Luo Yan (; born 1957 (age 60 ) is a Chinese American actress and screenwriter. She was born in Urumqi,

Xinjiang Xinjiang, SASM/GNC: ''Xinjang''; zh, c=, p=Xīnjiāng; formerly romanized as Sinkiang (, ), officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China (PRC), located in the northwest ...

. After having a successful acting career in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

, she came to the

U.S. The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

in the mid-1980s. She started her own business during the early 1990s and later became the first female Chinese filmmaker to produce, write, and star in a

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood, ...

film. Both her parents were

biology Biology is the scientific study of life. It is a natural science with a broad scope but has several unifying themes that tie it together as a single, coherent field. For instance, all organisms are made up of cells that process hereditary i ...

professors. She was raised by her grandparents in

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flow ...

. When she was 10 years old, her grandfather was arrested and held in concentration camps. He died shortly after his release and Yan Luo had to take responsibility and care for her ailing grandmother at a very young age. While working at the Shanghai Textile Factory, she secretly took acting classes and became an active member of a local theater group. In 1977, she applied to the Shanghai Drama Institute and was one of only 20 to be accepted in her class. Her break through in China came with the movie '' Female Student Dormitory'' in 1984. She then starred in '' The Girl in Red''. Starting in 1986, Yan Luo studied English with the hopes of receiving a scholarship to study outside of China. Six months later she received one to study at

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with its original campu ...

. After working as a waitress, cleaning lady, baby sitter, and housekeeper during her time in Boston, she earned her master's degree in fine arts in 1990. She then interned with the

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

Theater Center and continued taking classes at

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

, mainly focusing on film production. In 1994, Yan Luo founded Moonstone International, an import-export company. Today the company reports annual sales of over $4 million and employs more than 20. In 1996 she started to work on ''

Pavilion of Women ''Pavilion of Women'' is a 2001 Chinese-American drama film directed by Yim Ho and written by Luo Yan (screenwriter), Luo Yan and Paul Collins. The film stars Willem Dafoe, Luo Yan, Sau Sek, John Cho, Yi Ding (actress), Yi Ding and Koh Chieng Mun ...

'', a movie after the novel by

Pearl S. Buck Pearl Sydenstricker Buck (June 26, 1892 – March 6, 1973) was an American writer and novelist. She is best known for ''The Good Earth'' a bestselling novel in the United States in 1931 and 1932 and won the Pulitzer Prize in 1932. In 1938, Buck ...

. In 1997 she decided to co-write the script and started production in 1999.

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Luo, Yan 1957 births Living people Boston University College of Fine Arts alumni Screenwriters from Xinjiang People from Ürümqi Actresses from Xinjiang Chinese film actresses Chinese television actresses