Su Yan

Su Yan was born in Jinan City, Shandong Province; her exact year of birth has not been disclosed. She grew up in the compound of the Shandong Academy of Building Research, where she was immersed from an early age in a rich cultural and artistic environment. Her schooling included Shandong Wuyingshan Primary School, Jinan No. 11 Middle School, and Jinan Arts High School. During this period she took part in the Jinan Middle School Students’ Song and Dance Troupe as an announcer. While in middle school she was discovered by a teacher who recommended her to apprentice at the Shandong Provincial Drama Theatre.

In 1992 Su Yan took the entrance exam for the Beijing Film Academy but was not admitted. In September 1993 she entered the Drama Department of the Shandong Art Academy to study acting, beginning systematic professional training in performance.

Her career began in a representative way. In 1993, while still a first-year university student, she was chosen by director Zhang Yimou to appear in his film To Live (Huozhe), playing a small obstetrics nurse—her first screen role. During filming she experienced the director’s professional approach and gradually developed a love for the film industry. In 1999 she played Wen Xiaoya in the TV series Where Dreams Begin, progressively showcasing her acting talent to the public.

In 2000 she performed in a sketch called “A Date with Youth” on the CCTV Spring Festival Gala alongside Guo Da and Sun Tao. That year she also played the fashionable, lively Han Ping in the TV drama Urban Beauty and made her first attempt at martial-arts acting in the wuxia series Blue Enchantress, portraying the heroine Lü Fengxian. In 2001 she played prosecutor Ling Ruoyu in the suspense drama Blue Calla Lily, demonstrating versatility in her roles. In 2002 she appeared in the anti-corruption drama Unforgivable, and in 2004 she was featured in the anti-corruption series Deep Strike, both of which received recognition.

Her career matured further in the mid-2000s. In 2005 she played Lu Hua, Mrs. Chen Yun, in the film Feng Qi Yun Yong; the role earned praise from Chen Yun’s family and a nomination for Best New Actress at the 11th China Huabiao Film Awards. The same year she starred in director Stanley Kwan’s film Everlasting Regret (Chang Hen Ge), portraying Shanghai socialite Jiang Lili; this role brought several nominations, including from the Hong Kong Film Critics Society Awards and a Best Supporting Actress nomination at the 25th Hong Kong Film Awards.

In 2007, after seeing Everlasting Regret, director Ang Lee invited her to appear in Lust, Caution (Se, Jie) as one of the five “mahjong ladies,” Mrs. Ma. She also appeared that year in the TV series Stage Sisters, playing the Yue opera role actor Xing Yuehong, for which she studied Yue opera specifically.

In subsequent years Su Yan continued to broaden her acting work. In 2008 she starred in the TV series Heart Fire as writer Shen Bing; in 2010 she led the series Love in Barcelona as fashion photographer Li Ran. In 2013 she played twin sisters in the drama My Left Hand and Right Hand and also appeared on celebrity interview programs. In 2015 she played the heroine’s friend Li Xiaotong in the film Destined and starred in the TV series Ten Miles of Fragrance Grand Winery. In 2016 she appeared in the urban drama Still Married as a mother raising a child with autism, deepening her approach to character work.

After 2017, she continued to earn acclaim. In the TV drama Carrying Marriage Through to the End she played Jiang Yilin, a top student who becomes a “leftover” woman, a role that received positive reviews. That same year she played a dance teacher in Feng Xiaogang’s film Youth (Fang Hua), earning a Best Supporting Actress nomination at the 34th Hundred Flowers Awards. In 2023 she starred in the film Changsha Nightlife as Li Jie and received a Best Supporting Actress nomination at the 4th New Era Film Festival.

On her personal life: Su Yan was previously married to Chinese film sound engineer Tao Jing; they divorced in the second half of 2008. In 2009 she registered her marriage to Hong Kong actor Luo Jialiang in Beijing and later held a wedding there. In 2013 she gave birth in Hong Kong to a daughter named Sela.