Yao Chen

Yao was born in Fuzhou, Fujian province on 5 October 1979 to a middle-class family. She studied Chinese folk dance at the Beijing Dance Academy from 1993 to 1997. From 1999 to 2003, she studied acting at the Beijing Film Academy, where her classmates included actors Ling Xiaosu, Yu Bo, and Ye Jing.^[11]

Yao was propelled to fame by her role as the daughter of a powerful martial artist in the 2005 sitcom My Own Swordsman.^[12] Following this, in 2008, she played the part of a guerilla leader in the popular series Lurk,^[13] for which she won the Best Actress award at the Huading Awards and the Golden Eagle Awards.^[12][14] Yao opened a Sina Weibo account in 2009, becoming one of the earliest celebrities in China to embrace social media, which led to runaway success. In the early 2010s, her immense popularity on Chinese social media earned her the title of “Weibo Queen.”^{[15][16][17][5]}

In 2009, Yao made her theatrical debut, playing a white-collar heroine in A Story of Lala's Promotion.^[18] She also had a supporting role in the romantic comedy Sophie's Revenge.^[19] Yao then starred in romantic comedy Color Me Love (2010) as an aspiring fashion magazine editor, which would go on to become one of her most famous film roles.^[20][21] In 2012, Yao starred in Chen Kaige's social drama Caught in the Web as a truth-seeking journalist.^[22] She then starred alongside Andy Lau in the action thriller Firestorm, which won her the Outstanding Actress award at the Chinese Film Media Awards.^[23]

Yao played a lawyer in the 2014 TV drama Divorce Lawyers,^[24] followed by a series of blockbusters Monster Hunt (2015),^[25] Chronicles of the Ghostly Tribe (2015)^[26] and Journey to the West 2 (2017).^[27] Yao was nominated as Best Supporting Actress at the Hundred Flowers Awards for her performance in Monster Hunt.^[28] She also starred in MBA Partners (2016), playing an ambitious young woman.^[29]

In 2017, Yao served as the jury of the 23rd Shanghai Television Festival.^[30] In 2018, Yao starred in the mystery film Lost, Found, a remake of the South Korean film Missing.^[31] In 2019, Yao starred in the family drama All Is Well,^[32] for which she received the Best Actress Award of the Busan International Film Festival's Asia Contents Awards. In the same year, she received the Golden Rooster Award for the film Send Me To The Clouds (2019),^[33] as well as the Singapore International Film Festival’s cinema icon award.^[1][34] She starred in If You are the One 3 in 2023.^[35]

In 2012, Yao was named the UNHCR's Honorary Patron for China and has visited refugees in places including the Philippines, Thailand, Somalia, Sudan and Ethiopia. The number of her Weibo followers during the visit increased dramatically.^[36][37] In 2013, she was named the first UNHCR goodwill ambassador in China.^[38][39][40] Yao was among the recipients of the 2016 Crystal Award for her work on behalf of the U.N. refugee agency in raising awareness of the world refugee crisis.^[41][42] The same year, she was selected as one of the "Young Global Leaders" in 2016 by the World Economic Forum.^[43] Yao was also awarded the Top Influence Award at the You Bring Charm to the World award ceremony.^[44] For Yao’s works and impacts in Asia and the world, she was received 2023 Asia Game Changer Award from Asia Society.^[45]

In 2018, Yao was selected as brand ambassador for Italian fashion house Etro.^[46]

In 2021, Yao Chen joined actress Charlize Theron and prima-ballerina Misty Copeland as brand ambassadors for Breitling, dubbed the Breitling Spotlight Squad.^[47]

Since 2021, Italian jeweller Pomellato has announced Yao as its Chinese Brand Ambassador.^[48]

In 2004, Yao married college sweetheart and Chinese actor Ling Xiaosu. They divorced in 2011.^[49]

Yao married cinematographer Cao Yu in November 2012.^[50] She gave birth to their son in 2013, and three years later, she gave birth to their daughter.^[51][52]

On March 16, 2026 Yao announced on Weibo that she had divorced Cao many years ago.^[53]