Yang Mi (Chinese: 杨幂; born 12 September 1986), also known as Mini Yang, is a Chinese actress, singer, and television producer. She is one of the most prominent and commercially successful entertainers in China, with a career spanning more than three decades.
Early Life
Yang Mi was born in Xuanwu District, Beijing, to a police officer father and a housewife mother. Her given name "幂" (mì) means "exponentiation" in mathematics, chosen because both her parents share the surname Yang. She attended Beijing Xuanwu Experimental Primary School and later graduated from the Performance Department of the Beijing Film Academy.
Career
Yang began her acting career as a child at age four, making her debut in the historical television series Tang Ming Huang (1990), in which she played the young Princess Xianning. She also appeared in a minor role in the Stephen Chow film King of Beggars (1992). After a hiatus, she resumed acting in the early 2000s and signed with Li Shaohong's agency, Rosat Entertainment, in 2002.
Her rise to prominence began in the late 2000s with roles in The Return of the Condor Heroes (2006), Wang Zhaojun (2007), and Chinese Paladin 3 (2009). Her breakthrough came in 2011 with the time-travel drama Palace, which brought her widespread popularity and earned her the Most Popular Actress award at the 17th Shanghai Television Festival. She subsequently starred in numerous hit television series, including Beijing Love Story (2012), Swords of Legends (2014), The Interpreter (2016), Eternal Love (2017), and Legend of Fuyao (2018).
In film, Yang gained recognition with Mysterious Island (2011) and starred in the commercially successful Tiny Times film series (2013–2015). She won Best Actress at the 50th WorldFest-Houston International Film Festival for Reset (2017) and received critical acclaim for Baby (2018), which was screened at the Toronto International Film Festival and nominated for the Silver Shell for Best Actress at the San Sebastián International Film Festival.
Yang co-founded the entertainment agency Jiaxing Media in 2014 and left the company in May 2023. In 2026, she won the Actress of the Year award at the 4th CMG Annual Chinese TV Drama Ceremony for her role in This Thriving Land.
Recognition
Yang has been recognized as one of China's "New Four Dan Actresses" and has consistently ranked among the top celebrities on the Forbes China Celebrity 100 list, reaching third place in 2017. As of June 2024, she was ranked as China's top celebrity for advertising and commercial value according to Statista.
Personal Life
Yang married Hong Kong actor-singer Hawick Lau in Bali, Indonesia, on 8 January 2014. Their daughter was born in June 2014. The couple announced their divorce on 22 December 2018.
