Li Chun (born January 11, 1988), known professionally as Li Qinyao, is a Chinese actress and former singer. From 2007 to 2010, she was a member of the

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

girl group

Morning Musume , formerly simply and colloquially referred to as , are a Japanese girl group, holding the second highest overall single sales (of a female group) on the Oricon, Oricon charts as of February 2012, with the Oricon record of most top ten singles ...

under the stage name . As an actress, Li has appeared in television and film projects including ''Moon Embracing the Stars'' and ''Eastern Battlefield.''

Career

2007-2010: Morning Musume

In 2006, Li auditioned for '' Super Girl'', but failed to enter the top 10.

Tsunku , known professionally as , is a Japanese singer, record producer, and songwriter. He is the lead singer of the rock band Sharam Q. As a songwriter, Tsunku is the primary producer for Morning Musume and other Hello! Project acts, such as Coco ...

, who planned on expanding Hello! Project into overseas Asian markets, offered her and the other eliminated ''Super Girl'' contestants an opportunity to enter an audition for

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

, China, which was kept secret from the members of Morning Musume themselves. Li accepted in spite of her family's disapproval due to the Japanese-Chinese tensions. On March 15, 2007, Li was officially announced as an eighth generation member in Morning Musume as a "foreign exchange student" along with

Lin Lin Qian Lin (born March 11, 1991), better known in Japan as , is a Chinese singer. She is a former Morning Musume member and leader of the Hello! Project sub-group Shin Minimoni. She was announced to be joining as the eighth generation of Morning ...

. On March 18, 2007, she made her first Japanese television appearance on ''

Hello! Morning was a weekly Japanese TV show featuring members of Morning Musume, and sometimes other Hello! Project members on TV Tokyo. It was also known by the shorter name of . On April 1, 2007, the show ended after seven years of broadcast. A new show fe ...

'', Morning Musume's variety show. Within the same week, she moved to Tokyo, Japan. Li made her first stage appearance took place during Morning Musume leader

Hitomi Yoshizawa is a Japanese former singer and actress. In 2000, Yoshizawa debuted as a 4th generation member of the idol girl group Morning Musume and became their leader in 2005 until leaving the group in 2007. Following her departure, Yoshizawa continued to ...

's graduation concert on May 6, 2007 at

Saitama Super Arena is a multi-purpose indoor arena located in Chūō-ku, Saitama, Saitama Prefecture, Japan. It opened preliminarily on May 5, 2000, and then was officially opened on September 1 of the same year. Its maximum spectator capacity is 36,500, making i ...

. In July 2007, Morning Musume released the single " Onna ni Sachi Are", Li's first song with the group. In 2009, Li, along with Morning Musume members

Sayumi Michishige is a Japanese singer, actress and model. She is a former sixth-generation member and former leader of the J-pop group Morning Musume. Following the departure of fifth-generation member Risa Niigaki on October 12, 2013, Michishige has the long ...

and

Koharu Kusumi is a Japanese actress, model, television personality, singer, and voice actress. In 2005, she became the only seventh generation member of the Japanese girl group Morning Musume, a part of Hello! Project. While Kusumi was in Morning Musume, she p ...

and

Berryz Kobo was a Japanese girl group formed by Up-Front Promotion in 2004 and associated with Hello! Project. The group's members consisted of Hello! Project Kids members Saki Shimizu, Momoko Tsugunaga, Miyabi Natsuyaki, Chinami Tokunaga, Maasa Sudo, Y ...

member

Risako Sugaya is a former Japanese singer and actress. She first gained recognition when she joined Hello! Project Kids and later became one of the lead vocalists of the girl group Berryz Kobo from 2004 to 2015. Career 2002–2004: Hello! Project Kids, 4 ...

, released the song "Sekai wa Futari no Tame ni" as the group Zoku V-U-Den. During the final show of Hello! Project's 2010 summer tour on August 8, 2010, Li, along with Lin Lin and

Eri Kamei is a Japanese pop singer and model. She is a former member of the Japanese pop group Morning Musume. She joined in late 2003 as a sixth generation member along with Miki Fujimoto, Sayumi Michishige, and Reina Tanaka. She graduated on December ...

, announced they would be leaving Morning Musume after the final show of their fall tour, ''Morning Musume 2010 Rival Survival''. Her final single with the group was " Onna to Otoko no Lullaby Game", which was released on November 17, 2010. Li's final performance with the group took place on December 15, 2010, during which she sang " Furusato" as her graduation song.

2011-present: Return to China

In late August 2011, she was announced to be cast in a Chinese school-life film "Love for a Second" and as of early September 2011, she was discovered to be enrolling in the famous Beijing Film Academy, studying Performance Arts. On May 8, 2015, Li announced through her Weibo account that she would be changing her professional name into "Li Qinyao."

Personal life

On December 26, 2014, Li announced on Weibo that she had married Chinese music producer Bernard Zheng.

Discography

Filmography

Television

Film

References

External links

Official blog
{{Authority control 1988 births Living people Japanese female idols Morning Musume members 21st-century Chinese actresses Chinese expatriates in Japan V-u-den members Super Girl contestants People from Yueyang Japanese-language singers Musicians from Hunan