Liu Yifei

Liu Yifei (Chinese: 刘亦菲; pinyin: Liú Yìfēi, born An Feng; August 25, 1987),[1] also known as Crystal Liu, is a Chinese-American[lower-alpha 1] actress, singer, and model. Active in China, where she is widely known as "Fairy Sister,"[5][6] Liu was named as one of the New Four Dan actresses of China in 2009.[7] In 2020, she starred as Mulan in The Walt Disney Company's live-action film Mulan.[8]

In this Chinese name, the family name is Liu.
Liu Yifei
刘亦菲
Liu Yifei at the 2016 BAZAAR Stars' Charity Night
Born
An Feng

(1987-08-25) August 25, 1987[1]
Wuhan, Hubei, China
CitizenshipUnited States
Alma materBeijing Film Academy
Occupation
  • Actress
  • singer
  • model
Years active2002–present
Musical career
OriginChina[2]
Genres
InstrumentsSinging
Liu Yifei
Simplified Chinese刘亦菲
Traditional Chinese劉亦菲
Liu Ximeizi
Simplified Chinese刘茜美子
Traditional Chinese劉茜美子
An Feng
Simplified Chinese安风
Traditional Chinese安風

Early life

Liu was born in Tongji Hospital in Wuhan, Hubei as An Feng (安风), followed her father's surname An.[9] She is an only child. Her father is An Shaokang (安少康), a 1st Secretary in the Chinese Embassy in France and a French language university professor,[5] and her mother is Liu Xiaoli (刘晓莉), a dancer and stage performer. Her parents divorced when she was 10 years old and she was raised solely by her mother. That same year, she adopted her mother's surname and changed her name to "Liu Ximeizi" (刘茜美子), Her godfather is Chen Jinfei (陈金飞), the Chairman of Beijing Tongchan Investment Group.[10][11]

In 1997, when Liu was 10 years old, she and her mother immigrated to the United States. She lived in Queens, New York City where she attended Louis Pasteur Middle School 67.[12] In 2002, she returned to China to pursue an acting career and changed her name to "Liu Yifei" (刘亦菲).[13] Several weeks after returning to China, Liu was accepted into the Performance Institute of Beijing Film Academy at age 15[5] and graduated in 2006.

Career

2003–2006; Rising popularity

Immediately after her admittance into the Beijing Film Academy, Liu received offers to star in various television series. Her first television appearance was in the period romance drama The Story of a Noble Family (2003), based on Zhang Henshui's novel of the same name.[14] The series achieved the highest ratings on CCTV, and positive reviews from audience.[15][16] The same year, she was chosen by Zhang Jizhong to play Wang Yuyan in Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils, an adaptation of Louis Cha's wuxia novel of the same title.[17] The series was broadcast in Taiwan and achieved a rating of 5.69, becoming the highest-rated Chinese drama in Taiwan.[18] Liu's role as the beautiful Wang Yuyan earned her the nickname of "Fairy Sister" by the media and fans.[6]

In 2005, Liu starred in Chinese Paladin, a fantasy action drama adapted from the role-playing game The Legend of Sword and Fairy. The drama earned a cult following,[19] and solidified her popularity in China.[20]

After the drama aired, Liu gained acclaim for her performance and swiftly experienced a surge in popularity.[21] The same year, she was chosen as the "Golden Eagle Goddess" at the 6th China Golden Eagle TV Art Festival.[22]

2008–2013; Transition to films

After achieving success in television, Liu then ventured onto the big screen. In 2007, she joined William Morris Agency (WMA) and was subsequently cast in her first Hollywood production, The Forbidden Kingdom.[23] She played Golden Sparrow, an orphan seeking revenge against her parents' killer.[24] Thereafter, she starred in romantic-comedy Love in Disguise (2010) opposite Taiwanese singer-actor Wang Leehom.[25]

In 2011, she starred in fantasy supernatural film A Chinese Ghost Story, adapted from Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio; The same year, she was cast as Wu Qing (Emotionless) in Gordon Chan's wuxia film The Four, adapted from Woon Swee Oan's novel series The Four Great Constables. She subsequently reprised her role in two other installments of the film series.[26][27]

Liu won the Best Actress award at the 5th Macau International Movie Festival for her role as Lingju and Diaochan in the historical film The Assassins (2012).[28]

