Joe Chen Chiao-en (; born 4 April 1979) is a Taiwanese actress, singer and television host. Known as the "Queen of Idol Dramas", Chen is known for her roles in ''

The Prince Who Turns into a Frog ''The Prince Who Turns into a Frog'' () is a 2005 Taiwanese drama starring Ming Dao, Joe Chen, Sam Wang (actor), Sam Wang and Joyce Chao. It was produced by Sanlih E-Television and directed by Chen Ming Zhang (:zh:陳銘章, 陳銘章) and Liu J ...

'' (2005), ''

Fated to Love You Fated to Love You may refer to: * ''Fated to Love You'' (2008 TV series), a Taiwanese television series * ''You Are My Destiny'' (2014 TV series), a South Korean television series also known as ''Fated to Love You'' * ''You're My Destiny'' (201 ...

'' (2008) and ''

The Queen of SOP ''The Queen of SOP'' () is a 2012 Chinese-Taiwanese television series produced by GTV and directed by Zhang Boyu. It stars Joe Chen, Hans Zhang and Godfrey Gao. The show first premiered on Hunan TV on 14 October 2012 before airing on FTV. Th ...

'' (2012). She was nominated at the 43rd

Golden Bell Awards The Golden Bell Awards () is an annual Taiwanese television and radio production award presented in October or November each year by the Bureau of Audiovisual and Music Industry Development, a division of Taiwan's Ministry of Culture (Taiwan), M ...

for her role in ''Fated to Love You''. In 2013, Chen's popularity rose in mainland China, where she gained a large number of fans for her role as

Dongfang Bubai Dongfang Bubai, literally "Invincible East", is a fictional character in the wuxia novel ''The Smiling, Proud Wanderer'' by Jin Yong. He is the leader of the Sun Moon Holy Cult (), an "unorthodox" martial arts school. In his quest to dominat ...

in the Chinese

wuxia ( , literally "martial arts and chivalry") is a genre of Chinese literature, Chinese fiction concerning the adventures of martial artists in ancient China. Although is traditionally a form of historical fantasy literature, its popularity ha ...

series ''

Swordsman Swordsmanship or sword fighting refers to the skills and techniques used in combat and training with any type of sword. The term is modern, and as such was mainly used to refer to smallsword fencing, but by extension it can also be applied to a ...

''. Chen also entered the

Forbes China Celebrity 100 The ''Forbes'' China Celebrity 100 is a list published annually by ''Forbes'' that ranks the influence of Chinese celebrities. First published in 2004, it is similar to the Celebrity 100 also published by ''Forbes''. Factors that are taken into ...

List for the first time. She solidified her popularity in highly rated television series '' Cruel Romance'' (2015), ''

Destined to Love You ''Destined to Love You'' () is a 2015 Chinese television series created by Tong Hua. It stars Joe Chen, Jia Nailiang and Bosco Wong. The series aired on Hunan TV from 16 June to 11 July 2015. Synopsis The story is set in the 1916s and revolv ...

'' (2015), ''

Stay with Me Stay with Me may refer to: Film and television * ''Stay with Me'' (2004 film), an Italian film * ''Stay with Me'' (2010 film), a Canadian drama film * ''Stay with Me'' (2018 film), a South Korean romantic drama film * ''Stay with Me'' (2016 TV ser ...

'' (2016) and '' Candle in the Tomb'' (2016). Chen ranked 99th on ''

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...

'' China Celebrity 100 list in 2013, 65th in 2014, 61st in 2015, and 51st in 2017.

Career

2001–2004: Beginnings

Joe Chen began working as a model and assistant in 2001. She entered the entertainment industry after winning 1st place on

Sanlih E-Television Sanlih Entertainment Television or Sanlih E-Television (SET; ) is a Taiwanese nationwide cable TV network founded in May 1993. It also produces Taiwanese drama that are broadcast on free-to-air channels like Taiwan Television (TTV). In terms ...

's talent show. In 2002, she began her acting career by taking on a supporting role in the television drama, ''

Lavender ''Lavandula'' (common name lavender) is a genus of 47 known species of perennial flowering plants in the sage family, Lamiaceae. It is native plant, native to the Old World, primarily found across the drier, warmer regions of the Mediterranean ...

