Yang Mi

Yang Mi (, born 12 September 1986) is a Chinese actress and singer.

In 1990, at the age of four, Yang made her acting debut in the historical television series Tang Ming Huang directed by Chen Jialin, playing the role of young Princess Xianning.

She also had a minor role as Beggar So's daughter in King of Beggars (1992), which starred Stephen Chow as the titular character.

Two years later, she starred in the television series Hou Wa, where her acting left a deep impression on the producer.

In the late 2000s, Yang started to gain increased attention and popularity with her roles as Nie Xiaoqian in legendary drama Strange Tales of Liaozhai (2005), and Guo Xiang in wuxia drama The Return of the Condor Heroes (2006), In 2007, Yang played the titular role of Wang Zhaojun in the eypnomous television series, which was broadcast on CCTV.

She received positive reviews for her performance, and was nominated for the Best Actress award at the China TV Golden Eagle Award.

In 2001, Yang resumed her career in entertainment business by working as an advertisement model.

In 2002, Yang signed a contract with Li Shaohong's agency, Rosat Entertainment.

In 2003, Yang received her first script and made her official acting debut in The Story of a Noble Family.

She made her acting debut in the historical television series Tang Ming Huang, and later received recognition for her leading roles in various television series such as Wang Zhaojun (2007), Chinese Paladin 3 (2009), Palace 1(2011), Beijing Love Story (2012), Swords of Legends (2014), The Interpreter (2016), Eternal Love (2017) and Legend of Fuyao (2018); as well as films Mysterious Island (2011), Tiny Times (2013–2015), and The Witness (2015).

The same year she co-starred in Painted Skin: The Resurrection, a sequel to Gordon Chan's 2008 hit fantasy film Painted Skin.

Yang was then announced to play the leading protagonist Lin Xiao in the Tiny Times film series, based on Guo Jingming's best-selling novel of the same name.

In 2009, Yang starred in the fantasy action drama Chinese Paladin 3, playing two different characters; Tang Xuejian and Xiyao.

The series was a major hit in China and Yang experienced a rise in popularity.

In 2010, Yang starred in Li Shaohong's adaptation of the classic novel The Dream of Red Mansions, and received positive reviews for her portrayal of Qingwen.

The same year, she starred in big-budget historical series Beauty's Rival in Palace, winning acclaim for her role as a cold assassin.

In 2011, Yang achieved widespread fame with her role as the time-traveling protagonist in the hit historical romance drama, Palace (2011).

In 2012, Yang starred in Beijing Love Story, a modern romance drama directed by Chen Sicheng; where she played a prideful gold digger.

The series was a hit, and Yang won the Most Popular Actress award at the 9th China Golden Eagle TV Arts Festival.

The first two installments of the film were released in 2013, with the subsequent installments released in 2014 and 2015.

Despite receiving negative reviews, Tiny Times was an overwhelming success at the box office.

Also in 2013, Yang took on the role of a television producer for the first time with web series V Love.

In 2014, Yang starred in the comedy film The Breakup Guru directed by Deng Chao.

The film grossed 180 million yuan in its opening week and ended up as one of the highest-grossing films in China that year.

She then starred in fantasy action drama Swords of Legends as the female lead Feng Qingxue.

The drama was a commercial success, topping television ratings and becoming the most watched Chinese drama online at that time.

In 2015, Yang starred in romance films You Are My Sunshine with Huang Xiaoming and Fall in Love Like a Star with Li Yifeng.

She also challenged the role of a blind girl in The Witness, adapted from the South Korean thriller Blind.

In 2016, Yang starred in the modern drama The Interpreter, which premiered on Hunan TV.

In 2017, she won the Best Actress award at the WorldFest Houston International Festival for her performance in Reset (2017).

Yang was chosen by Southern Metropolis Daily as one of the New Four Dan Actresses.

Yang Mi was born in Xuanwu District, Beijing to a police officer and a housewife.

She was given the name "" (exponentiation) because her parents both have the same surname Yang.

She graduated from the now-defunct Beijing Xuanwu Experimental Primary School.

Yang is also a graduate of Beijing Film Academy's Performance Institute.

She was voted the Most Popular Actress at the 17th Shanghai Television Festival.

The theme song of the drama sung by Yang, titled "In Support of the Love", was also a hit and won Best Theme Song (OST) at the 6th Huading Awards.

The same year, she starred in horror film Mysterious Island, which raked in more than 70 million yuan at the box office and became the most successful horror film in China.

Mei Ah Entertainment announced that it will be producing four tailored-made films (Wu Dang, Chinese Princess Turandot, Windseeker, and Butterfly Cemetery) for Yang with a total investment of 300 million yuan for the four films due to the box office success of Mysterious Island.

However, the films failed to live up to the success of Mysterious Island, and Yang was named Most Disappointing Actress at the Golden Broom Awards for her performance in Wu Dang.