Megan Lai (; born 5 December 1979) is a Taiwanese actress and singer who is best known for '' Bromance'', ''

Miss Rose Miss Rose () is 2012 Taiwanese romantic comedy television series starring Megan Lai, Roy Chiu as the main leads, with Paul Hsu, Tia Lee, Chunya Chao and Puff Guo in supporting roles. The original title literally translates as "Miss Screws to get ...

'', ''

Meteor Garden II ''Meteor Garden II'' () is a 2002 Taiwanese drama starring Barbie Shu and F4: Jerry Yan, Vic Chou, Vanness Wu, and Ken Chu. While it is a sequel to the 2001 television series '' Meteor Garden'', which is based on Japanese shōjo manga series ...

'' and ''

Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, only being larger than Mercury (planet), Mercury. In the English language, Mars is named for the Mars (mythology), Roman god of war. Mars is a terr ...

''.

Life and career

Early life and education

Lai was born on 5 December 1979 in Yonghe, Taipei County. She is the younger of two daughters. Her father operates a Chinese medicinal herb shop, and her older sister is a teacher. Lai is left-handed, and is able to produce handwritten mirror text, in addition to normal writing with her right hand. As a result, she often has difficulty distinguishing left from right. Lai graduated from Taipei Municipal Datong High School, where she was the President of her school's pop dance club. Lai completed her

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

in Information Communications at

Shih Hsin University Shih Hsin University (SHU; ) is a private university known for its mass communication departments in Taiwan, founded in Muzha, Taipei in 1956. SHU ranked 22nd overall among top 30 liberal arts Universities in Taiwan in 2020 and secured the top ...

. In 2008, she enrolled as a part-time learner in

Ming Chuan University Ming Chuan University (MCU; ) is a private university in Shilin District, Taipei, Taiwan, accredited in the United States of America and by AACSB. Ming Chuan University was ranked in the 451-500 range in QS Top Asia Universities Ranking 202 ...

. She graduated in 2011 with a Master of Arts in

Design management Design management is a field of inquiry that uses project management, design, strategy, and supply chain techniques to control a creative process, support a culture of creativity, and build a structure and organization for design. The objectiv ...

. Lai is also licensed barista, having attained her barista certificate in 2016.

Career

Career beginnings

In 1999, Lai made her first television appearance on the Taiwanese variety show ''Guess'' in the segment "Do not judge a book by its cover", where she was a contestant along with

Hebe Tien Hebe Tien (; born 30 March 1983) is a Taiwanese singer and actress. She rose to fame in the early 2000s as a member of Taiwanese girl group S.H.E. The release of her debut album, '' To Hebe'' (2010), established her as a solo artist. Tien's s ...

of girl group

S.H.E S.H.E is a Taiwanese girl group whose members are Selina Jen, Hebe Tien, and Ella Chen. They formed in 2001 and are managed by HIM International Music but decided not to renew their contract in 2019 due to having their own management company. ...

, amongst others. She was later scouted by a modelling agency, where she started her career modelling for magazine pictorials, television advertisements, music video productions and

fashion show A fashion show ( French ''défilé de mode'') is an event put on by a fashion designer to showcase their upcoming line of clothing and/or accessories during a fashion week. Fashion shows debut every season, particularly the Spring/Summer and Fa ...

s. In 2002, Lai was scouted by notable television producer

Angie Chai Angie may refer to: People * Angie (given name) * Ängie, a Swedish pop singer * Angie Vázquez, Mexican singer Arts and entertainment * ''Angie'' (album), a 1978 Angela Bofill album * "Angie" (song), a 1973 single by The Rolling Stones * ''A ...

after appearing in

Vic Chou Vic Chou () is a Taiwanese actor and singer. He is a member of the Taiwanese boy band F4. Career F4 Chou rose to fame for his role as Hua Ze Lei in the highly popular Taiwan television series ''Meteor Garden''. At the conclusion of the series, ...

