David Ren was born in Shanghai, China, and grew up in Queens, New York City.
He started to study acting at the Neighborhood Playhouse at the age of nine.
Ren wrote and co-directed his first feature film in 2007, Shanghai Kiss with co-director Kern Konwiser.
The film stars Ken Leung, Hayden Panettiere, Kelly Hu and Joel David Moore.
Ren's second feature is an action noir titled The Girl from the Naked Eye, released in 2012.