Boaz Dov Wong was the son of acclaimed American actor BD Wong and his former partner, talent agent Richie Jackson. Although his life lasted approximately 90 minutes, his birth and Death became an important part of his father’s published account of parenthood, grief, and family. Born on May 28, 2000, alongside his twin brother, Jackson Foo Wong, Boaz arrived prematurely after a pregnancy complicated by a serious medical condition known as twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome.
BD Wong is widely recognized for his performances in M. Butterfly, Jurassic Park, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, and Oz. Behind his successful acting career, however, lies a deeply personal family experience that he chose to share publicly.
His 2003 memoir, Following Foo: The Electronic Adventures of the Chestnut Man, recounts the difficult circumstances surrounding his sons’ births and Jackson’s subsequent medical treatment.
The story of Boaz Dov Wong offers insight into premature birth, parental loss, family relationships, and the preservation of a child’s memory.
Profile Summary
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Boaz Dov Wong |
| Date of Birth | May 28, 2000 |
| Date of Death | May 28, 2000 |
| Age at Death | Approximately 90 minutes |
| Birthplace | Modesto, California, United States |
| Nationality | American |
| Father | BD Wong |
| Other Parent | Richie Jackson |
| Twin Brother | Jackson Foo Wong |
| Birth Circumstances | Premature birth through surrogacy |
| Gestational Age | Approximately 28 weeks |
| Medical Condition | Twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome |
| Relationship Status | Not applicable |
| Residence | Not applicable; died shortly after birth |
| Children | None |
| Known Philanthropic Interests | Not applicable |
| Social Media Presence | None |
| Public Profile | Known through his father’s published family account |
| Related Book | Following Foo: The Electronic Adventures of the Chestnut Man (2003) |
Who Was Boaz Dov Wong?
Boaz Dov Wong was one of the twin sons born to actor BD Wong and talent agent Richie Jackson through a gestational surrogate. He was born on May 28, 2000, much earlier than expected, at about 28 weeks. His brother, Jackson Foo Wong, was born shortly afterward. Both infants faced serious medical difficulties associated with twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome (TTTS), a condition affecting certain identical-twin pregnancies.
Boaz died about an hour and a half after his birth, while Jackson survived following extensive neonatal treatment. The contrast between these outcomes shaped the family’s experience of becoming parents.
Boaz’s significance is not connected to professional achievements or a public career. Instead, his place in public history comes from his father’s decision to document the family’s experience. Through published interviews and a memoir, BD Wong preserved an account in which both sons remained central to his understanding of fatherhood.
The Life and Family Story of Boaz Dov Wong
The Private Life of Boaz Dov Wong
Unlike individuals known through entertainment, business, or public appearances, Boaz Dov Wong is known through his family’s account of his birth and Death. His extremely short life means that descriptions of his personality, education, friendships, career, or personal choices would be inappropriate and unsupported.
The historical record of Boaz is largely connected to interviews with his father and the memoir published three years after his Death. These accounts establish his identity, family relationships, and the circumstances of his birth. They also explain why his name continues to appear in biographical discussions about BD Wong.
Privacy here should not be confused with a deliberate decision by Boaz to avoid publicity. He was a newborn who never had the opportunity to make such choices. The meaningful distinction is between the details his family shared publicly and the personal experiences that remained within the family.
Early Life and Background of Boaz Dov Wong
The circumstances surrounding Boaz’s birth began with BD Wong and Richie Jackson’s decision to become parents through surrogacy. Contemporary reporting documented that Wong provided sperm, Jackson’s sister donated an egg, and a surrogate named Shauna Berringer carried the pregnancy in California.
The twins were expected later in the summer of 2000, but they arrived on May 28, after approximately 28 weeks of pregnancy. Boaz was born first, and Jackson followed about 15 minutes later.
Their premature delivery was particularly serious because the twins had experienced twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome. The Condition involves an imbalance in blood circulation between twins sharing a placenta. Boaz was the donor twin, meaning he received too little blood through the shared placental circulation.
He survived for approximately 90 minutes after delivery. His brother remained alive but required prolonged specialist medical care. These events marked the beginning of a difficult period for the family, combining the loss of one child with urgent concern for the survival of another.
