Asia's Most Famous Celebrity
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Liu Yifei
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DATE OF BIRTH
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In 2020, Yifei became known to international audiences for starring as the titular character in the Disney live-action film Mulan. The role earned her nominations for a Critics' Choice Super Award, a Kids' Choice Award and a Saturn Award.
Liu was born in Tongji Hospital in Wuhan, Hubei as An Feng (安风), followed her father's surname An. She is an only child. Her father is An Shaokang (安少康), a 1st Secretary in the Chinese Embassy in France and a French language university professor from Beijing, and her mother is Liu Xiaoli (刘晓莉), a dancer and stage performer from Hubei. Her parents divorced when she was 10 years old and she was raised solely by her mother. That same year, she adopted her mother's surname and changed her name to "Liu Ximeizi" (刘茜美子), Her godfather is Chen Jinfei (陈金飞), the Chairman of Beijing Tongchan Investment Group.
In 1997, when Liu was 10 years old, she and her mother immigrated to the United States. She lived in Queens, New York City where she attended Louis Pasteur Middle School 67. In 2002, she returned to China to pursue an acting career and took the stage name "Liu Yifei" (刘亦菲). Several weeks after returning to China, Liu was accepted into the Performance Institute of Beijing Film Academy at age 15 and graduated in 2006.
After achieving success in television, Liu then ventured onto the big screen. In 2007, she joined William Morris Agency (WMA) and was subsequently cast in her first Hollywood production, The Forbidden Kingdom. She played Golden Sparrow, an orphan seeking revenge against her parents' killer. Thereafter, she starred in romantic-comedy Love in Disguise (2010) opposite Taiwanese singer-actor Wang Leehom.
In 2017, Liu starred in romantic fantasy film Once Upon a Time by award-winning director Anthony LaMolinara and Zhao Xiaoding. She also starred in the historical film The Chinese Widow directed by Bille August. The film premiered at the Shanghai International Film Festival as the opening film, and Liu was nominated as Best Actress. The same year, Liu reunited with White Vengeance co-star Feng Shaofeng in the fantasy comedy film Hanson and the Beast.
In November 2017, Liu was cast as Mulan in the live action adaptation of the 1998 Disney animated film, which was released in 2020 to mixed reviews.
In December 2017, it was announced that Liu will star in the upcoming fantasy mystery television series, The Love of Hypnosis. This marks her first small-screen comeback in 12 years.
In August 2019, Liu reshared an image posted by Chinese newspaper People's Daily, an official newspaper of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party. The image included a quote from Chinese reporter Fu Guohao who worked for People's Daily-owned tabloid Global Times and was subsequently assaulted by protesters after stating during the 2019–20 Hong Kong protests: "I support Hong Kong police. You can beat me now. What a shame for Hong Kong." This sparked international controversy, with Liu being accused of supporting police brutality. Following this, the hashtag #BoycottMulan started trending supporting a boycott of the movie. In response to the controversy, Liu was not present at the 2019 D23 Expo, which gave fans an exclusive sneak peek of Mulan. When asked about the controversy in February 2020, Liu stated: "I think it's just a very sensitive situation."
During an interview with Variety magazine at the premiere of Mulan on March 10, 2020, Liu described herself as "Asian" instead of "Chinese", which caused anger among some Chinese social media netizens, who threatened to boycott the movie and accused her of forgetting her roots, as well as questioning why a non-Chinese national was playing the "legendary Chinese icon".
In March 2021, Liu cut ties with clothing brand Adidas over its support for the Better Cotton Initiative - a group funded by the United States government via USAID - after the trade body pulled out of Xinjiang, China citing concerns of forced labour involving Uighur Muslims. The move was echoed by other Chinese celebrities as part of a broader campaign by the Chinese Government to pressure Western brands and consumers into continuing their purchase of cotton produced in the region.
Jing made her acting debut in the 2008 film Anaconda Frightened. Her first television series was the period drama The Epic of a Woman. In 2009, she was cast as the lead role in the historical drama Biography of Sun Tsu, which aired in 2013.
In 2010, Jing gained attention for her performance in the romance comedy drama My Belle Boss. In 2011, she rose to fame for her role in the historical war film The Warring States. A few leading roles in high-profile films followed; such as action films Special ID and Police Story 2013 (both in 2013) and gambling film From Vegas to Macau (2014).
In 2015, Jing starred in the historical romance drama Legend of Ban Shu, playing the title role alongside Zhang Zhehan. The same year, she played the eponymous role in the historical fiction drama The Legend of Xiao Zhuang.
In 2016, Jing starred as the female lead in Zhang Yimou's war epic film The Great Wall.
