# Wu Jinyan

Wu Jinyan (Chinese: 吴谨言, born August 16, 1990) is a Chinese actress. She is best known for her roles in television series Beauties at the Crossfire (2013), Story of Yanxi Palace (2018), The Legend of Haolan (2019), and The Double (2024).

## Early life and education

Wu was born in Chengdu, Sichuan. She began studying ballet at the age of 3. In 2000, she moved from her hometown to train at the Dance School Affiliated to Beijing Dance Academy, working to become a professional ballerina. After 7 years of boarding school, Wu joined the National Ballet of China, where she suffered repeated fractures in her feet. Wu later reported that these injuries caused her to pursue a different career to ballet. In 2009, Wu entered Beijing Film Academy, majoring in acting.
At the Affiliated school, Wu once had a chance to become an actress. The director even invited Wu's parents to persuade her to participate. But the role needed to shave the head, which would affect the dance presentation, she finally gave up this opportunity.

## Career
### 2010–2017: Beginnings

During Wu's sophomore year, she began her career by taking part in filming a time-travel television series, which has not been aired yet.
In 2011, Wu signed a contract with Zijun Entertainment, which opened up more acting opportunities for her.
In 2013, Wu played a dual role in the period political drama Beauties at the Crossfire, which achieved the highest ratings of the year for Anhui TV. She also got the nomination of Most Popular Actress at the Shanghai Television Festival.
In 2015, she appeared in the Guan Hu's crime film Mr. Six as a college student begging money to go home, opposite Feng Xiaogang.
In 2016, during the shooting of Waitan Zhong Sheng, Wu made acquaintance with Yu Zheng, a Chinese screenwriter and producer. Then she became an artist of Huanyu Entertainment and was cast as the lead role in the historical drama Zhaoge.

### 2018–present: Rising popularity

In 2018, Wu starred in the historical drama Story of Yanxi Palace. The drama was incredibly popular in China and throughout Asia, streaming over 15 billion times and becoming the most googled show in 2018. Wu gained increased attention and popularity with her role as Wei Yingluo. She gained increased attention after starring in historical fiction The Legend of Haolan (2019) as Li Haolan / Zhao Ji.
In 2019, Wu joined the cast of Youth Periplous, a Chinese variety show broadcast on Zhejiang Television. In August, she ranked 65th on Forbes China Celebrity 100 list. In September, Wu portrayed a scriptwriter in the suspense romance drama You Are My Answer which aired on Hunan Television. In October, Wu appeared in the 2019 edition of Forbes 30 Under 30 China list, which consisted of 30 influential people under 30 years old who have had a substantial effect in their fields.
On January 1, 2020, Wu starred in a music video for JJ Lin's song titled The Story of Us (Chinese: 将故事写成我们). Wu was invited by JJ Lin to participate in the music video after the popularity of Story of Yanxi Palace. This was her first music video. The spin-off of Story of Yanxi Palace, Yanxi Palace: Princess Adventures, where Wu reprised her role as consort Wei Yingluo, aired on Netflix one day before.
Wu participated in the period drama series Legacy which will premiere exclusively on WarnerMedia’s regional streaming service HBO Go at an unspecified date later in 2021. Legacy is a 1920s-set drama that chronicles the lives of the wealthy Yi family and three sisters who vie to inherit their father’s shopping mall business. In a time of upheaval and uncertainty, the three sisters set aside their differences to keep the business afloat and save their family.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | English title | Chinese title | Role |
| 2011 | The Law of Attraction | 万有引力 | Huang Juan |
| 2015 | Mr. Six | 老炮儿 | Zheng Hong |
| 2018 | Forever Young | 无问西东 | Lin Huiyin |
| 2018 | Born to Be Wild | 说走就走之不说再见 | Xue Qi |

