# Yao Chen

Yao Chen (Chinese: 姚晨; pinyin: Yáo chén; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Iâu Sîn, born 5 October 1979) is a Chinese actress and philanthropist. She gained popularity for her role in the sitcom My Own Swordsman (2006) and went on to star in the television series Lurk (2008), Divorce Lawyers (2014), and All Is Well (2019). Her notable film credits include Caught in the Web (2012), Firestorm (2013), Lost, Found (2018), and Send Me to the Clouds (2019).
In 2013, she was named the first UN Refugee Agency Goodwill Ambassador in China. In 2014, Yao was named as one of the most influential people on the Time 100 list, and named by Forbes as the 83rd most powerful woman in the world. Yao ranked 56th on Forbes China Celebrity 100 list in 2013, 69th in 2014, 41st in 2015, and 60th in 2019.

## Early life

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.

## Career
### Acting

Yao was propelled to fame by her role as the daughter of a powerful martial artist in the 2005 sitcom My Own Swordsman. Following this, in 2008, she played the part of a guerilla leader in the popular series Lurk, for which she won the Best Actress award at the Huading Awards and the Golden Eagle Awards. 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.”
In 2009, Yao made her theatrical debut, playing a white-collar heroine in A Story of Lala's Promotion. She also had a supporting role in the romantic comedy Sophie's Revenge. 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. In 2012, Yao starred in Chen Kaige's social drama Caught in the Web as a truth-seeking journalist. She then starred alongside Andy Lau in the action thriller Firestorm, which won her the Outstanding Actress award at the Chinese Film Media Awards.
Yao played a lawyer in the 2014 TV drama Divorce Lawyers, followed by a series of blockbusters Monster Hunt (2015), Chronicles of the Ghostly Tribe (2015) and Journey to the West 2 (2017). Yao was nominated as Best Supporting Actress at the Hundred Flowers Awards for her performance in Monster Hunt. She also starred in MBA Partners (2016), playing an ambitious young woman.
In 2017, Yao served as the jury of the 23rd Shanghai Television Festival. In 2018, Yao starred in the mystery film Lost, Found, a remake of the South Korean film Missing. In 2019, Yao starred in the family drama All Is Well, 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), as well as the Singapore International Film Festival’s cinema icon award. She starred in If You are the One 3 in 2023.

### Activism

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. In 2013, she was named the first UNHCR goodwill ambassador in China. 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. The same year, she was selected as one of the "Young Global Leaders" in 2016 by the World Economic Forum. Yao was also awarded the Top Influence Award at the You Bring Charm to the World award ceremony. For Yao’s works and impacts in Asia and the world, she was received 2023 Asia Game Changer Award from Asia Society.

## Endorsements

In 2018, Yao was selected as brand ambassador for Italian fashion house Etro.
In 2021, Yao Chen joined actress Charlize Theron and prima-ballerina Misty Copeland as brand ambassadors for Breitling, dubbed the Breitling Spotlight Squad.
Since 2021, Italian jeweller Pomellato has announced Yao as its Chinese Brand Ambassador.

## Personal life

In 2004, Yao married college sweetheart and Chinese actor Ling Xiaosu. They divorced in 2011.
Yao married cinematographer Cao Yu in November 2012. She gave birth to their son in 2013, and three years later, she gave birth to their daughter.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | English title | Chinese title | Role | Notes |
| 2006 | Axis of War: My Long March | 我的长征 | Su Ma | |
| 2006 | Big Movie | 大电影之数百亿 | Luo Qian | |
| 2007 | Falling in Love | 追爱总动员 | | Cameo |
| 2007 | Two Stupid Eggs | 大电影2.0之两个傻瓜的荒唐事 | Yan Zi | |
| 2007 | Crossed Lines | 命运呼叫转移 | Ma Ting | |
| 2009 | Sophie's Revenge | 非常完美 | Lily | |
| 2009 | All's Well, Ends Well | H家有喜事2009 | Xiao Yazhen | |
| 2009 | Freeway | 天堂凹 | Jin Hong | |
| 2010 | If You Are the One 2 | 非诚勿扰2 | Mango | |
| 2010 | Love in Cosmo | 摇摆de婚约 | Wang Shunjia | |
| 2010 | Color Me Love | 爱出色 | Wang Xiaofei | |
| 2011 | My Own Swordsman | 武林外传 | Guo Furong | |
| 2012 | Caught in the Web | 搜索 | Chen Ruoxi | |
| 2012 | The Monkey King: Uproar in Heaven | 大闹天宫 | | Voice-dubbed |
| 2013 | My Lucky Star | 非常幸运 | Lily | Cameo |
| 2013 | Control | 控制 | Jessica | |
| 2013 | Firestorm | 风暴2 | Yan Bing | |
| 2015 | Monster Hunt | 捉妖记 | Cooking Master | Special appearance |
| 2015 | Chronicles of the Ghostly Tribe | 九层妖塔 | Shirley Yang | |
| 2016 | Everybody's Fine | 一切都好 | Guan Qing | |
| 2016 | The New Year's Eve of Old Lee | 过年好 | | Cameo |
| 2016 | MBA Partners | 梦想合伙人 | Lu Zhenxi | |
| 2017 | Journey to the West 2 | 西游伏妖篇 | Jiu Gong | |
| 2018 | Goddesses in the Flames of War | 那些女人 | | |
| 2018 | Lost, Found | 找到你 | Li Jie | |
| 2019 | Send Me to the Clouds | 送我上青云 | Sheng Nan | |
| 2019 | A Journey to the Seaside | 亲密旅行 | | |
| 2020 | The Eight Hundred | 八佰 | Ho Hsiang-ning | |
| 2023 | Flaming Cloud | 三贵情史 | | |
| 2023 | If You Are The One 3 | 非常勿扰3 | | |

