Top 15 Actors and Actresses from Taiwan
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The 1/2 Taiwanese and 1/2 Japanese Takeshi Kaneshiro may have started out as a puerile teen idol in the Chinese entertainment scene, but he's since become a proper film star in his own right. Whether by his own design or not, the boyishness that marked his first steps into showbiz has evolved into a cool, somewhat reticent demeanor that has now become his trademark. Despite being effortlessly good-looking, he chooses to strike a sometimes uneasy balance between the commercially pleasing and the quirky in his choice of film roles -- a move that's unusual for Asian leading men. But whether he's the faithful lover in the Japanese AIDS drama Kamisama mousukoshi dake (1998), the canned-pineapple-eating cop in Chungking Express (1994) or awkward in his role in Misty (1996), a remake of Akira Kurosawa's Rashomon (1950), Asian audiences love his style. Other memorable roles include his turn as a lovelorn student in Tempting Heart (1999), an angel in Lavender (2000) and the leader of a trio of robbers in Space Travelers (2000). There hasn't been an Asian actor quite as versatile as Kaneshiro, who is able to straddle the Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Japanese film industries because of his proficiency in various languages. Still, one wonders if the reason why he's so sought after is because he is so elusive. No one really knows what he does outside of film commitments, and his reluctance towards being in the spotlight is legendary.- Actor
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Chang Chen, an international renowned actor, first earned his attention at the age of 14 when he took the lead role in A Brighter Summer Day. Since then, he was nominated three times at the Golden Horse Awards, and several times for best actor at the Berlinale and the Cannes Film Festival. He won Best Actor at the 3rd Osaka Asia Film Festival for his performance in The Go Master.
Chang's outstanding versatile performance, coupled with his diligent learning attitude, made him the favorite cast of world's renowned directors. His dedication to filmmaking is seen not only in how he strives to improve his acting skills, but also the initiatives he had taken in learning local Uyghur language and horse riding for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, the game of go and meditation for The Go Master, and three years of practice bajiquan (martial arts) for the The Grandmaster which he later won first prize in a recognized competition.
In 2017, Chang's performance in Mr. Long was nominated for the 67th Berlinale international film festival in official competition.
In 2018, Chang was the only Asian actor who served as one of the juries at the 71st Cannes Film Festival.- Brigitte Lin is a Taiwanese actress. She is regarded as an icon of Chinese language cinema for her extensive and varied roles in both Taiwanese and Hong Kong films. Lin was born in Chiayi, Taiwan. She was scouted in 1972 on the streets of Taipei by a film producer after she finished women's high school and was preparing for university.
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Joey Wang grew up in her native Taiwan, where she was spotted by a talent scout for a modeling agency. Her height and delicate beauty made her one of the most popular Taiwanese models, and Wang went on to have a successful film career. Her ethereal elegance was used to great effect by director Ching Siu-tung in A Chinese Ghost Story (1987) and its sequels. Wang has also appeared in dozens of contemporary feature films, including 'God of Gamblers' starring Chow Yun-Fat, and 'City Hunter' opposite Jackie Chan.- Actress
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Wu Chien-Lien was born on July 3, 1968 in Taipei. Inspired by Fame (USA 1980) she entered the Taipei National University of Art after finishing high school she earned tuition money during the summer by singing commercial jingles and back-up vocals. Famous actress Sylvia Chang happened to come across a striking photograph of her at the record company where Wu worked and sent it along to Johnnie To, who was casting for a new movie. That movie was, the now classic A Moment of Romance (1990), which launched Wu into stardom across Asia. Over the next few years Wu continued with her studies while appearing in few films here and there. In 1994, she was nominated for a HKFA Best Actress Award for her performance in the UFO horror film The Returning, appeared in Ang Lee's acclaimed Eat Drink Man Woman (TAIWAN 1994), and also made her debut as a singer. Though blessed with a serene face and slender frame she has effectively been cast against type as cold-blooded killers in the Milkyway films Beyond Hypothermia (1996) and Intruder (1997). Her most acclaimed role to date is that of an ill-fated but determined young woman in Ann Hui's Eighteen Springs (1997), for which she garnered a HKFA Best Actress nomination and took home the Hong Kong Critics Society Best Actress Award. She most recently took on the role of tragic 30s actress Ruan Ling-Yu in a Mainland TV series. Since 1998 Wu has worked in China, Singapore, and even in Korea, where many people still remember her fondly from A Moment of Romance. In general, Wu has managed to keep a low profile and has avoided the usual celebrity relationship gossip for much of her career. Wu has reportedly insisted that she has no intentions of retiring from acting when or if she gets married.- Actress
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Rene Liu was born on 1 June 1969 in Taipei, Taiwan. She is an actress and writer, known for Us and Them (2018), A World Without Thieves (2004) and The Personals (1998).- Actress
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Born in Taiwan, Qi Shu has won the prestigious Golden Horse Award in Taiwan (regarded as the East Asian Oscar) for Best Supporting Actress in 1998. She has also received a Golden Horse Award for Best Leading Actress in 2005. She appeared with Jackie Chan in the romantic comedy Gorgeous (1999) ("Gorgeous"). Her name is spelled in a variety of ways, including Hsu Qi, Hsu Chi, Qi Shu, and Shu Kei, and there are quite a few other variations on her name on foreign V.C.D.s, D.V.D.s, and internet sites.- Chi-Ling Lin was born on 29 November 1974 in Taipei, Taiwan. She is an actress, known for Red Cliff (2008), Red Cliff II (2009) and The Treasure Hunter (2009). She has been married to Akira since 6 June 2019.
