Janis Chan

Early life and education

Janis Chan was born in British Hong Kong on 14 June 1979. She has one elder sister and one younger brother. Her father, Chan Yongho, worked as a concert production director. At the age of 12, while studying in Primary Five at Marymount Primary School, Chan and her family emigrated to Vancouver,^[3] Canada, amid the wave of emigration from Hong Kong in the early 1990s. She later attended Simon Fraser University, where she majored in journalism and communication and minored in education.

Career

In 2003, Chan was discovered by TVB executive Yu Wing-shan and joined Hong Kong Cable Television's newly launched Entertainment News Channel. She returned to Hong Kong to work as a news anchor and reporter,^[3][4] becoming one of the city's first generation of entertainment news presenters. Her early assignments included covering Michael Joseph Jackson events,^[5] the Academy Awards, Cannes Film Festival, Venice Film Festival, and fashion weeks in Milan and New York City. She interviewed celebrities such as Takuya Kimura, Lee Byung-hun, and Ang Lee, earning her the nickname "Queen of Cable Entertainment News."^[6] In 2009, she joined BMA Entertainment as an artist and a sports marketing executive, managing Hong Kong First Division League football clubs. South China and TSW Pegasus, as well as managing the company's publishing business, promoting both sports and culture. During this time, Due to BMA affiliation with the Hong Kong Recording Industry Alliance (HKRIA) amid an ongoing copyright dispute, she stopped hosting on TVB. Subsequently, she became a guest host on the NOW 101 Channel program 'Action to Money' until she was appointed as the channel head of NOW Star Channel upon its launch.^[5] In 2013, she returned to TVB, focusing on hosting and emceeing duties. Outside of her media career, Chan is also a devout Buddhist and a disciple of Venerable Hsing Yun of Fo Guang Shan. She has been actively involved in social and charitable causes. In September 2012, she was appointed Executive Director of the Nonprofit organization social enterprise Green Monday,^[5] promoting sustainable living and vegetarianism. She published two books: Entertainments and Insights (2007) and A Life of Freedom (2009), and wrote columns for Cosmopolitan (Hong Kong edition), Headline Daily, East Week, and Ming Pao.^[7] In 2017, she hosted the TVB program 'Faraway Brides', traveling to countries such as Germany, Denmark, Thailand, and Abu Dhabi. That year, she finalized her divorce.^[4] In 2019, she earned the 4th Disciples Escoffier Professional Diploma in pastry arts and received the Level 5 French Culinary Training Certificate from the French Ministry of Education (France).^[3][8]

In 2022, Chan won the "Best Female Host" award at the TVB Anniversary Awards 2021 and was selected as one of the "2021 Touching China "^[9][10] for her TVB program " Infinite Road ".^[11] The program was also selected by the expert review team of the General National Radio and Television Administration as one of the 20 "Outstanding Overseas Communication Works" of 2021.^[12] In 2024, Chen Bei'er won the "Best Female Host" award at the TVB Anniversary Awards 2024 for the third time.^[13]

Television Hosting

Radio Programs (as Guest)

• Commercial Radio 903
• 25 October 2008: RTHK Radio 2 – Leave it for Later

Magazine Appearance

• 2009: Choice Monthly, Issue No. 397

Music Works

Song

• 2022: Together Under the Lion Rock Against the Pandemic, performed with various artists

Books

• "Entertainment is my news – Chen Bei'er" (January 7, 2007, Jia Publishing Co., Ltd., ISBN 9789628955275 )
• "Free Life" (December 2009, Bomei Publishing House, ISBN 9789881874832 )