In 2017, Jing starred in the historical fiction drama The Glory of Tang Dynasty alongside Ren Jialun, playing the role of Shen Zhenzhu. The drama was a hit and Jing gained positive reviews for her acting.
In 2018, Jing starred alongside Chen Bolin in the fantasy drama The King of Blaze, based on the manga series of the same name.
In 2019, Jing starred in the road-trip romance drama Love Journey alongside Chen Xiao.
In 2021, she played the titular role of Si Teng in hit fantasy suspense drama Rattan.
Jing Tian is the only Hollywood International Award winner in Hollywood Film Awards history. According to the press release, she won the inaugural award because her "performances have ignited the box office in her native land", and the award "was established to recognise cinematic talent from around the world and will be given every year", but the award was discontinued the following year.
Jing Tian has also been nominated for "Most Disappointing Actress" at the Golden Broom Awards (China's equivalent of Golden Raspberry Awards) three times, winning twice.
Li has also starred in Hollywood blockbusters Resident Evil: Retribution (2012), Transformers: Age of Extinction (2014) and The Meg (2018).
Li ranked 26th on Forbes China Celebrity 100 list in 2013, 28th in 2014, 13th in 2015, 29th in 2017, and 76th in 2019.
Li Bingbing was born in Wuchang, Heilongjiang, China. She initially had no intention of becoming an actress and enrolled specifically in a high school for prospective school teachers. However, upon graduation, she discovered her interest in acting and was eventually persuaded by a friend to join the Shanghai Theatre Academy in 1993.
Li rose to fame after starring in Zhang Yuan's Seventeen Years (1999), which won her the Best Actress Award in the 1999 Singapore Film Festival. In 2001, Li starred in the television series Young Justice Bao, which propelled her to become one of the most famous actresses in China.
Li was subsequently labelled as an "action actress" as she starred in a number of wuxia television series, such as Taiji Prodigy and Eight Heroes.
Li achieved breakthrough with her performance in Feng Xiaogang's A World Without Thieves. She then starred in Dayyan Eng's romantic comedy film Waiting Alone, for which she received her first Best Actress nomination at the Golden Rooster Awards.
In 2009, Li won Best Actress at the 46th Golden Horse Film Awards for her performance in The Message, about Japanese invaders in China who try to ferret out a spy among their Chinese collaborators.
Li then starred in Tsui Hark's 2010 action-mystery film Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame. She played Shangguan Jing'er, a fictional character based on Shangguan Wan'er, a prestigious politician during the Tang Dynasty. She established her studio in the same year, co-starring and co-producing the film 1911 with Jackie Chan, which was released in September 2011 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Xinhai Revolution.
Career in Hollywood
Li Bingbing's first-time in an English-language film is Wayne Wang's Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, adapted from Lisa See's 2005 novel of the same title. The film premiered at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival. Li started to gain recognition in Hollywood after starring in Resident Evil: Retribution, playing Ada Wong. The same year, she was cast in action fantasy film 400 Boys, directed by British director Alastair Paton.
In 2013, Li attended the 4th Annual US-China Film Summit and received the East-West Talent Award. Hollywood magazine Variety also named her Asian Star of the Year. The following year, Li featured in Transformers: Age of Extinction, the fourth installment of the film franchise. This helped solidify her success overseas.
In 2015, she was cast in 3D science fiction thriller Nest (also known as Guardians of the Tomb), a Chinese-Australian co-production that was finally released in January 2018. The same year, it was announced that Li would play China's first female superhero in upcoming film Realm, written by Stan Lee.
In 2018, Li starred with Jason Statham in The Meg, an American-Chinese shark film based on Steve Alten's 1997 novel Meg: A Novel of Deep Terror.
Ambassador roles
- Charity Ambassador of the Shanghai World Expo
- Goodwill Ambassador of UNEP
Social activities
Li Bingbing has established L.O.V.E, a charitable organization dedicated to the promotion of a positive, environmentally responsible lifestyle. She is also one of the founders of the two-year One Million-Tree Forest project, launched in efforts to change the climate environment and help local residents of Gansu Province, Southwest China, to increase their incomes. Her commitment to green and charitable causes has earned her the recognition as "the most influential global ambassador" from World Wildlife Fund.
On 24 July 2013, it was reported that Li has a godfather named Wang Lin, a qigong practitioner who claims to be able to conjure up snakes from thin air, cure disease, and retrieve an incinerated banknote intact from an orange. The Beijing News reported that Li Xue, Li's agent, responded that Li went to visit Wang Lin to ask him to cure her mother of her disease. As for the effectiveness of the cure, the agent refused to disclose any more information.
She is a member of China Zhi Gong Party.
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