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Vivian Hsu was born on 19 March 1975 in Taichung, Taiwan. She is an actress and producer, known for The Sorcerer and the White Snake (2011), Ren yu duo duo (2005) and Dancing Without You (2010). She has been married to Sean Lee since 26 June 2014.- Actress
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Kelly Lin was born on 29 October 1975 in Taiwan. She is an actress and director, known for Zu Warriors (2001), The Devil Inside Me (2011) and After This Our Exile (2006).- Actress
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Ruby Lin (born January 27, 1976 ) is a Taiwanese actress, pop singer and producer. Lin Born in Taipei, Taiwan. She was moving to United States when she was young, and lived there for 2 years. She returned to Taiwan at the age of 8 and was entered elementary school.
Originally she planned on going UK to study after high school graduation, never considered the prospect of an acting career. However she was choose the TV commercial moder age of 17. After debut as commercial model, Lin received numerous offers to star in various television drama serials. Her first experience in front of the camera in 1995 film School days as minor role, she start to developed a passion for acting. In 1997, After playing supporting roles in various Taiwanese TV dramas, she met her breakout role as a leading actress in the television series Princess Returning Pearl and its sequel, Princess Returning Pearl II. With this role, her fame rose to unprecedented levels and her popularity with the Chinese audience also increased accordingly.
After rising to prominence, she continued to star in a number of successful television series. With success many of her series, not only in Taiwan, but also she establish her reputation and popularity overseas. Lin was voted as the Top Ten Most Famous Asian Superstars for two consecutive years (2000 and 2001). Same year, she also selected 4th place "Malaysia 2001 Heavenly Kings & Queens"
From 2002 onwards, Lin has focused on her career in mainland China. she starred in 3 series - Half Life Fate (or in PinYin, Ban Sheng Yuan), Boy and Girl and Flying Daggers were very well received in China, Hong Kong and other Asian countries. Beside got high rating of her work, Lin obtained numerous praised for her work especially in TV drama. Recently years, she got awards such as BQ Hong Ren Bang Annual Award most popular HK/TW actress , Top 4 actress of the year in 2006, China Top Ten Most Popular Commercial Model, Taiwan's Most Popular Actress in the 2nd Chinese TV Drama Award, Top Ten CCTV actress and so on.
Today, Ruby is one of Chinese directors' favorite actresses in TV drama and film industry. In 2010, Ruby Lin founded her own production house, Ruby Lin Studio. Till 2012, Lin produced 4 TV dramas and films .- Actress
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Sonia Sui was born on 22 October 1980 in Nantou County, Taiwan. She is an actress, known for Together (2012), The Fierce Wife (2010) and The Year of Happiness and Love (2009). She has been married to Tony Chia since 9 January 2015. They have two children.- Actress
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Chia-Yen Ko was born on 10 January 1985 in Shilin, Taipei, Taiwan. She is an actress, known for Someday or One Day (2019), Wu xing ji yu gan nu (2015) and Marry Me, or Not? (2015). She has been married to Kunda Hsieh since 3 December 2017.- Actress
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Gwei Lun-mei was born in Taipei, Taiwan. She began her acting career in the film Blue Gate Crossing (2002). She had her breakthrough in 2007 when she played the female lead in the film Secret (2007) directed by Jay Chou. She was awarded Best Leading Actress for Girlfriend Boyfriend (2012) at the 49th Golden Horse Film Awards in 2012.- Actress
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Barbie Hsu was born on 6 October 1976 in Taiwan. She is an actress, known for Connected (2008), Croczilla (2012) and Meteor Garden (2001). She has been married to Koo Jun Yeob since 28 March 2022. She was previously married to Xiaofei Wang.