10 Things You Probably Didn't Know About The New 'Mulan' Actress Liu Yifei
10 Things You Probably Didn't Know About The New 'Mulan' Actress Liu Yifei
Zoe Liew
Fri Dec 01 2017
It took more than one year of searching the world and screening nearly 1,000 candidates, but Disney has finally cast its Mulan for the live-action remake of the 1998 animated film.
Chinese actress Liu Yifei, also known as Crystal Liu, is the Mulan we’ve been waiting for.
If you’re a huge fan of Chinese dramas, you’ll probably remember Liu Yifei from her roles in The Story of a Noble Family, Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils, Chinese Paladin, and The Return of the Condor Heroes.
And if you’re really into Asian entertainment, you’ll know that she’s Korean superstar Song Seung Hun’s other half. We bet you don’t know that her net worth is approximately USD$10 million (RM41mil) or that she’s a major philanthropist with a heart of gold!
Here are ten other things we bet you probably don’t know about Liu Yifei:
1. Liu Yifei is not her real name
Liu Yifei was born as An Feng in 1987 to An Shaokang, a university professor and diplomat and Liu Xiaoli, a professional dancer and performer. However, her parents got divorced when she was only seven years old and her name was changed to Liu Ximeizi.
Since Liu Ximeizi is quite a mouthful, she adopted Liu Yifei as her stage name when she returned to China in 2002 and entered the entertainment industry. In English-speaking countries, she is also known as Crystal Liu.
2. She’s a US citizen
Though she was actually born and raised in Wuhan, China, Liu Yifei and her mom moved to the US when she was 10 years old.
In fact, she studied at the Louis Pasteur Middle School in Long Island, New York for four years.
But since renewing visas can be a real pain, she got an American passport. The Chinese star is still extremely proud of her native country and has said that she considers herself a Chinese citizen.
3. She’s fluent in four languages
You’ve probably guessed by now that she’s fluent in English since she’s lived in the US for 4 years.
Acting alongside international stars and actors such as Jackie Chan, Jet Li, Nicolas Cage, Hayden Christensen, and Emile Hirsch, she’s also had English-speaking roles in a few international productions including The Forbidden Kingdom, Outcast, and The Chinese Widow.
Besides Mandarin and English, the actress can also speak French, thanks to her dad who was a French-language university professor and is currently a diplomat at the Chinese embassy in France. So, brushing up on her French for Night Peacock, a 2016 Chinese-French coproduction starring HK legend Leon Lai, was not super tough!