### Television series

| Year | English title | Chinese title | Role | Notes |
| N/A | | 古今六人行 | Mao Mao | Unaired |
| 2012 | | 青海花儿 | Wu Xiaoyu | |
| 2013 | | 屏风美人 | Qing Qing | Television film |
| 2013 | New Editorial Department Story | 新编辑部故事 | Young Lady | Episode 13 |
| 2013 | Beauties at the Crossfire | 烽火佳人 | Qing Ping / Hong Yu | |
| 2014 | The Four | 少年四大名捕 | He Xiaoyu | Cameo |
| 2014 | Young Sherlock | 少年神探狄仁杰 | Li Qian | |
| 2015 | Royal Romance | 多情江山 | Wan'er | |
| 2015 | Fighting | 激战 | Jiang Ziyun | |
| 2016 | Singing All Along | 秀丽江山之长歌行 | Xu Yanzhi | |
| 2016 | The Flame of Youth | 尖锋之烈焰青春 | Bei Batian | |
| 2016 | Magnificent Sword with Beauty | 美人如玉剑如虹 | Mei Ting | |
| 2017 | Guardian of Beauty | 守护丽人 | Zhu Qiqi | |
| 2017 | Head Above Water | 守卫者-浮出水面 | Mi Xiaoran | |
| 2017 | Legend of Heavenly Tear: Phoenix Warriors | 天泪传奇之凤凰无双 | Ya Meiren | |
| N/A | Zhaoge | 朝歌 | Daji / Yue Hao / You Ji | Unaired |
| 2018 | Untouchable Lovers | 凤囚凰 | Feng Ting | |
| 2018 | Story of Yanxi Palace | 延禧攻略 | Wei Yingluo | |
| 2018 | Waitan Zhong Sheng | 外滩钟声 | Du Xinmei | |
| 2019 | The Legend of Haolan | 皓镧传 | Li Haolan (Zhao Ji) | |
| 2019 | You Are My Answer | 你是我的答案 | Bai Xiaolu | |
| 2019 | Yanxi Palace: Princess Adventures | 金枝玉叶 | Wei Yingluo | |
| 2020 | Knock on the Happiness Door | 幸福还会来敲门 | Fang Yan | |
| 2020 | Something Just Like This | 青春创世纪 | Qian Xixi | |
| 2021 | Fighting Youth | 正青春 | Zhang Xiaoyu | |
| 2021 | My Bargain Queen | 我的砍价女王 | Xia Qian | |
| 2022 | Royal Feast | 尚食 | Yao Zijin | |
| 2022 | Legacy | 传家 | Yi Zhongyu | |
| 2024 | The Double | 墨雨云间 | Xue Fangfei / Jiang Li | |
| 2024 | Kill Me Love Me | 春花焰 | Mei Lin | |
| TBA | Shanghai Picked Flowers | 十里洋场拾年花 | Yao Li | |
| TBA | Morning The Imperial Palace | 早安故宮 | Yang Wan | Guest |

### Variety show

| Year | English title | Chinese title | Role | Notes |
| 2019 | Youth Periplous | 青春环游记 | Cast member | |

### Music video appearances

| Year | English title | Chinese title | Singer | Notes |
| 2019 | The Story of Us | 将故事写成我们 | JJ Lin | As moon rabbit |

### Other

| Year | English title | Chinese title | Role | Notes |
| 2015 | I Am Not Madame Bovary | 我不是潘金莲 | Li Xuelian | I Am Not Madame Bovary test shoot |
| 2019 | The Eight Hundred | 八佰 | Unknown female | The Eight Hundred test shoot |

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Award | Category | Nominated work | Result |
| 2014 | 20th Shanghai Television Festival | Most Popular Actress | Beauties at the Crossfire | Nominated |
| 2018 | 7th iQiyi All-Star Carnival | Popularity Award (Actress) | — | Won |
| 2018 | 15th Esquire China's Man At His Best Awards | Breakthrough Actress | — | Won |
| 2018 | 24th Huading Awards | Best Actress (Ancient Drama) | Story of Yanxi Palace | Won |
| 2018 | 5th The Actors of China Award Ceremony | Best Actress (Web series) | Story of Yanxi Palace | Won |
| 2018 | 10th China TV Drama Awards | Young Rising Actress | Story of Yanxi Palace | Won |
| 2019 | 4th China Quality Television Drama Ceremony | Sina Weibo Most Talked About Celebrity Online | — | Won |
| 2019 | 6th Hengdian Film and TV Festival of China (Wenrong Awards) | Best Actress | Story of Yanxi Palace, The Legend of Haolan | Won |
| 2019 | China Entertainment Industry Summit (Golden Pufferfish Awards) | Most Promising Commercially Valuable Artist | — | Included |
| 2019 | Golden Bud - The Fourth Network Film And Television Festival | Best Actress | The Legend of Haolan, You Are My Answer | Nominated |

## Personal life

On September 13, 2024, Wu posted a marriage registration photo with actor Hong Yao on Weibo, while Hong also posted the same.