''. She also became a host for SET variety shows ''Zhong Guo Na Me Da'' and ''Zong Yi Qi Jian'', alongside famous Taiwanese hosts

Jacky Wu Jacky Wu (; born 26 September 1962) is a Taiwanese television show host, singer, and actor. He hosts numerous variety shows, such as the long running popular Taiwanese variety show ''Guess (variety show), Guess''. Career In 1987, Wu started out b ...

and

NONO Nono may refer to: Places * Nono, Argentina, a municipality in the Province of Córdoba * Nono, Ecuador, a parish in the municipality of Quito in the province of Pichincha * Nono, Illubabor, Oromia (woreda), Ethiopia, or Nono Sele ** Nono, Illub ...

. After being neglected by her company for six months, she attracted the attention of SET's executive Zong Limei, who cast her in ''

100% Senorita ''100% Senorita'' () is a 2003 Taiwanese romance comedy drama television series. Starring Joe Chen, Penny Lin, and Wallace Huo as the main leads, also Deric Wan and Jason Hsu in supporting roles, the drama began broadcasting on CTS channel on Sep ...

'' (2003). This was her first leading role. The drama became the highest rated Taiwanese drama then, and also achieved moderate success overseas. Joe then make her debut in Taiwanese girl group

7 Flowers 7 (seven) is the natural number following 6 and preceding 8. It is the only prime number preceding a cube. As an early prime number in the series of positive integers, the number seven has symbolic associations in religion, mythology, supers ...

the following year.

2005–2012: Rising popularity

Joe achieved breakthrough with her performance in ''

'' (2005). The drama had a peak rating of 8.05, dethroning the previous record held by '' Meteor Garden'' to become the highest rated Taiwanese idol drama. From 2006 to 2007, Joe began to host several Taiwanese variety programs like ''Treasure Hunter'' and ''Stylish Man – The Chef''. She also starred in the dramas ''A Game About Love'' and ''

Ying Ye 3 Jia 1 ''Ying Ye 3 Jia 1'' (), also known as Sakurano in the Philippines, is a 2007 Taiwanese drama starring Ming Dao, Joe Chen, Jerry Huang and Jason Hsu. It follows the adventure of an amateur detective group in high school. It aired on TTV/SETTV fr ...

''. In 2008, Joe starred in ''

'' opposite

Ethan Juan Ethan Juan (, born 8 November 1982) is a Taiwanese actor and model. He gained popularity in idol dramas '' Green Forest, My Home'' (2005), '' Wayward Kenting'' (2007), '' Fated to Love You'' (2008), and '' My Queen'' (2009) and had a frequent c ...

, which beat Joe's previous drama, ''The Prince Who Turns into a Frog'' to become the highest rated Taiwanese idol drama. The drama also received popularity overseas, and was covered by America's ''

Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...

''. Joe was nominated for Best Actress in a TV Series at the 43rd

and was named "Queen of Idol Dramas" by ''

Taipei Times The ''Taipei Times'' is an English-language print newspaper in Taiwan published by the Liberty Times Group. Founded as the third English-language newspaper on 15 June 1999, it is currently the last surviving English-language print newspaper i ...

''.

In 2009, Joe was then cast in her first Chinese drama, '' The Girl in Blue'', adapted from an online novel by

Fei Wo Si Cun Fei Wo Si Cun (; born 26 December 1978) is the pen name of the Chinese writer Ai Jingjing (). She was born in Wuhan, Hubei, China. She has published 18 novels, 10 of which have been adapted into TV series A television show, TV program (), ...

. The series was broadcast on

Hunan TV Hunan Television or Hunan TV () is a state-owned provincial satellite TV station launched on September 29, 1970. It is currently China's second-most-watched television channel, second to China Central Television's CCTV-1, although Hunan TV has oc ...

in 2010. In 2010, she was cast in her first film, ''Breaking the Waves'', a youth sports film produced by

John Woo John Woo Yu-sen ( zh, t= ; born 22 September 1946) is a Hongkongers, Hong Kong film director known as a highly influential figure in the action film genre. The recipient of various accolades, including a Hong Kong Film Awards, Hong Kong Film Award ...

for the

Asian Games The Asian Games, also known as Asiad, is a continental multi-sport event held every four years for athletes of Asia. The Games were regulated by Asian Games Federation from the 1951 Asian Games, first Games in New Delhi, India in 1951, until ...

