Biography
Who is Annie Yi?
Early life and real name
Born Wu Chin-yi on March 4, 1968, in Taipei, Taiwan, she was the youngest of seven daughters. Her parents were Yang Shu-wan and Wu Min. During her childhood, she attended an English-language primary school in Hong Kong. Eventually, she moved to Japan to live with her mother and stepfather, Yoshimitsu Inoh. She resided in Tokyo for six years and attended the Tokyo Chinese School.
While living in Japan, she adopted the name Shizuka Inoh, taking her stepfather's surname. This period of her life provided her with a multicultural upbringing before she returned to Taiwan at age 17 to pursue a career in the entertainment industry.
Music and acting career
Annie Yi began her professional singing career under Flying Eagle Production, led by Liu Wen-cheng. She adopted the stage name Yi Nengjing, a variation of her Japanese name. Debuting alongside Donna Chiu and Fang Wen-lin, she established herself as a popular teen idol throughout the late 1980s and 1990s. Her music career extended beyond Taiwan into both Hong Kong and Japan.
In 1995, she shifted her focus toward acting. She collaborated with Taiwanese director Hou Hsiao-hsien on three well-known films: Good Men, Good Women, Goodbye South, Goodbye, and Flowers of Shanghai. In 1999, she appeared in the film 8 ½ Women, directed by Peter Greenaway. Beyond performance, she is also a writer, having authored books on fiction and self-help relationship topics.
Personal life and family
In 2000, she married Taiwanese singer Harlem Yu in the United States. The couple had a son named Harrison Yu Enli, born in 2002. Following reports in 2008 involving actor Victor Huang, Annie and Harlem Yu announced their divorce in March 2009.
Annie married Chinese actor Qin Hao in 2015 during a ceremony in Phuket, Thailand. She gave birth to their daughter, Cindy Qin, in the United States in 2016. Also, in 2013, she publicly announced the adoption of Xia Jianqiang as her godson.
Public image and controversies
Throughout her career, Annie has navigated various public controversies. In the early 2010s, she expressed pro-democracy views on social media, which led to a brief ban from television and Weibo following the 2013 Southern Weekly incident. In subsequent years, her public stance shifted toward a pro-CCP position.
She also faced criticism in 2019 for promoting the teachings of Indian figure Kalki Bhagwan. After receiving warnings from Chinese authorities regarding the Oneness organization, she removed her posts on the subject. In 2024, she attended an event at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing to mark the 75th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China.
Birthday and age
Annie Yi was born on March 4, 1968, which makes Annie 58 years old today. That birthday falls under the Pisces sign. Annie shares the date with 51 other famous people.
Explore more