's music video. In December 2004, Lai released her first studio album, ''Love'', which featured soundtracks from the television series' ''Mars'' and ''Starry Night'', in which Lai also starred in.

Transition into leading roles

In 2010, Lai appeared alongside Baron Chen,

Lego Lee Lego Lee (, born January 22, 1986) is a Taiwanese actor and singer best known for his roles in the television series ''In a Good Way'', ''Aim High'' and ''Love Cuisine''. Lee holds a master's degree in sport management from Dayeh University, and h ...

and Chie Tanaka in the drama ''Because of You''. Upon graduating with a Master of Arts in January 2011, Lai was cast in the

police crime drama The police show, or police crime drama, is a subgenre of procedural drama and detective fiction that emphasizes the investigative procedure of a police officer or department as the protagonist(s), as contrasted with other genres that focus on ei ...

''Next Heroes''. Filming began in the same month, and only commenced its broadcast run in October of the same year. Concurrently in 2011, Lai played the role of Su Hai-er in the period drama ''The Invaluable Treasure 1949''. The role earned her a

Best Actress Best Actress is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organisations, festivals, and people's awards to leading actresses in a film, television series, television film or play. The first Best Actress awar ...

nomination at the 46th Golden Bell Awards. In 2012, Lai was cast in the

SETTV Sanlih Entertainment Television or Sanlih E-Television (SET; ) is a nationwide cable TV network operated in Taiwan which was founded in May 1993. It also produces Taiwanese drama that are broadcast on free-to-air channels e.g. Taiwan Television ...

romantic comedy ''

'' in which she played the titular character opposite

Roy Chiu Roy Chiu (; born 14 October 1981) is a Taiwanese actor, singer and racing driver. He earned two Golden Horse Award for Best Leading Actor nominations for his performances in ''Dear Ex ''Dear Ex'' () is a 2018 Taiwanese comedy-drama film co- ...

Rising popularity

In 2014, Lai was cast in the role of A Bu-si, a lesbian barista in the highly anticipated movie adaptation of ''

Café. Waiting. Love ''Café. Waiting. Love'' ( is a 2014 Taiwanese romantic comedy film directed by Chiang Chin-lin, adapted from Giddens Ko's novel of the same name. The film marks the first on-screen appearance of Vivian Sung. Plot Si-ying ( Vivian Sung) is a uni ...

'', penned by well-known Taiwanese novelist

Giddens Ko Giddens Ko (; born 25 August 1978) is a Taiwanese novelist and filmmaker. He earned his Bachelor of Science in Management from National Chiao Tung University and Master of Social Science from Tunghai University. He has published more than 60 boo ...

. Lai started taking barista lessons and shed her long hair in preparation for the role, even going to the extent of not attending any public event to maintain the secrecy of her participation in the movie before her casting was announced to the public. Lai was also cast as an

ultramarathon An ultramarathon, also called ultra distance or ultra running, is any footrace longer than the traditional marathon length of . Various distances are raced competitively, from the shortest common ultramarathon of to over . 50k and 100k are bot ...

coach in

Jay Chou Jay Chou ( zh, t=周杰倫, s=周杰伦, poj=Chiu Kia̍t-lûn, p=Zhōu Jiélún, first=t, w=Chou Chieh-lun; born January 18, 1979) is a Taiwanese singer, songwriter, record producer, rapper, actor, and television personality. Dubbed the " King ...

's first movie as an executive producer, '' 10,000 Miles'', starring opposite Sean Huang and

Darren Wang Darren Wang Talu (; born May 29, 1991) is a Taiwanese actor. He is best known for his breakout role as Hsu Tai-yu in the coming-of-age film, '' Our Times''. Career Wang made his debut in the 2008 drama series ''Mysterious Incredible Terminator' ...

. To prepare for the role of an ultramarathon coach, Lai underwent training for three months under ultramarathon runner and executive producer,

Kevin Lin Kevin Lin (林義傑, November 19, 1976) is a Taiwanese ultramarathon runner from Taipei. Background Based in Taipei, Lin is one of the best known endurance athletes in Asia. Lin, together with Charlie Engle and Ray Zahab, became the first mod ...

