Jump to content

Yaya Han

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Yaya Han
Yaya Han at DragonCon 2012
Yaya Han at DragonCon 2012
Born (1980-04-10) April 10, 1980 (age 45)[1][2]
Xian, China
CitizenshipAmerican
Occupation(s)Cosplayer, model and costume designer
Modeling information
Height5 ft 1 in (155 cm)
Hair colorblack
Eye colorlight brown
Websitewww.yayahan.com

Yaya Han is a Chinese–American cosplayer, model and costume designer based in the United States.[3] She is a regular judge at cosplay competitions.[4] Han was featured on the Syfy channel's Heroes of Cosplay,[5][6] and has appeared as a guest judge on the TBS reality show King of the Nerds multiple times.[7]

Early life

[edit]

Han was born in Xian, China and spent her teenage years in Germany, where she was raised by her mother and stepfather.[8] She immigrated to America in 1998 where she later discovered cosplay at Anime Expo in 1999.[9] Her first cosplay was as Kurama from YuYu Hakusho.[10] She is entirely self-taught.[11]

Career

[edit]

In 2013, Han appeared in the Syfy show Heroes of Cosplay.[12] In the show she is framed as a master cosplayer who advises the younger cosplayers and, rather than competing in, is judging the cosplay competitions.[12] The show manufactured a conflict between Han and other famous cosplayer Jessica Nigri, who was also offered a spot on the show but declined.[13][14] She also found herself in controversy after making an allegedly fatphobic remark; she later clarified in her book that it was the result of editing by the show, which used her words out of context.[15] Han later revealed that the show pressured her exiting her competitive retirement in order to compete on the show.[16]

In 2015 and 2016, Han was featured in Marvel Cosplay Covers as Medusa and Scarlet Witch respectively.[17][18] She later appeared in the Marvel video series "Marvel Becoming" where she was captured getting into cosplay as Gamora and Scarlet Witch.[19][20]

In 2016, Han released a fabric line through JOANN Fabric & Craft Stores which aimed to make cosplay more accessible.[21] After the closure of JOANN in 2025, she started to distribute the fabric line through Mood Fabrics and Linda's.[22]

In 2021, Riot Games sponsored Han to cosplay the League of Legends champion Vayne, who was recently updated in celebration of the new 2021 season.[23] That year she also promoted the Netflix show "Shadow and Bone" by cosplaying one of the show's characters and, in cosplay, interviewing actors from the show.[24] In 2021, she also promoted Dungeon Fighter Overkill and Resident Evil Village by creating full cosplays of characters from the games.[25][26]

In 2023, Han collaborated with bernette to release the bernette 79 Yaya Han Edition sewing machine, which she designed.[27][28] In 2025, she followed this up with the release of the bernette 38 Yaya Han Edition sewing machine.[29][30] These sewing machines, also equipped with the ability to embroider, aimed to provide users with versality and functionality.[28][30]

Personal life

[edit]

Han is fluent in Chinese, German, and English.[11] She identifies as German, but in recent years has started reclaiming her Chinese heritage.[8] Han currently resides in Atlanta, Georgia.[11]

Bibliography

[edit]
  • Yaya Han's World of Cosplay: A Guide to Fandom Costume Culture (2020). Union Square & Co. ISBN 9781454932659
  • 1000 incredible costume & cosplay ideas : a showcase of creative characters from anime, manga, video games, movies, comics and more! (2013) – with Allison DeBlasio & Joey Marcsocci. Quarry Books. ISBN 9781592536986

Filmography

[edit]
Year Title Role Notes Source
2013 Heroes of Cosplay Herself [31]
2013, 2014 King of the Nerds Herself Guest Judge [32]
2014 Archangel: From the Winter's End Chronicles Jasmin Synn [31]
2016 Archangel: Deadliest of the Species Jasmin Synn [31]
2018 Cosplay Universe Herself

