Who is Shelby Chong?
Shelby Chong (nee Fiddis) was born in Los Angeles, California USA, on 1 February 1948 – her zodiac sign is Aquarius, and she holds American nationality. She’s an actress, comedienne and a film producer, who’s perhaps still known best for her portrayal of Tree, in the 1990 comedy movie “Far Out Man”. It was written and directed by her husband Tommy Chong, who also starred in it alongside C. Thomas Howell and Rae Dawn Chong; it follows an elderly hippie who has embarked on a trip around the US in search of his family. The movie was nominated for a Stinkers Bad Movie Award for Worst Picture.
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Early life and education
Shelby was raised in Los Angeles by her parents, about whom nothing’s known, as she respects their privacy. Because she hasn’t mentioned having any siblings, most people believe her to be an only child.
Shelby studied at Gladstone Secondary School in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, and became interested in acting during her four years there; she was a member of its drama club, and played supporting characters in various plays performed at the school. Upon matriculating in 1966, she found work to financially support herself, and occasionally performed as a stand-up comedienne at pubs and bars. It was 14 years later that she launched her career on TV, after having married Tommy Chong.
Roles in movies
Shelby has been credited with appearing in 10 movies, and only a single TV series. She made her debut film appearance in 1980, with her portrayal of Beautiful in the science fiction crime comedy “Cheech and Chong’s Next Movie”, written and directed by Tommy Chong, who also starred in it alongside Cheech Marin and Evelyn Guerrero. It follows Cheech and Chong as they’re driving their neighbors crazy by smoking weed and playing loud music, and the movie was nominated for a single award. A couple of Shelby’s following roles were in the 1981 crime comedy “Nice Dreams”, the 1982 action comedy “Things are Tough All Over”, and the 1984 comedy “Cheech & Chong’s the Corsican Brothers”.
In 1989, she was cast to play Monkey Shine Receptionist in the action thriller drama “Tripwire”, and in 1990, Shelby played Cashier, in the science fiction comedy “The Spirit of ‘76”, directed by Lucas Reiner, and which starred Mark Mothersbaugh, Gerald Casale and Carl Reiner. Set in the year 2176, the movie tells the story of a magnetic storm which has erased all recorded history, including the US Constitution, and which made the government send three time travelers back to 4 July 1776 to retrieve it, however, they’ve mistakenly ended up in Bicentennial in 1976.
Three of Shelby’s most recent movie roles have been in the 1992 action thriller “Dead On: Relentless II”, the 1993 horror “Sandman”, and the 2002 crime comedy “High Times Potluck”.
She hasn’t officially retired from acting, but today seems to be more interested in being behind the camera, rather than in front of it.
Roles in TV series
In 2010, Shelby made a guest appearance in the episode “Cheech & Chong” of the popular comedy “Just for Laughs”, which has been airing since 2009, stars Debra DiGiovanni and Lezlie Robinson, and features pranks pulled on ‘normal people’; it’s been nominated for four awards.
Other credits
Shelby performed the song “Me and My Old Lady” in the 1982 movie “Things Are Tough All Over”, and in 1990 she performed “Black Man Blues” in the film “Far Out Man”.
In 2007, she received special thanks for the documentary movie “American Drug War: The Last White Hope”.
Stop asking me for Chongs Choice weed, man pic.twitter.com/K0Op8oytAT
— Tommy Chong (@tommychong) April 15, 2018
Shelby has been featured in a number of documentaries, such as the 1984 movie “The Making of ‘the Corsican Brothers’”, the 2006 film “A/k/a Tommy Chong”, and the 2017 series “Exposed with Deborah Norville”.
Shelby has five producing credits. She made her debut with the 1981 crime comedy film “Nice Dreams”, followed by the 1982 action comedy “Things Are Tough All Over”, and the 1983 musical comedy “Still Smokin”. In 1984, she produced the comedy movie “Cheech & Chong’s the Corsican Brothers”, and most recently, in 2019 she worked on the horror comedy “Homewrecker”.
Love life and marriage with Tommy Chong
Shelby exchanged vows with the famous Canadian-American actor, film writer, director, comedian, cannabis rights activist and musician Thomas B. Kin ‘Tommy’ Chong in 1975, in a private ceremony attended by only their closest friends and family members; the two had been in a relationship for close to a decade prior to exchanging vows.
In 1968, Shelby gave birth to their daughter Precious, and their son Paris was born in 1974. In 1978, Shelby and Tommy adopted their son Marcus Wyatt, who was 11 years old at that time. In 1981, Shelby gave birth to their son Gilbran; upon turning 18, their son Marcus took the surname Chong, and all his siblings have today become actors and actresses.
Shelby hasn’t spoken of any other men whom she has perhaps been with, while it’s known that Tommy was married once before meeting her. He exchanged vows with the non-celebrity Canadian woman Maxine Sneed in 1960, and she gave birth to their daughters Rae Dawn and Robbi Chong in 1961 and 1965, respectively; Tommy and Maxine divorced in 1970.
As of September 2021, Shelby’s married to Tommy Chong, and they have four children together, including an adoptive son.
Hobbies and interesting facts
Shelby is an avid dancer – she took lessons during her teenage years, as well as during her 20s and 30s. She can today still dance various styles, including jazz and ballet.
Shelby has stated in an interview that she does botox four times every year, and that she’s also done glycolic peels.
She’s passionate about travelling, and she and Tommy have travelled together all around the world. They’ve visited nearly every US state, numerous European countries, as well as a couple of Asian and African countries; Shelby’s dream travel destination is Venice in Italy.
She has her own favorite actors and actresses, some of whom are Tom Hanks, Meg Ryan and Julia Roberts, and a couple of her favorite movies are “Sleepless in Seattle”, “You’ve Got Mail” and “The Runaway Bride”.
Age, height and net worth
Shelby’s age is 73. She has long blonde hair and blue eyes, her height is 5ft 5ins (1.65m) and she weighs around 120lbs (55kgs). As of September 2021, her net worth has been estimated at over $4 million, while Tommy’s net worth is reputedly over $20 million.