2014–present; International collaborations and television comeback

In 2014, Liu collaborated with Korean actor-singer Rain for the romance film For Love or Money, based on Hong Kong novelist Amy Cheung's 2006 novel of the same name. Though it did reasonably well at the box office, the film was criticized for its storyline and production.[29]

Liu starred in The Third Way of Love (2015) Her performance in the film led to her win for the Most Anticipated Actress award at the 16th Chinese Film Media Awards.[30] The same year, she was named the first Chinese ambassador of Dior Prestige[31] and became the global ambassador of Tissot.[32]

I made a CC (Liu Yifei) film festival for myself, and saw her works have the shock moments in her performance. That convince me that she would be perfect for the part (leading actress in "The Chinese Widow"). When you have two actors like CC and Emile, you know they are so clever and so talented, so it's ...

—Academy Award-winning director Bille August[33]

In 2016, Liu starred in romance film Night Peacock, a Chinese-France co-production directed by Dai Sijie.[34] She then starred in the youth romance film So Young 2: Never Gone.[35]

In 2017, Liu starred in romantic fantasy film Once Upon a Time by award-winning director Anthony LaMolinara and Zhao Xiaoding.[36] She also starred in the historical film The Chinese Widow directed by Bille August.[37] The film premiered at the Shanghai International Film Festival as the opening film, and Liu was nominated as Best Actress.[38] The same year, Liu reunited with White Vengeance co-star Feng Shaofeng in the fantasy comedy film Hanson and the Beast.[39]

In November 2017, Liu was cast as Mulan in the live action adaptation of the 1998 Disney animated film, which was released in 2020 to positive reviews.[8]

In December 2017, it was announced that Liu will star in the upcoming fantasy mystery television series, The Love of Hypnosis. This marks her first small-screen comeback in 12 years.[40]

Personal life

Liu started dating Song Seung-heon in 2015.[41] They met in 2013 while filming The Third Way of Love. In January 2018, Song's agency confirmed breakup reports by stating that both of them had been very busy and they naturally grew apart.[42]

Controversy

In August 2019, Liu reshared an image posted by Chinese newspaper People's Daily, an official newspaper of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party.[43] The image included a quote from Chinese reporter Fu Guohao who worked for People's Daily-owned tabloid Global Times and was subsequently assaulted by protesters during the 2019–20 Hong Kong protests: "I support Hong Kong police. You can beat me now. What a shame for Hong Kong." This sparked international controversy, with Liu being accused of supporting police brutality.[44] Following this, the hashtag #BoycottMulan started trending supporting a boycott of the movie.[45][46][47] In response to the controversy, Liu was not present at the 2019 D23 Expo, which gave fans an exclusive sneak peek of Mulan.[48] When asked about the controversy in February 2020, Liu stated: "I think it's just a very sensitive situation."[49]

During an interview with Variety magazine at the premiere of Mulan on March 10, 2020, Liu described herself as "Asian" instead of "Chinese," which caused anger among some Chinese social media netizens, who threatened to boycott the movie and accused her of forgetting her roots, as well as questioning why a non-Chinese national was playing the "legendary Chinese icon."[50][51]

Music career

Liu signed with Sony Music Entertainment Japan in 2005.[2][52] She released her first Japanese single "Mayonaka no Door" with Sony Music on July 19, 2006. Her debut album Liu Yifei was released the next month in various parts of Asia such as mainland China, Hong Kong and throughout Southeast Asia, featuring a diverse music repertoire including rap and soft rock.[53] In the same year, Liu also released her Japanese album in which the single, "Mayonaka no Doa" was chosen to be an ending theme for the anime series Demashita! Powerpuff Girls Z by TV Tokyo.[54]

Filmography

Film
YearEnglish titleRoleNotes
2004Love of MayZhao Xuan[55]
The Love WinnerJin Qiaoli[56]
2006 Abao's StoryXixiCameo[57]
2008The Forbidden KingdomGolden Sparrow
2010Love in DisguiseSong Xiaoqing
2011A Chinese Fairy TaleNie Xiaoqian
White VengeanceConsort Yu
2012The FourWu Qing
The AssassinsLingju / Diaochan
2013The Four IIWu Qing
2014The Four IIIWu Qing
For Love or MoneyXing Lu
2015OutcastZhao Lian
The Third Way of LoveZou Yu
2016Night PeacockElsa
So Young 2: Never GoneSu Yunjin
2017Once Upon a TimeBai Qian / Si Yin / Su Su
The Chinese WidowYing
Hanson and the BeastBai Xianchu
2020MulanMulanEnglish version and Mandarin-language dubbing[58]

