Wu Jinyan is a Chinese actress who was born on August 16, 1990. She is best known for her roles in the television shows Beauties at the Crossroads (2013), Story of Yanxi Palace (2018), and The Legend of Haolan (2018). (2019).

Childhood and education
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Wu was born in the Chinese city of Chengdu. She began ballet lessons at the age of three. She left her hometown in 2000 to train at the Dance School Affiliated to Beijing Dance Academy in order to become a professional ballerina. Wu joined the National Ballet of China after 7 years of boarding school, where she suffered repeated foot fractures. Wu later stated that her injuries led her to pursue a career other than ballet. Wu enrolled in the Beijing Film Academy in 2009 to study acting.

Wu had the opportunity to become an actress at the Affiliated school. The director even invited Wu's parents to convince her to take part. But because the role required shaving the head, which would interfere with the dance performance, she eventually turned down the opportunity.
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2010-2017 Career: Beginnings

During her sophomore year, Wu began her career by filming a time-travel television series that has yet to air.

Wu signed a contract with Zijun Entertainment in 2011, which gave her more acting opportunities.

Wu had a dual role in the period political drama Beauties at the Crossfire in 2013, which had the highest ratings for Anhui TV that year. At the Shanghai Television Festival, she was also nominated for Most Popular Actress.

In 2015, she co-starred with Feng Xiaogang in Guan Hu's crime film Mr. Six as a college student begging for money to return home.

During the filming of Waitan Zhong Sheng in 2016, Wu met Yu Zheng, a Chinese screenwriter and producer. She then became a Huanyu Entertainment artist and was cast as the lead in the historical drama Zhaoge.

2018–present: Increasing popularity

Wu appeared in the historical drama Story of Yanxi Palace in 2018. The drama was extremely popular in China and throughout Asia, with over 15 billion people watching it and it becoming the most googled show in 2018. Wu's role as Wei Yingluo garnered her more attention and popularity. She rose to prominence after starring as Li Haolan / Zhao Ji in the historical drama The Legend of Haolan (2019).

Wu joined the cast of Youth Periplous, a Chinese variety show that airs on Zhejiang Television, in 2019. She was ranked 65th on the Forbes China Celebrity 100 list in August.  Wu appeared as a scriptwriter in the suspense romance drama You Are My Answer, which aired on Hunan Television in September. In October, Wu was named to the 2019 Forbes 30 Under 30 China list, which included 30 influential people under the age of 30 who have had a significant impact in their fields.

Wu appeared in a music video for JJ Lin's song The Story of Us (Chinese: ) on January 1, 2020. JJ Lin invited Wu to participate in the music video after the success of Story of Yanxi Palace. It was her very first music video. Yanxi Palace: Princess Adventures, a spin-off of Story of Yanxi Palace in which Wu reprised her role as consort Wei Yingluo, had aired on Netflix the day before.

Wu appeared in the period drama series Legacy, which will premiere exclusively on WarnerMedia's regional streaming service HBO Go later in 2021 at an unspecified date. Legacy is a drama set in the 1920s that follows the lives of the wealthy Yi family and three sisters competing to inherit their father's shopping mall business. In the midst of turmoil and uncertainty, the three sisters put aside their differences in order to keep the business running and save their family.

Filmography

Film

Television series

Variety show

Music video

Other

Awards and nominations