Born in Guangdong Province and raised in the former British colony of Hong Kong, current Chinese SAR[4] as the only child of middle-class parents, Ngais' father worked in finance and her mother worked in a variety of jobs, including professor of Chinese literature, newspaper editor and the manager of an investment company.
[5] Ngai's mother first noticed her artistic talent and feared that "rigidly technical Chinese art taught in school was stifling it."
For two years during summer vacation, Ngai was taken to a private art teacher in Shenzhen on mainland China, which although geographically close, was like "visiting another country" because of the customs immigration process, according to the artist.
[1] When Ngai started thinking about an education in illustration, it was a difficult decision, because the artist and her family believed there was a prejudice in Asia against art and design.
[7] The artist drew early influences from the works of Utagawa Kuniyoshi, Hiroshige[3] and her college instructor, Chris Buzelli[7] She also gained inspiration from Norman Rockwell, Winsor McCay, Mary Blair and the fashion designer Alexander McQueen.
[3] Ngai would go on to illustrate for newspapers, magazines, book publishers and corporate clients such as The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, Penguin Random House, Abrams Books, Macmillan, General Electric, Lufthansa Airline, NBC, PGA, IMAX, McDonald's, the New York City Subway, Apple, Audible, and Infiniti.
[20] Ngai has taught at the School of Visual Arts New York, The Illustration Academy and gives guest lectures and workshops at universities and conferences.
[21] In 2014, at age 26, Ngai was named as one of Forbes Magazine's 30 Under 30 recipients in the category of Art and Style[22] She has received a number of notable awards that include;