. Joe returned to idol dramas after 4 years in the romantic comedy drama ''

'', which was broadcast on

in 2012. ''The Queen of SOP'' achieved high ratings and positive reviews, further boosting Joe's popularity in China. She also released an OST for the drama titled "Like to be Lonely", which topped the

Baidu Baidu, Inc. ( ; ) is a Chinese multinational technology company specializing in Internet services and artificial intelligence. It holds a dominant position in China's search engine market (via Baidu Search), and provides a wide variety of o ...

Chinese Music Charts for two weeks.

2013–present: Breakthrough in China, Theater debut and continued success

Joe rose to mainstream popularity in China after starring in the Chinese

drama ''

'', adapted from

Louis Cha Louis Cha Leung-yung (; 10 March 1924 – 30 October 2018), better known by his pen name Jin Yong (), was a Hong Kong wuxia novelist and co-founder of ''Ming Pao.'' Cha authored 15 novels between 1955 and 1972 and became one of the most popul ...

's novel ''

The Smiling, Proud Wanderer ''The Smiling, Proud Wanderer'' is a wuxia novel by Jin Yong (Louis Cha). It was first serialised in Hong Kong in the newspaper ''Ming Pao'' from 20 April 1967 to 12 October 1969. The Chinese title of the novel, ''Xiao Ao Jiang Hu'', literally m ...

''. She portrayed the anti-heroine

. Though there were initial doubts to her characters (as Dongfang Bubai is a male in the original novel), Joe later won the hearts of the audience through her complex and rich portrayal of her character. Joe experienced a rise in popularity, and won the Most Popular Actress award at the 5th

China TV Drama Awards The China TV Drama Awards (), also known as the Domestic TV Series Ceremony, is an award show presented annually on Anhui Television to award excellence in Chinese television. Categories Main Awards *Top Ten Television Series () *Best Web Serie ...

. The same year, Joe made her debut in

musical theater Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, moveme ...

, starring as the female lead in ''The Woman on the Breadfruit Tree'', based on Amy Cheung's novel of the same name. She was nominated as Best New Actress at the 4th One Drama Presentation for her performance. In 2014, Joe starred in '' The Monkey King'', portraying

Princess Iron Fan Princess Iron Fan () is a character from the 16th century Chinese novel ''Journey to the West''. She is one of the most popular ''Journey to the West'' villains, alongside her husband the Bull Demon King, her son Red Boy, and Baigujing. In ' ...

. The film was a huge commercial success, grossing US$180 million internationally. She also featured in the road-trip comedy film ''

The Continent Continental Europe or mainland Europe is the contiguous mainland of Europe, excluding its surrounding islands. It can also be referred to ambiguously as the European continent, – which can conversely mean the whole of Europe – and, by so ...

'', directed by

Han Han Han Han (; born September 23, 1982) is a Chinese author, rally driver, singer and filmmaker. He is also the creator of print magazine ''Party'' and online magazine ''One''. In May 2010, Han was named to the ''Time'' 100 list. In September 201 ...

. In 2015, Joe starred in her first period drama, '' Cruel Romance'' alongside

Huang Xiaoming Huang Xiaoming or Mark Huang ( zh, s=黄晓明, p=Huáng Xiǎomíng, born 13 November 1977) is a Chinese actor and singer. Huang rose to prominence for playing Emperor Wu of Han in the television series '' The Prince of Han Dynasty'' (2001), foll ...

. ''Cruel Romance'' achieved high ratings and was extremely popular during its run. Joe won the Best Actress in the Modern drama award at the 17th

Huading Awards The Huading Awards are a set of entertainment awards in China. The awards were set up by Global Talents Media Group, Inc in 2007 and are held more than once each year across multiple entertainment media from Chinese television shows to internatio ...

for her performance. Joe then starred in another period drama, ''

'', written by Tong Hua. The same year, Joe returned to theater and reprised her role in ''The Woman on the Breadfruit Tree''. She received acclaim for her performance, and was awarded Best Actress at the 4th Denny Awards. She also made a cameo appearance in the popular youth film, ''

Our Times ''Our Times'' (, literally "The Time of My Maiden Years") is a 2015 Taiwanese teen romantic comedy-drama film directed by Frankie Chen. It is the directorial debut of Chen, who previously directed television dramas. The film stars Vivian Sung a ...