BD Wong and Richie Jackson’s Partnership
The relationship between BD Wong and Richie Jackson provides essential background to Boaz’s story. They were long-term partners when they planned to start a family. Their parenting arrangements included assistance from Jackson’s sister and a gestational surrogate, reflecting a carefully planned route to parenthood.
In a 2003 interview with Windy City Times, Wong explained that his relationship with Jackson had not been secret, although he generally avoided discussing his personal life in entertainment interviews. He recalled that they attended public events together while maintaining boundaries between their careers and private relationship.
Their experience became more widely known through the publication of Following Foo. The book allowed readers to understand their early parenting journey rather than viewing their family solely through the lens of Wong’s celebrity.
Wong and Jackson eventually separated in 2004. Their relationship’s later development does not change the fact that both were central to the events surrounding their sons’ births.
Boaz Dov Wong’s Role Behind the Scenes
Boaz’s place in his father’s life is documented most clearly through Following Foo: The Electronic Adventures of the Chestnut Man, published in 2003. The memoir began as personal emails Wong wrote to relatives and friends in the months after the twins’ premature delivery.
Those messages initially updated readers on Jackson’s medical Condition. As the correspondence circulated, it developed into a detailed account of fatherhood, anxiety, grief, medical treatment, and emotional support.
In contemporary interviews, Wong described how becoming a father transformed his understanding of himself. His reflections included Boaz’s Death and Jackson’s survival.
A particularly important detail is that Wong continued to speak of both children as his sons. In a 2003 San Francisco Chronicle interview, he discussed the births of his sons in the plural, acknowledging both children within his experience of fatherhood.
Boaz therefore occupies a lasting place in the family’s documented history not through his actions, but through the significance his father publicly attached to his life.
Family Life: Jackson Foo Wong and the Next Generation
Boaz’s surviving twin brother, Jackson Foo Wong, became the central figure in the prolonged medical struggle described in Following Foo. Born weighing less than three pounds, Jackson required neonatal intensive care and extensive monitoring.
Contemporary reporting described his transfer from a Modesto hospital to specialist care in San Francisco. His medical treatment continued for approximately three months before he was able to leave hospital care.
For BD Wong and Richie Jackson, this period involved two profoundly different experiences: grieving Boaz while supporting Jackson’s recovery. Their published account makes clear that these events occurred alongside each other rather than as separate episodes.
The memoir also documents the support offered by relatives, friends, and medical professionals throughout Jackson’s hospitalization. Their involvement became part of Wong’s description of how the family endured an exceptionally difficult introduction to parenthood.
Following their separation, Wong and Jackson continued to share parental responsibilities for their surviving son. Boaz’s relationship to Jackson remains straightforward and important: they were twin brothers born on the same day, despite their very different outcomes.
Philanthropy and Community Engagement
BD Wong‘s broader public work includes participation in artistic and charitable organizations. His professional career has placed him within theater communities that support education, artistic opportunity, and social causes.
One documented example is Rosie’s Theater Kids, an organization that provides performing arts education and opportunities for young people. Wong is listed as a board member, reflecting his involvement beyond acting.
This charitable activity belongs to Wong’s public record, not Boaz’s. Without reliable documentation, no claim should be made that Boaz established a foundation, supported a charitable project, or inspired a specific fundraising campaign.
The family’s publicly documented support network connects more directly to Boaz’s story. During the twins’ medical crisis, Wong and Jackson received messages and assistance from relatives, friends, and colleagues. These responses became part of the original correspondence later incorporated into Following Foo.
The memoir therefore offers a documented example of community support during a family medical emergency, rather than evidence of philanthropic activities undertaken in Boaz’s name.
The Power of Privacy: Influence Without Publicity
Boaz’s story raises questions about the boundary between a public figure’s professional reputation and their family’s personal experiences. Before publishing his memoir, BD Wong generally kept a clear line between his acting career and his private life.
That approach changed when he chose to share the experience of becoming a father. His book brought intensely personal events into public discussion, including Boaz’s Death and Jackson’s medical treatment.
This was not simply a decision to publicize family circumstances. According to Wong’s interviews, the writing developed from correspondence with people who were concerned about the children and wanted updates.
