Liu Yifei

Crystal Liu Yifei (simplified Chinese: 刘亦菲; traditional Chinese: 劉亦菲) (born August 25, 1987) is a Chinese actress and singer. Her legal name is Liu Ximeizi (simplified Chinese: 刘茜美子; traditional Chinese: 劉茜美子). The "茜" (Xi) is from the German film "Sissi" (Chinese translation 茜茜公主—hence the pronunciation of xi not qian; her mother calls her Xixi).

Personal life

Born at Tongji Hospital in Wuhan, China, Liu's birthname is An Feng (simplified Chinese: 安风; traditional Chinese: 安風). She is the only child of An Shaokang (安少康), a 1st Secretary in the Chinese Embassy in France and French Language university professor, and Liu Xiaoli (刘晓莉), a dancer and a stage performer. Her parents divorced when she was 7 years old. Liu was raised solely by her mother and changed her name to Liu Ximeizi. She began modelling in 1995 and was trained in singing, dancing and playing the piano. Liu moved to the United States in 1997 with her mother and lived there for four years. She attended Louis Pasteur Middle School 67. Returning to China in June 2002 to pursue an acting career, she began to be known as Liu Yifei. In September 2002, she was accepted into the Performance Institute of Beijing Film Academy at the age of 15. She graduated from the Beijing Film Academy in July 2006.

Career

Immediately following her admittance into Beijing Film Academy, Liu received offers to star in various television drama serials. Her first role on television was in The Story of a Noble Family. Shortly after, she was chosen to play the role of Wang Yuyan in Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils, an adaptation of Louis Cha's Wuxia novel of the same name. Initially, Liu Tao was selected for the role of Wang Yuyan but it went to Liu Yifei eventually and Liu Tao was cast as A'Zhu instead.

In 2006, Liu starred in another TV series adaptation of Louis Cha's Wuxia novel The Return of the Condor Heroes. After intense speculation on who would play Xiaolongnü, the role was finally offered to her. She was backed by Cha, who felt that she had all the necessary qualities to play the role of the young and innocent Xiaolongnü. Although the drama serials she has acted in were well-received, the films she starred in did poorly in terms of box office earnings with the exception of The Forbidden Kingdom, which had a budget of $55,000,000 and had a theatrical gross of $111,604,290. More revenue is expected as The Forbidden Kingdom has been released in the DVD and blu-ray formats on September 9, 2008 in the United States.

She appeared in Jimmy Lin's music video of the song "I Am Still Waiting For You" (我还在等你) from his 2006 album Can't Stop Me (挡不住我). She has also previously co-starred with him in Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils and The Love Winner.

In conjunction with her acting career, Liu obtained a recording contract with Sony Music Entertainment Japan in August 2005. She has started studying singing and dancing in Japan since then. She released her first single "Mayonaka no Door" with Sony Music on July 19, 2006. Her song "Mayonaka no Doa" as recorded by Sony Music appeared on television as one of the ending themes to "Demashita! Powerpuff Girls Z".

In 2008, she co-starred with martial arts film superstars Jet Li and Jackie Chan in The Forbidden Kingdom, a martial arts-adventure film, in which she played Golden Sparrow, an orphan seeking revenge against her parents' killer.

Filmography

Films

Year	Title	Chinese title	Role
2002	Love of May	五月之戀	Zhao Xuan
	The Love Winner (aka I Love How You Love Me 喜歡你喜歡我)	戀愛大贏家	Jin Qiaoli
2006	Abao De Gushi	阿寶的故事
2008	The Forbidden Kingdom	功夫之王	Golden Sparrow

TV series

Year	Title	Chinese title	Role
2002	The Story of a Noble Family	金粉世家	Bai Xiuzhu
2003	Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils	天龍八部	Wang Yuyan
2004	Chinese Paladin	仙劍奇俠傳	Zhao Ling'er
2005	Doukou Nianhua	豆蔻年華
2006	The Return of the Condor Heroes	神鵰俠侶	Xiaolongnü

Discography

Albums

Year	Title	Label	Notes
2006	Liu Yifei	Sony BMG Music Entertainment (Hong Kong) Limited	Chinese album (Release date: September 5, 2006)
2006	All My Words	Sony Music	Japanese album (Release date: September 8, 2006)

Liu Yifei Tracklist:

1. 泡芙女孩 - Pāo Fú Nǚ Hái
2. 就要我滋味 - Jiù Yāo Wǒ Zī Wèi
3. 心悸 - Xīn Jì
4. 幸運草 - Xìng Yùn Cǎo
5. 放飛美麗 - Fàng Fēi Měi Lì
6. 世界的秘密 - Shì Jiè De Mì Mì
7. 一克拉的眼淚 - Yī Kè Lā De Yǎn Lèi
8. 做你的秒鐘 - Zuò Nǐ De Miǎo Zhōng
9. 毛毛雨 - Máo Máo Yǔ
10. 愛的延長賽 - Ài De Yán Cháng Sài

All My Words Tracklist:

1. 真夜中のドア - Mayonaka no Doa
2. 恋する週末 - Koisuru Shuumatsu
3. HAPPINESS
4. 愛のミナモト - Ai no Minamoto
5. どこまでも　ひろがる空に向かって - Dokomademo Hirogaru Sorani Mukatte
6. テノヒラノカナタ - Te no Hira no Kanata
7. My sunshiny day
8. 世界の秘密 - Sekai no Himitsu
9. CLOSE TO ME
10. 月の夜 - Tsuki no Yoru
11. スピード - Speed
12. Pieces of my words　～言の花～ - Kotono Hana

Singles

Year	Title	Label	Notes
2006	Mayonaka no door	Sony Music	Japanese Release date: July 19, 2006

真夜中のドア - Mayonaka no door Tracklist:

1. 真夜中のドア - Mayonaka no door
2. brightly
3. 真夜中のドア - Mayonaka no door (Instrumental)
4. brightly(Instrumental)

External links

• Yifei Liu at IMDb