'' as the adult version of the female protagonist. In 2016, Joe paired up with Wang Kai for modern romance drama ''

'', which she co-produced. She co-starred with

Jin Dong Jin Dong (, born 22 December 1976) is a Chinese actor. He is known for his television roles in ''Legend of Entrepreneurship'' (2012), '' The Disguiser'' (2015), '' Candle in the Tomb'' (2016), '' Surgeons'' (2017) and '' The First Half of My Lif ...

in the web drama '' Candle in the Tomb'', adapted from the novel ''

Ghost Blows Out the Light ''Gui Chui Deng (Ghost Blows Out the Light)'' (), also referred to as ''Candle in the Tomb'', is a fantasy novel series written by (天下霸唱) about a team of grave robbers seeking a hidden treasure haunted by ghosts, with the first book publ ...

''. ''Candle in the Tomb'' was a critical success, and received acclaim for its performance and faithful adaptation. In 2017, Joe starred alongside

Tong Dawei Tong Dawei (, born 3 February 1979) is a Chinese actor and singer. Tong is best known for starring in the television series ''Jade Goddess of Mercy'' (2003), '' Struggle'' (2007), and ''Tiger Mom'' (2015); as well as the films ''Lost in Beijing' ...

in the romance comedy drama ''Love Actually'', which topped ratings and trending topics during its run. She subsequently returned to the big screen with two films – action comedy ''Big Brother'' alongside

Donnie Yen Donnie Yen Chi-tan ( zh, c=甄子丹, p=Zhēn Zǐdān, j=, first=j; born 27 July 1963) is a Hongkongers, Hong Kong actor, filmmaker, martial artist, and action director. He is the recipient of various accolades, including three Golden Horse Fi ...

and romance film ''Let's Cheat Together'' where she played the role of a mistress alongside frequent co-star

Ming Dao Ming Dao (; born 26 February 1980) is a Taiwanese actor, singer and model. He is known for starring in '' The Prince Who Turns into a Frog'', which held the highest single episode average rating of 6.99 for a Taiwanese drama from 2005 to 200 ...

. In 2019, Joe starred alongside

Chen Xiao Chen Xiao (, born 5 July 1987) is a Chinese actor. He is best known for his roles in TV series ''Swordsman'' (2013), '' Legend of Lu Zhen'' (2013), '' The Romance of the Condor Heroes'' (2014), '' Nothing Gold Can Stay'' (2017) and '' A Dream o ...

in the historical television series '' Queen Dugu'', playing the role of

Dugu Qieluo Dugu Qieluo or Dugu Jialuo (; 544 – September 10, 602), formally Empress Wenxian (), was an empress of the Sui dynasty of China. She was the wife of Emperor Wen, who, on account of his love and respect for her, as well as an oath they made w ...

. The same year, she was cast as Di Wu, a pilot in the aviation TV series ''New Horizon''. However, due to the influence of COVID-19, ''New Horizon'' finally released on 27 May 2021 on iQiyi, Youku, and Tencent.

Personal life

Chen is Taiwanese

Hakka The Hakka (), sometimes also referred to as Hakka-speaking Chinese, or Hakka Chinese, or Hakkas, are a southern Han Chinese subgroup whose principal settlements and ancestral homes are dispersed widely across the provinces of southern China ...

from

Hsinchu Hsinchu (, ), officially Hsinchu City, is a city located in northwestern Taiwan. It is the most populous city in Taiwan that is not a special municipality, with estimated 450,655 inhabitants. Hsinchu is a coastal city bordering the Taiwan ...

County. She has two brothers, one elder and one younger.

Filmography

Film

Television series

Discography

Singles

Publication

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Chen, Joe 1979 births Living people Hakka musicians People from Hsinchu County Taiwanese film actresses Taiwanese idols Taiwanese people of Hakka descent Taiwanese television actresses Taiwanese television presenters Taiwanese women television presenters 21st-century Taiwanese actresses 21st-century Taiwanese singers 21st-century Taiwanese women singers Taiwanese activists for Chinese unification