Yuan Shanshan (, born 22 February 1987) also known as Mabel Yuan is a

Chinese Chinese may refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people identified with China, through nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **Han Chinese, East Asian ethnic group native to China. **'' Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic ...

actress and singer. She is noted for her roles as in the ''Gong'' series: ''

Palace II ''Palace II'' (, lit. ''Locked Beaded Curtain'') is a 2012 Chinese television series written and produced by Yu Zheng and directed by Lee Wai-chu. It is a sequel to the 2011 television series ''Palace''. The series was first broadcast on HBS ...

'' (2012) and ''Palace III'' (2013); as well as ''Swordsman'' (2013) and ''

Jian Bing Man ''Jian Bing Man'' () is a 2015 Chinese superhero parody film directed, written and also starring Da Peng, Mabel Yuan and Liu Yan. The film also features Jean-Claude Van Damme Jean-Claude Camille François Van Varenberg (, ; born 18 Octobe ...

'' (2015).

Early life and education

Yuan Shanshan was born in a wealthy and highly educated family, to civil servants parents, in Xiangcheng District of

Xiangyang Xiangyang is the second-largest prefecture-level city by population in northwestern Hubei province, China. It was known as Xiangfan from 1950 to 2010. The Han River (Hanshui), Han River runs through Xiangyang's centre and divides the city n ...

city,

Hubei Hubei is a province of China, province in Central China. It has the List of Chinese provincial-level divisions by GDP, seventh-largest economy among Chinese provinces, the second-largest within Central China, and the third-largest among inland ...

province on February 22, 1987. At the age of 6, she started to play the

violin The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...

. In 2005, she attended

Beijing Film Academy Beijing Film Academy (BFA; zh, first=s, s=北京电影学院, labels=no) is a municipal public college in Beijing, China. It is affiliated with the City of Beijing and co-funded by the Beijing Municipal People's Government, the National Radio ...

from which she graduated in 2009.

Career

Yuan made her acting debut in ''A House's Maid'' in 2010, and was praised by co-star Zhao Wenxuan for her performance. Yuan Shanshan first came to the attention of the audience when she played a supporting role in the historical television series ''Qin Xianglian''. Under her co-star

Leanne Liu Liu Sue-Hua, also known as Leanne Liu, is a Golden Bell Award-winning Hong Kong actress. She first starred in Shaw Brothers films in Hong Kong, but moved to Taiwan in the 1980s to focus on her television career. She is particularly famous for a ...

's recommendation, she then signed with Yu Zheng's Studio. After guest-starring in ''

Palace A palace is a large residence, often serving as a royal residence or the home for a head of state or another high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word is derived from the Latin name palātium, for Palatine Hill in Rome whi ...

'', Yuan then got the role of

Empress Xiaoshengxian Empress Xiaoshengxian (12 January 1692 – 2 March 1777), of the Manchu Bordered Yellow Banner Niohuru clan, was a posthumous name bestowed to the consort of Yinzhen, the Yongzheng Emperor and mother of Hongli, the Qianlong Emperor. She was ...

in second installment of Yu Zheng's 'Gong' series; which propelled Yuan to fame and earned her a Breakthrough Improvement award. Thereafter Yuan starred in several productions by

Yu Zheng Yu Zheng (; born 28 February 1978) is a Chinese screenwriter and showrunner. He is known for historical romance dramas such as ''Palace'' (2011), ''Story of Yanxi Palace'' (2018), and '' The Double'' (2024). Biography Early life Yu was born ...

such as ''Beauty Without Tears'' (2012), the third installment of Yu Zheng's 'Beauty' series; ''Beauty of the Emperor'' (2012); ''Swordsman'' (2013), adapted from

Jin Yong 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 pop ...

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 ...

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 ...

''; and '' Palace 3: The Lost Daughter'' (2014), the sequel of ''Palace II'' — all of the series were popular during their run and led to increased recognition for Yuan. She is also known for her role in the period romantic drama ''Love in Spring'' (2013). However despite her rising popularity, Yuan faced several backlash by haters on

Weibo Weibo (), or Sina Weibo (), 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 ac ...

in regards to her miscast, as the role of Ren Yingying in ''Swordsman''. In 2015, Yuan starred in the superhero parody film ''

'', which was a box office success and broke ten million admissions. Yuan won the Most Powerful New Actress award at the Weibo Movie Awards Night. She next starred in the South Korean-Chinese romantic comedy film ''So I Married an Anti-fan'' and recorded a duet with her co-star

Park Chan-yeol Park Chan-yeol (; born November 27, 1992), better known mononymously as Chanyeol, is a South Korean rapper, singer, songwriter, producer, actor and model. He is a member of the South Korean-Chinese boy group Exo, its sub-group Exo-K and sub-u ...

from boy band

Exo Exo (; stylized in all caps) is a South Korean-Chinese boy band based in Seoul formed by SM Entertainment in 2011 and debuted in 2012. The group consists of nine members: Xiumin, Suho, Lay Zhang, Lay, Baekhyun, Chen (singer), Chen, Chanyeol, ...

. For the film, Yuan won the Most Popular Actress award at the

Chinese American Film Festival Chinese American Film Festival (CAFF) is an American film festival held every November since 2006 in California (with events in Los Angeles and San Francisco, previously also in San Diego). History In 2005, the Chinese American Film Festival w ...

Filmography

Film

Television series

Discography

Singles

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Yuan, Shanshan 1987 births People from Xiangyang Beijing Film Academy alumni Actresses from Hubei 21st-century Chinese actresses Living people Chinese film actresses Chinese television actresses