Michelle Chen Yanxi (born Chen Mei-hsuan; 31 May 1983) is a Taiwanese actress and singer.
Chen is best known for starring in the 2011 film ''
You Are the Apple of My Eye'', which broke box office records for Chinese-language films in mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore. Chen is also known for the films ''
Hear Me'' (2009), ''
Badges of Fury'' (2013), ''
Pali Road'' (2015), as well as the TV series ''
The Romance of the Condor Heroes'' (2014).
Early life
Michelle Chen was born and raised in
Taipei
Taipei (), officially Taipei City, is the capital and a special municipality of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Located in Northern Taiwan, Taipei City is an enclave of the municipality of New Taipei City that sits about southwest of the ...
. After middle school, she studied at
Southwestern Academy in
California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...
in the United States, eventually graduating from the
University of Southern California
, mottoeng = "Let whoever earns the palm bear it"
, religious_affiliation = Nonsectarian—historically Methodist
, established =
, accreditation = WSCUC
, type = Private research university
, academic_affiliations =
, endowment = $8. ...
with a bachelor's degree in
business administration in 2005. She speaks English and Chinese (
Mandarin
Mandarin or The Mandarin may refer to:
Language
* Mandarin Chinese, branch of Chinese originally spoken in northern parts of the country
** Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Mandarin, the official language of China
** Taiwanese Mandarin, Stand ...
and
Taiwanese Hokkien
Taiwanese Hokkien () (; Tâi-lô: ''Tâi-uân-uē''), also known as Taigi/Taigu (; Pe̍h-ōe-jī/ Tâi-lô: ''Tâi-gí / Tâi-gú''), Taiwanese, Taiwanese Minnan, Hoklo and Holo, is a variety of the Hokkien language spoken natively by about 7 ...
) fluently. In 2006, while visiting family in Taiwan, Chen caught the eye of renowned producer Angie Chai (), who was responsible for the success of talent such as
F4 and
Rainie Yang
Rainie Yang Cheng Lin (; born 4 June 1984) is a Taiwanese singer, actress, and television host.
Early life
Yang was born and raised in Taipei, Taiwan, her father's ancestors were from Guangdong, China. She spoke Cantonese at home. By the time ...
, among other popular idols. Chen wanted to break into music at the time, but due to the slow growth of the industry, was persuaded instead by Chai to start her career in acting.
Career
2007
Chen signed a contract with the company
Comic Dialogue Theme by
Angie Chai. Initially she wanted to be a singer, but the company wanted her to try to advance in the field of cinema. She therefore played supporting roles in several films and television series and caught attention for her lovely and cute looks, but did not leave much impression.
2009
She starred in the movie ''
Hear Me'' as a swimming athlete with hearing disabilities. Her acting captured people's hearts and helped her clinch the nomination for the "Best New Actress Award" at the
46th Golden Horse Film Festival and Awards.
2011
After seeing success with her debut film ''
Hear Me'', Chen starred in the hit Taiwanese film ''
You Are the Apple of My Eye'' (2011). The film was written and directed by
Giddens Ko
Giddens Ko (; born 25 August 1978) is a Taiwanese novelist and filmmaker. He earned his Bachelor of Science in Management from National Chiao Tung University and Master of Social Science from Tunghai University. He has published more than 60 b ...
, produced by
Angie as executive, and based on Ko's novel. In the film, Chen plays the role of Shen Chia-yi. The film broke records at the box office, becoming the 4th highest grossing domestic Taiwanese film. In the film's soundtrack, she also wrote and sang the song
" 孩子氣 "). For her performance in the film, Chen was also nominated for a "Best Actress" award at the
46th Golden Horse Film Festival and Awards.
Due to the success of ''You Are the Apple of My Eye'', Michelle Chen was cast in the lead role of the film ''
Badges of Fury'' starring
Jet Li
Li Lianjie (courtesy name Yangzhong; born 26 April 1963), better known by his stage name Jet Li, is a Chinese film actor, film producer, martial artist, and retired Wushu champion. He is a naturalized Singaporean citizen.
After three years of ...
,
Donnie Yen
Donnie Yen Chi-tan (; born 27 July 1963) is a Hong Kong actor, martial artist, and action director. Yen is one of Hong Kong's top action stars. Yen is widely credited for bringing mixed martial arts (MMA) into the mainstream Asian cinema by cho ...
and
Simon Yam.
2013
In May, Chen released her debut album ''Me, Myself, and I''. Including some self-composed songs, the album received an average response from critics and music listeners.
2014
After termination of the contract with the company Comic Voice Tri in 2012, Chen was cast as Xiaolongnü in ''
The Romance of the Condor Heroes''. Her casting announcement was met with widespread opposition from the public, with criticisms leveled at her appearance, which is not as light and angelic as the description of Xiaolongnu in the book.
2015
Michelle Chen starred in two new series set for release in 2015. In the movie Young For You, she role in He plays Qiu Zi, and drama.
The Legend of Qin (animated TV series) role in
Duanmu Rong shoulder.
2016 to present
In 2016, she starred in
Pali Road where she played the role of Lily with actor
Jackson Rathbone. The movie, filmed and set in Hawaii, was a collaboration between the US and China.
Personal life
In 2015, Michelle Chen began dating her ''
The Romance of the Condor Heroes'' co-star
Chen Xiao. On July 19, Michelle married Chen Xiao in
Beijing
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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 ...
, and another wedding banquet was held in Taipei on July 21, 2016. Chen gave birth to their first son in 2016, named him Chen Muchen. The pair will also star in
Quentin Lee's ''Morning, Paris!'' (巴黎早安), a romantic comedy that was filmed in September 2015 and set for a 2016 release.
Michelle Chen has an older sister.
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Filmography
Film
Television series
Variety show
*2011–12 ''Miss Traveler'' (WOMAN愛旅行) on Chinese Television System
The Chinese Television System Inc. () is a terrestrial television station in Taiwan and was founded in 1971. Recent milestones of the network are in sports events, including having the distinction to offer exclusive coverage of the 2017 ...
— co-host (3 episodes)
*2015 ''Yes! Coach'' (报告!教练) on Dragon Television — reality show contestant
Discography
Studio albums
Other songs
All songs are in Mandarin.
Awards and nominations
References
External links
*
Michelle Chen
on Sina Weibo
Sina Weibo (新浪微博) is a Chinese microblogging ( weibo) website. Launched by Sina Corporation on 14 August 2009, it is one of the biggest social media platforms in China, with over 582 million monthly active users (252 million daily ...
Michelle Chen
on Facebook
Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin ...
Michelle Chen
on Instagram
Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chen, Michelle
1983 births
21st-century Taiwanese actresses
21st-century Taiwanese singers
Musicians from Taipei
Actresses from Taipei
Taiwanese film actresses
Taiwanese television actresses
Living people
Marshall School of Business alumni
Participants in Chinese reality television series
21st-century Taiwanese women singers