In part 1 of this 4 part series we started profiling the top 20 most powerful Chinese celebrities as listed in a recent Forbes article which ranked the China’s 25 Most Powerful Celebrities for 2008.  While the list is interesting to browse, the Forbes article and accompanying picture show doesn’t go into much depth about each of these celebrities.  Here at Diptogo we wanted go more in-depth to learn these celebrities.  Part 1 looked at those celebrities ranked from 20 to 16.  Today in part 2 we’ll look at Chinese celebrities ranked 15 to 11.  In this group we have a multi-lingual singer, the emperor of China, a tea house performer, the most popular blogger, and the most beautiful woman in China.

15.  Zhang Liangying

Best Known For: Placing 3rd place in China’s national 2005 Super Girl Contest (think American Idol, but for China and only for girls) where she wowed viewers by singing in Mandarin, Cantonese, English and even Spanish.

Basic Info: Chinese name is 張靚穎 (Zhāng Liàngyǐng).  She also goes by the English name Jane Zhang.  She is currently 24 (birthday is October 11, 1984) and was born in Chengdu, China.  Recently she participated in the World Peace concert performing alongside such celebrities as U2 , Madonna, and Green Day.   As a child she used to perform at pubs to help make money for the family.  She doesn’t do that anymore as the $1.7 Million she made in 2007 is probably more than adequate to support her family.

14.  Zhang Guoli

Best Known For: Playing the role of Emperor of China during the Qing Dynasty.  Also is a director in addition to actor.

Basic Info: Chinese name is 張國立 (zhāng guólì).  He is currently 54 (brithday is January 17, 1955) and a native of Tianjin, China.  He’s also known for playing roles in modern political TV dramas. In 2007 he made $4.5 Million.

13.  Guo Degang

Best Known For: His performances as a cross talk (相聲) comedian and acting in a variety of supporting roles in Chinese films.

Basic Info: Chinese name is 郭德綱 (Guō Dégāng).  He is approximately 36 (born in 1973) and originally from Tianjin, China.  He started out doing comedic performances at tea houses and took about 10 years before he “made it.” Early on in his career he once embarrassingly performed for a one person audience. Now his performances are consistently sold out.  In 2007 he made $2.2 Million.

12.  Xu Jinglei

Best Known For: Being part of what the Chinese media consider the Four Young Leading Actresses – which also includes Zhang ZiYi.   Also has a popular blog which in 2006 at one point had the most incoming links of any blog in any language on the internet.

Basic Info: Chinese name is 徐静蕾 (xú jìnglě).  She is currently 34 (birthday is April 16, 1974) and was born in Beijing, China.  Her breakthrough came in 2002 when she wrote and directed the award winning movie My Father and I. Since then she has joined the ranks of successful female directors – a rarity in China.  Recently she has launched a singing career in addition into her acting and directing.  All these talents made her $2 Million in 2007.

11.  Gong Li

Best Known For: Her breakthrough international performance in Oscar nominated Raise the Red Lantern.  Also sometimes credited with bringing Chinese cinema to European and American audiences.  American audiences might recognize her in her supporting roles in Miami Vice and Memoirs of a Geisha.

Basic Info: Chinese name is 鞏俐 (Gǒng Lì).  She is currently 43 (birthday is December 31, 1965) and was born in Shenyang, China.  Over the course of her career she has won numerous awards for her acting.   Despite her enormous popularity in China she held off on doing anything in Hollywood citing her lack of English language confidence as the main reason.  In 2006 she was voted the most beautiful woman in China (at the age of 40!).  All of these accomplishments helped contribute to her 2007 income of $5 Million.