The memoir also became connected to Wong’s willingness to discuss his identity and family more openly. In his 2003 Windy City Times interview, he identified fatherhood and writing the book as important experiences in his personal development.
Boaz’s public remembrance is consequently shaped by his father’s own words. The available record allows readers to understand what Wong chose to disclose without inventing a separate private biography for his infant son.
Public Curiosity and Misconceptions About Boaz Dov Wong
Interest in Boaz Dov Wong often begins with searches about BD Wong’s children, the actor’s former relationship with Richie Jackson, or the circumstances surrounding Following Foo.
One frequent source of misunderstanding is the difference between the twins’ experiences. Boaz died shortly after birth; Jackson Foo Wong survived. Their stories are connected, but the medical events involving Jackson’s long hospitalization should not be attributed to Boaz.
Another important distinction concerns twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome. The Condition does not mean that one baby intentionally gives blood to another. It results from an imbalance in placental blood circulation and can have serious consequences for both infants.
It would also be inaccurate to describe Boaz as having grown up privately, pursued an education, maintained social media accounts, or participated in public events.
A reliable account must recognize that his recorded life lasted approximately 90 minutes and that much of the information associated with his name comes from his father’s subsequent experiences.
The Legacy and Lasting Memory of Boaz Dov Wong
Boaz Dov Wong’s lasting significance is closely tied to his father’s published reflections on loss and parenthood. Through Following Foo, an event that began as a private family experience became part of a published memoir.
The book was unusual in its presentation because it drew extensively from contemporaneous email correspondence. This format let readers follow events as Wong originally described them to those around him, rather than encountering only a retrospective summary.
Boaz remains an essential part of that account. His Death is inseparable from the circumstances of Jackson’s birth and survival, yet he is also acknowledged as an individual child within the family.
The enduring record is not a story of public achievement or celebrity status. It is a story preserved through parental testimony, contemporary journalism, and published writing.
More than two decades after his Death, Boaz’s name still appears in discussions of BD Wong’s family because the actor made his son’s life part of a carefully documented, deeply personal narrative.
Conclusion
Boaz Dov Wong lived for approximately 90 minutes after his premature birth on May 28, 2000. He was one of the twin sons of actor BD Wong and talent agent Richie Jackson, and his Death was associated with complications arising from twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome. His brother, Jackson Foo Wong, survived after an extended period of neonatal medical care.
Although Boaz’s life was extraordinarily brief, documented interviews and his father’s 2003 memoir, Following Foo: The Electronic Adventures of the Chestnut Man, have preserved his place in the family’s history.
The most meaningful understanding of Boaz’s story comes from respecting the difference between verifiable facts and imagined details. His memory doesn’t need invented accomplishments, relationships, or personal characteristics to matter.
Instead, the existing record offers a moving account of fatherhood, premature birth, loss, and survival. Through BD Wong’s words, Boaz Dov Wong remains part of a family story that continues to be remembered.
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(FAQs)
1. Who was Boaz Dov Wong?
Boaz Dov Wong was the son of American actor BD Wong and his former partner Richie Jackson. He was born prematurely in May 2000, along with his twin brother.
2. When was Boaz Dov Wong born?
He was born on May 28, 2000, in Modesto, California, United States.
3. How old was Boaz Dov Wong when he died?
Boaz lived about 90 minutes after birth.
4. Who are Boaz Dov Wong’s parents?
His parents were BD Wong, an American actor, and Richie Jackson, a talent agent.
5. What caused Boaz Dov Wong’s Death?
His Death was linked to complications involving twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome, a serious condition affecting blood circulation between twins sharing a placenta.
6. Who is Boaz Dov Wong’s twin brother?
His twin brother is Jackson Foo Wong, who survived premature birth after receiving extensive neonatal medical treatment.
7. Did BD Wong write a book about Boaz Dov Wong?
Yes. BD Wong published Following Foo: The Electronic Adventures of the Chestnut Man in 2003. It recounts his experience following the birth of his twin sons.
8. Why is Boaz Dov Wong remembered today?
Boaz is remembered primarily through his father’s memoir and interviews, which preserve the story of his short life and its significance within his family.