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Han, Yaya. "About Yaya". AngelicStar.net. Archived from the original on 16 September 2002. Retrieved 18 October 2016.
  2. ^ Han, Yaya. "Profile". AngelicStar.net. Archived from the original on 1 January 2004. Retrieved 18 October 2016. I was born in China in 1980 as an only child....
  3. ^ Middleton, Diana. (October 20, 2008). "The first-ever EXP Con drew devoted, costumed fans Archived 2016-08-26 at the Wayback Machine". The Florida Times-Union. Retrieved October 4, 2013.
  4. ^ Eves, Josué. (March 23, 2012). "Anuncian 'COMCOM!! 2012' Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine", El Sol de Tijuana, Organizacion Editorial Mexicana. Retrieved October 4, 2013.
  5. ^ Sagers, Aaron. (August 13, 2013). "Cosplay's Wonder Woman: Yaya Han Leads 'Heroes of Cosplay'". MTV. Retrieved October 4, 2013.
  6. ^ Wiegand, David. (August 13, 2013). "Costume contestants not playing". San Francisco Chronicle. pE1.
  7. ^ "King of the Nerds Episode: "Imaginary Realms"". TV Guide. Retrieved October 4, 2013.
  8. ^ a b Cao, Caroline (2023-09-21). "One of the World's Most Famous Cosplayers Shares the Joy (and Pain) of Playing Dress-Up". JoySauce. Retrieved 2025-06-13.
  9. ^ Cerealkillerz (2016-11-20). Cosplayer Interview with Yaya Han at Vienna Comic Con. Retrieved 2025-06-13 – via YouTube.
  10. ^ Justin (2016-10-20). "Yaya Han on Her Collection, Cosplay Fabrics, and Change". TheOASG. Retrieved 2025-06-13.
  11. ^ a b c "ABOUT". Yaya Han. Retrieved 2025-06-13.
  12. ^ a b "First Trailer For Upcoming Syfy Reality Show 'Heroes Of Cosplay' Released". Retrieved 2025-08-28.
  13. ^ "Yaya Han vs Jessica Nigri - Battle of the Cosplay titans in Heroes of Cosplay | The RPF Pulse". The RPF Pulse. Archived from the original on 2013-08-24. Retrieved 2025-08-28.
  14. ^ "Sexuality vs Talent – Why Manufactured Drama on Syfy's 'Heroes of Cosplay' is Ruining Cosplay | nerdbastards.com". nerdbastards.com. Archived from the original on 2021-09-18. Retrieved 2025-08-28.
  15. ^ Han, Yaya (August 4, 2020). World of Cosplay. Union Square & Co. p. 183. ISBN 9781454932659.
  16. ^ Sarah Spaceman (2024-12-13). The Biggest Controversy In Cosplay History - A Heroes of Cosplay Deep Dive. Retrieved 2025-08-28 – via YouTube.
  17. ^ Polo, Susana (2015-08-21). "Marvel Comics reveals 20 amazing cosplay-based covers". Polygon. Retrieved 2025-08-28.
  18. ^ Comments, Dan Wickline | (2016-09-02). "Cosplayer Yaya Han Becomes Scarlet Witch". bleedingcool.com. Retrieved 2025-08-28.
  19. ^ Marvel Entertainment (2017-11-16). Gamora -- Marvel Becoming -- Cosplayer Yaya Han. Retrieved 2025-08-28 – via YouTube.
  20. ^ Marvel Entertainment (2016-09-01). Scarlet Witch -- Marvel Becoming -- Cosplayer Yaya Han. Retrieved 2025-08-28 – via YouTube.
  21. ^ Trexler, Jeff (2015-10-10). "Syndicated Comics". The Beat. Retrieved 2025-08-28.
  22. ^ "Commercia Collaborations". Yaya Han. Retrieved 2025-08-28.
  23. ^ Yaya Han (2021-01-08). Full Cosplay Build: Vayne's costume & props! 2021 League season version!. Retrieved 2025-08-28 – via YouTube.
  24. ^ Adams, Tim (2021-04-26). "WATCH: Shadow and Bone Stars Meet Their Cosplay Superfans (Exclusive)". CBR. Retrieved 2025-08-28.
  25. ^ Yaya Han (2021-06-29). Cosplaying Neo: Ranger from Dungeon Fighter Online!. Retrieved 2025-08-28 – via YouTube.
  26. ^ Yaya Han (2021-04-16). Cosplaying Lady Dimitrescu from Resident Evil Village... for Capcom!. Retrieved 2025-08-28 – via YouTube.
  27. ^ "Instagram". www.instagram.com. Retrieved 2025-08-28.
  28. ^ a b "bernette 79 Yaya Han Edition". www.bernette.com. Retrieved 2025-08-28.
  29. ^ "Instagram". www.instagram.com. Retrieved 2025-08-28.
  30. ^ a b "bernette 38 Yaya Han Edition | bernette Sewing Machine". yaya.berninausa.com. Retrieved 2025-08-28.
  31. ^ a b c "Yaya Han - IMDb". IMDb.
  32. ^ "YAYA ON TV". Yaya Han. Retrieved 2025-06-13.
[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Yaya Han.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Yaya_Han&oldid=1320629246"