Television series
YearEnglish titleChinese titleRoleNotes
2003The Story of a Noble Family金粉世家Bai Xiuzhu
Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils天龙八部Wang Yuyan
2005Chinese Paladin仙剑奇侠传Zhao Ling'er
Doukou Nianhua豆蔻年华Teacher Xiao ZhaoCameo
2006The Return of the Condor Heroes神鵰俠侶Xiaolongnü
2019The Love of Hypnosis南烟斋笔录Lu Mansheng

Discography

Albums
Album informationTrack listNotes
Title: Liu Yifei
Label: Sony BMG Music Entertainment (Hong Kong) Limited
Release date: August 31, 2006
  1. 泡芙女孩
  2. 就要我滋味
  3. 心悸
  4. 幸运草
  5. 放飞美丽
  6. 世界的秘密
  7. 一克拉的眼泪
  8. 做你的秒钟
  9. 毛毛雨
  10. 爱的延长赛
 Chinese album
Title: All My Words
Label: Sony Music Entertainment Japan
Release date: September 6, 2006
  1. 真夜中のドア
  2. 恋する週末
  3. HAPPINESS
  4. 愛のミナモト
  5. どこまでも　ひろがる空に向かって
  6. テノヒラノカナタ
  7. My sunshiny day
  8. 世界の秘密
  9. CLOSE TO ME
  10. 月の夜
  11. スピード
  12. Pieces of my words　～言の花～
 Japanese album

Singles
Album informationTrack listNotes
Title: Mayonaka no Door
Label: Sony Music Entertainment Japan
Release date: July 19, 2006
  1. 真夜中のドア
  2. brightly
  3. 真夜中のドア (Instrumental)
  4. brightly (Instrumental)
 Japanese album

Soundtracks
YearEnglish titleChinese titleAlbumNotes
2006I Want My Taste我要我的滋味N/Atheme song for Yili milk
2011Lan Ruo's Lyrics兰若词N/Atheme song for video game A Chinese Ghost Story Online
Song of Chu楚歌White Vengeance OSTwith Feng Shaofeng
2012Dreams Won't Die梦不死The Four OSTwith Deng Chao, Ronald Cheng & Collin Chou
Waiting For Snow等雪来The Assassins OSTwith Chow Yun-fat
2013Letting Go放下The Four II OST
2016Still Here还在这里So Young 2: Never Gone OSTwith Reno Wang
2017Three Lifetimes, Ten Miles of Peach Blossoms三生三世十里桃花Once Upon a Time OSTwith Yang Yang
2020Reflection自己Mulan (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)

Awards and nominations

Competitive feature film festivals main competition unit
YearAwardCategoryNominated workResultRef.
201640th Montreal World Film FestivalBest ActressNight PeacockNominated
201720th Shanghai International Film FestivalBest ActressThe Chinese WidowNominated[38]

Other film awards
YearAwardCategoryNominated workResultRef.
20135th Macau International Movie FestivalBest ActressThe AssassinsWon[59]
201616th Chinese Film Media AwardsMost Anticipated ActressThe Third Way of LoveWon[30]
13th Guangzhou College Student Film FestivalMost Popular ActressNight Peacock, Never GoneWon[60]
20179th Macau International Movie FestivalBest ActressOnce Upon a TimeNominated[61]
20211st Critics' Choice Super AwardsBest Actress in an Action MovieMulanNominated[62][63]

Forbes China Celebrity 100
YearRankRef.
200558th[64]
200651st[65]
200743rd[66]
200887th[67]
200943rd[68]
201066th[69]
201193rd[70]
201723rd[71]
201989th[72]
2020 30th [73]

Notes
  1. Liu holds American citizenship,[3] but China's nationality laws do not recognize dual nationality.[4] Her birthplace, family and early life are all covered in the "Early life" section.

References
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