Nikki Hakuta is 8 years old, and you have almost certainly never seen her, which is insane when your mum is Ali Wong, one of the biggest comedians in America.
She was born in December 2017, but gained fame before she was even born. Her mother did all of the Netflix special Baby Cobra while seven months pregnant with her. That 2016 performance turned Ali into a household name. But since Nikki arrived, her parents have kept her almost completely out of the public eye.
How Her Parents Met
Ali Wong and Justin Hakuta were introduced at a wedding in 2010. He was a student at Harvard Business School. At that time, she was a comedian scraping by. They married in 2014.
Justin is the son of Ken Hakuta, creator of the Wacky Wall Walker in the 1980s. Those sticky octopus things that climbed down walls. Massive toy craze. Ken became known as “Dr Fad” because of it.
Nikki Hakuta’s parents welcomed their first daughter, Mari, in 2015. Nikki Hakuta’s birthday was in December 2017. For eight years, the family appeared to be solid. And in April 2022, Ali and Justin revealed that they’d separated, and in May 2024, the divorce was finalised.
But they handled it brilliantly. No public drama. No messy custody battle. There were two people who realised they were better off as friends than as a married couple.
Ali has mentioned many times that they are still “best friends.” They continue to make decisions jointly for the girls. Still put in appearances together if they’re important. That’s quite mature.
Growing Up Mixed
Nikki Hakuta’s age is 8 as of December 2025. She’s got Vietnamese and Chinese heritage through Ali. Japanese and Filipino through Justin. Four different Asian cultures all mixed into one kid growing up in Los Angeles.
Her parents want both daughters to understand all those traditions. Language. Food. Values. Ali has talked about teaching her girls both American confidence and Asian humility. That balance of being proud but not obnoxious. Tricky, but she’s trying.
The close age gap between Nikki and Mari was intentional. Ali wanted them to grow up as playmates.
Why She’s Not Online
Unlike loads of celebrity kids with Instagram accounts before they can walk, Nikki doesn’t exist online. At all. No social media. No public photos beyond maybe one or two from years ago. No red carpet appearances.
Even Ali, who’s famously open about everything on stage, doesn’t share photos of Nikki or Mari. She’ll talk about motherhood in her comedy. Reference being a parent. But she won’t put her daughters’ faces out there for millions of strangers.
That’s getting increasingly rare. Most celebrity kids are all over social media, whether they want to be or not. But Ali and Justin have decided their daughters get to be normal kids first.
What Life’s Like
Nikki Hakuta goes to a private school in Los Angeles. Which one? Nobody knows because her parents haven’t said. She lives between both parents’ homes since they share custody.
Ali mentioned taking the girls when she tours. During the day, they visit museums or local attractions. At night, Ali performs while they’re with a caregiver. Trying to balance her massive career with actually being present.
The girls get normal stuff. Playdates. Birthday parties. School activities. Not paparazzi photos and social media followers. Just regular kid things.
The Money Side
Ali Wong’s net worth sits around $4 million as of December 2025. That’s from Netflix specials, acting roles, writing, and touring. She’s won Emmy Awards, Golden Globes, the lot. Properly successful.
Justin Hakuta net worth is harder to pin down, but he’s done well, too. He’s worked as VP at GoodRx, the health tech company. Co-founded other ventures. Harvard Business School education is put to proper use.
Between them, Nikki’s growing up financially comfortable. But they’re not raising her to be some spoilt celebrity kid. Ali has talked about wanting her daughters to understand the value of work and money.
The Ali Wong Factor
Having Ali Wong as your mum must be weird. She’s fearless on stage. Her comedy is brutally honest about everything. She doesn’t hold back.
But off stage, she’s apparently quite protective. She’s said she wants her daughters to have normal childhoods away from the fame bubble. Doesn’t want them feeling like they have to perform because their mum’s famous.
Nikki got to “appear” in Hard Knock Wife, too, the Netflix special Ali filmed while pregnant with her second child. So technically, both daughters have been part of their mum’s comedy career from the womb. But once they were born, Ali drew that line.
She’ll reference them in her material. Talk about motherhood. But won’t embarrass them or share stuff that’ll haunt them when they’re teenagers.
The Divorce That Worked
When Ali and Justin split in 2022, loads of fans were gutted. They seemed like such a solid couple. But the way they’ve handled it has been impressive.
Both have been clear that the decision was about what’s best for their family, not about drama or betrayal. They prioritised keeping things stable for Nikki and Mari.
They’re still co-parenting. Still making joint decisions. Still showing up together for the girls. The separation changed the structure of their family but not the core of it.
Ali’s now with actor Bill Hader. They’ve been on and off since late 2022, but seem properly together now. Bill helped her replace her wardrobe after the Southern California wildfires in January 2025 destroyed loads of her stuff.
What Happens Next
Nikki Hakuta is only 8. She has her whole life ahead of her. Whether she will follow her mum into comedy or the route of her father into business or neither remains anyone’s guess.
Her parents are trying to provide her with the basis to be able to make those decisions herself when she’s older. Not push her into anything. Not to trade on her family name. Just let her be a kid and be who she is.
In an industry where the children of stars are often exploited or pressured or simply grow up too fast, that’s refreshing. Nikki is not constructing a personal brand at age 8. She’s not doing sponsored posts. She’s just going to school and playing with her sister.
Why People Care
Nikki Hakuta hasn’t done anything remarkable. She’s an 8-year-old kid. But people are curious because her mum’s famous and her parents have handled fame and divorce in ways that seem healthy.
She represents something rare in celebrity culture. A kid being allowed to just be a kid. No Instagram. No reality show. No carefully curated public image. Just privacy and normalcy despite having famous parents.
Most celebrity kids are public figures before they can even consent to it. But Nikki’s parents have chosen differently.
Whether that’ll change as she gets older, who knows? Maybe she’ll want to be public when she’s a teenager. Maybe she’ll stay private forever. But for now, her childhood’s her own. Not content with strangers.
The world doesn’t need to see every moment of every celebrity kid’s life. Sometimes privacy’s the best gift you can give a child, famous parents or not.