View the Most Chinese Powerful Celebrities Ranked 10 to 6 (Part 3)

View the Most Chinese Powerful Celebriteis Ranked 20 to 16 (Part 1)

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Forbes did an article titled China’s 25 Most Powerful Celebrities where they compiled a list of the most powerful and influential Chinese celebrities for 2008.  This list and rankings was based on a combination of factors like wealth, income, and the number of appearances in popular media (television, websites, newspapers, etc…).  While the list is interesting to read it doesn’t really give a glimpse into who these celebrities are beyond their income and a brief one-liner about them.  I decided to profile the top 20 from their list.  In this 4 part series we’ll take a look at Chinese celebrities ranked 20 all the way to number 1.  Today in part 1 we’ll look at celebrities ranked 20 through 16. In this group there are five celebrities that are related to hustling Kung Fu, badminton, Sam Neil (of Jurassic Park), a fear of flying, and Gucci.

20.  Huang Shengyi

Best Known For: If you have seen Kung Fu Hustle you might recognize Huang Shengyi.  She was none other than the Lollipop Girl.

Basic Info: Chinese name is 黃聖依 (huáng shèng yī).  Also has been credited as Eva Huang or Eva Wong.  She is currently 26 (birthday is February 11, 1983) and was born and raised in Shanghai, China.  Forbes says that she is a singer and dancer who is looking for TV work.  Even though she is looking for work in 2007 she made $1.5 Million.

19.  Betty Sun Li

Best Known For: She was Moon in Jet Li’s movie Fearless.  She also starred in a two part mini-series / feature length movie called Iron Road where she plays a woman disguised as a man so she can journey to the Rocky Mountains to search for her long-lost father.  The movie also stars Peter O’Toole and Sam Neil.

Basic Info: Chinese name is 孙俪 (Sūn Lì).  She has quite a few English names (or at least I found more than a few for her) including Betty Sun, Li Sun,  Sun Li,  and one website that said her English name is Susan.  She is currently 26 (birthday is September 26, 1982) and was born in Shanghai, China.  For some reason Forbes says that “movie Jin Shan expected to gain her global fame.”  However, I couldn’t find any movie by the name Jin Shan. So maybe it’s some secret movie only Forbes knows about.  In the end she made $2.2 Million in 2007.

18.  Lin Dan

Best Known For: Being a singles badminton badass.  He also won the gold medal in Men’s badminton singles at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Basic Info: Chinese name is 林丹 (lín dān).  His nickname is “Super Dan.”  He is currently 25 (birthday is October 14, 1983) and was born in Fujian, China.  Forbes only mentions that he is a badminton star with 10 advertising deals.  More interesting than that is that his wikipedia bio mentions “Lin is one of the more popular and controversial badminton players active today, due to his flamboyant personality both on and off the court.”   He also once was an officer in the Chinese People’s Liberation Army.  The flamboyant Super Dan made a cool $1.7 Million in 2007.

17.  Ge You

Best Known For: Being one of the most recognizable actors in China.  He also won Best Actor at the Cannes Film Festival in 1994 for his role in the black comedy To Live (which was directed by Zhang Yimou)

Basic Info: Chinese name is 葛優 (Gě Yōu).  He is currently 51 (birthday is April 19. 1957) and is a native of Beijing.  The only thing Forbes had to say about Ge You is that he will star in an upcoming movie called the Aristocrats, however once again I couldn’t find this movie so I’m assuming they were referring to The Nobles which is in production now.  He has no children and has an intense fear of flying.  In 2007 Ge earned $1.9 Million.

16.  Huang Xiaoming

Best Known For: The lead character Yang Guo in the Chinese drama series The Return of the Condor Heroes. He was also the first Asian model ever selected by Gucci to help promote the Gucci Limited Edition 2008.

Basic Info: Chinese name is 黃曉明 (Huáng Xiǎomíng).  He is currently 31 (birthday is November 13, 1977) and was born in Qindao, China (also home to the Chinese beer Tsing Tao).  He is both an actor and a singer.  In 2007 he also sang at the Live Earth concert in Shanghai.  In 2007 he made $1.7 Million.

View the Most Chinese Powerful Celebrities Ranked 15 to 11 (Part 2) >

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