Frédéric Chau was born in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, to parents of the Chinese minority in Cambodia.

In 1977, while his mother was pregnant with him, his parents left Phnom Penh for Vietnam in order to escape the Khmer Rouge who were massacring civilians.

After being spotted by a fashion photographer, he briefly worked as a model for the People International advertising agency.

In 2014, he played in Serial (Bad) Weddings with Christian Clavier and Chantal Lauby by Philippe de Chauveron.

[1] In September 2015, he published an autobiography, Je viens de si loin (I come from so far in English), with Philippe Rey Editions.