### Television series

| Year | English title | Chinese title | Role | Notes |
| 2003 | City Girl | 都市男女 | Su Qingqing | |
| 2003 | | 神鞭 | Zhan Jiarong | |
| 2004 | Chui Shi Ban's Story 2 | 炊事班的故事2 | Xiao Yao | |
| 2006 | Life Concern | 人命关天 | Meng Ting | |
| 2006 | My Own Swordsman | 武林外传 | Guo Furong | |
| 2007 | | 房前屋后 | Gu Lili | |
| 2007 | Chui Shi Ban's Story 3 | 炊事班的故事3 | Xiao Yao | |
| 2008 | Six Cities | 都市六人行 | Fang Fang | Guest appearance |
| 2008 | China's Volunteers | 中国志愿者 | Ye Meng | |
| 2008 | Lione | 防火墙5788 | Song Yuxiu | |
| 2008 | Hundred Years Past Events | 百年往事 | He Jiabi | |
| 2009 | Health Team's Story | 卫生队的故事 | Xiao Yao | |
| 2009 | Lurk | 潜伏 | Wang Cuiping | |
| 2010 | Niu Tie Han and his Daughters | 牛铁汉和他的儿女们 | Gu Xiaoxin | |
| 2010 | Days with the Air Hostess | 和空姐一起的日子 | Ran Jing | |
| 2013 | Longmen Express | 龙门镖局 | Lu Qingning | Cameo |
| 2014 | Wonder Lady 3 | 极品女士第三季 | Lawyer Luo | Cameo |
| 2014 | Divorce Lawyers | 离婚律师 | Luo Li | |
| 2019 | All Is Well | 都挺好 | Su Mingyu | |
| 2021 | Vacation of Love | 假日暖洋洋 | Xu Keyi | |

## Discography

| Year | English title | Chinese title | Album |
| 2007 | "Searching" | 寻找 | Fuwa OST |
| 2014 | "Don't Let Love Be Lost" | 别让爱迷路 | Divorce Lawyers OST |
| 2016 | "A Letter Home" | 一封家书 | Everybody's Fine OST |
| 2017 | "Love in a Life Time" | 一生所爱 | Journey to the West: The Demons Strike Back OST |

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Nominated work | Award | Category | Result |
| 2009 | Lurk | 27th Flying Apsaras Awards | Outstanding Actress | Nominated |
| 2010 | Lurk | 2nd Huading Awards | Best Actress | Won |
| 2010 | Lurk | 25th China TV Golden Eagle Award | Audience's Choice for Actress | Won |
| 2011 | Love in Cosmo | 5th Huading Awards | Best Actress in Romance Film | Won |
| 2011 | My Own Swordsman | 18th Beijing College Student Film Festival | Most Popular Actress | Won |
| 2011 | — | 13th Golden Phoenix Awards | Society Award | Won |
| 2011 | Color Me Love | 11th Chinese Film Media Awards | Outstanding Actress | Nominated |
| 2014 | Firestorm | 14th Chinese Film Media Awards | Outstanding Actress | Won |
| 2015 | Divorce Lawyers | 15th Huading Awards | Best Actress (TV) | Nominated |
| 2015 | Divorce Lawyers | 21st Shanghai Television Festival | Best Actress | Nominated |
| 2015 | Divorce Lawyers | 13th Sichuan Television Festival | Best Actress | Nominated |
| 2016 | Monster Hunt | 33rd Hundred Flowers Awards | Best Supporting Actress | Nominated |
| 2016 | Monster Hunt | 13th Changchun Film Festival | Best Supporting Actress | Nominated |
| 2016 | Chronicles of the Ghostly Tribe Goddesses in the Flames of War | 3rd China Australia International Film Festival | Special Jury Award | Won |
| 2019 | Lost, Found | 26th Beijing College Student Film Festival | Best Actress | Won |
| 2019 | Lost, Found | 25th Huading Awards | Best Actress | Nominated |
| 2019 | Lost, Found | 21st Far East Film Festival | Golden Mulberry award for outstanding achievement | Won |
| 2019 | All Is Well | 25th Shanghai Television Festival | Best Actress | Nominated |
| 2019 | All Is Well | 24th Busan International Film Festival | Asian Contents Awards - Best Actress | Won |
| 2019 | All Is Well | 6th The Actors of China Award Ceremony | Best Actress (Sapphire Category) | Nominated |
| 2019 | All Is Well | 26th Huading Awards | Best Actress | Nominated |
| 2019 | All Is Well | Golden Bud - The Fourth Network Film And Television Festival | Best Actress | Nominated |
| 2019 | All Is Well | 8th China Student Television Festival | Most Watched Actress | Won |
| 2019 | All Is Well | Tencent Video All Star Awards | TV Actor of the Year | Won |
| 2019 | All Is Well | Film and TV Role Model 2019 Ranking | Best Actress | Won |
| 2019 | All Is Well | Tencent Entertainment White Paper | Television Actress of the Year | Won |
| 2019 | All Is Well | Tencent Entertainment White Paper | Reputable Actress of the Year | Won |
| 2019 | Send Me to the Clouds | 32nd Golden Rooster Awards | Best Actress | Nominated |
| 2019 | Send Me to the Clouds | 32nd Tokyo International Film Festival Gold Crane Awards | Best Actress | Won |
| 2019 | — | Night of the Film | Film Commemoration Award | Won |
| 2020 | Send Me to the Clouds | 29th Huading Awards | Best Actress | Nominated |
| 2020 | Send Me to the Clouds | 11th China Film Director's Guild Awards | Best Actress | Nominated |