lawyer or a doctor. They don鈥檛 understand the idea of betting your life on a dream, but if you actually succeed, their attitude will soften.鈥�

Li has become a valuable source of material for Summers鈥� stage routines. Many Americans find her mother鈥檚 personality and pronouncements funny.

鈥淔or example, I have a friend who is homosexual,鈥� Summers said. 鈥淢y mom鈥檚 response was, 鈥榊ou are good-looking; you don鈥檛 have to be gay.鈥� I bet most Americans have never heard comments like that!鈥�

The legacy of her mother鈥檚 influence still drives Summers to push herself harder and achieve more. She will soon star in a TV show based on her own life story, but she admitted that she feels 鈥渋nadequate鈥� at times.

She quotes the old saying 鈥渃omedy is tragedy plus time鈥� to explain how her stage performances help her come to grips with hurtful memories.

鈥淎ll my most popular jokes come from my traumas: my mom, my ex-husband and other personal experiences,鈥� she said. 鈥淲hen I verbalize them on stage, they don鈥檛 have power over me anymore.

She added, 鈥淚 believe it鈥檚 the same for my audiences. When they listen to me, people who have been in similar dark places might relate with my experiences and feel that they, too, can step out of those places and move on.鈥