. The movie was released in December 2016 to poor critical reception. In September 2015, Lai received her fourth nomination for the

Golden Bell Award for Best Actress in a Miniseries or Television Film This is a list of winners and nominees of the Golden Bell Award for Best Leading Actress in a Miniseries or Television Film (). Winners and nominees 2000s 2010s 2020s References {{Golden Bell Awards, state=collapsed Leading Actress ...

for her role in the film ''The End of Love''. The same month, Lai commenced filming for the romantic comedy ''Bromance'', in which she played the role Pi Ya-nuo, a girl who has to pretend to be a boy until her 26th birthday to be safeguarded a smooth-sailing life. The drama ended its broadcast run to massive domestic and international success, and Lai received tremendous support for her portrayal in the drama. In 2016, Lai joined the cast of the musical ''More Than Words'', which celebrated the life and works of musical artist

Chang Yu-sheng Chang Yu-sheng (also: Tom Yusheng Chang or ; June 7, 1966 – November 12, 1997) was a Taiwanese pop vocalist, songwriter and record producer. Born in 1966, Chang was the eldest among his other four siblings whose mother is Atayal and father a ...

. In 2018, after a short hiatus from acting, Lai returned to the small screen in the television series ''

Meet Me @ 1006 ''Meet Me @ 1006'' is a 2018 Taiwanese fantasy television series with time-travel, romance, and crime/suspense elements. The series stars Nikki Hsieh as a rookie TV reporter and Lego Lee as a disgraced trial attorney from 2018, who become roommates ...

'' in a guest appearance. Lai was then cast alongside

Sammi Cheng Sammi Cheng Sau-man (; born 19 August 1972) is a Hong Kong singer and actress. She is considered one of the most prominent female singers in Hong Kong, with album sales of over million copies throughout Asia. Most notably in the 1990s, she was dub ...

Kenny Bee Chung Chun-to (born 23 February 1953), also known by his stage name Kenny Bee, is a Hong Kong singer, musician and actor. He is best known as the singer of the group the Wynners, and as a solo artist who has been active in the Hong Kong ente ...

and

Richie Jen Richie Jen Hsien-chi (, born 23 June 1966) is a Taiwanese singer and actor. He graduated from the Chinese Culture University's physical education department. His hits include "Too Softhearted" (), "Look Over Here, Girl" (), "The Sad Pacific" () ...

in the movie ''Fagara'', the silver screen adaptation of Amy Cheung's novel ''Wo De Ai Ru Ci Ma La''. The role earned her a Best Actress nomination for the

Hong Kong Film Critics Society Award The Hong Kong Film Critics Society Awards () are the annual awards given by the Hong Kong Film Critics Society in Hong Kong since 1994. The awards are determined by votes cast in three rounds after a substantial discussion session between the mem ...

. Lai also starred in the

blockchain A blockchain is a type of distributed ledger technology (DLT) that consists of growing lists of records, called ''blocks'', that are securely linked together using cryptography. Each block contains a cryptographic hash of the previous block, a ...

corporate warfare movie ''

The Last Thieves ''The Last Thieves'' (, literally "Sages and Thieves") is a 2019 Taiwanese drama film written and directed by Jack Hsu. The film stars Yen Tsao and Joanne Tseng as young entrepreneurs who are pitted against the elites of the social hierarchy, p ...

'' opposite Yen Tsao,

Joanne Tseng Joanne Tseng Chih-chiao (; born 17 November 1988) is a Taiwanese actress, singer and television host. Early life Tseng was born on 17 November 1988 in Jianshi, Hsinchu, Taiwan. She has an older sister, Chih-ying (曾之萦). Both of her par ...

, and

Eric Tsang Eric Tsang Chi-wai (; born 14 April 1953) is a Hong Kong actor, film director, producer, and television host, best known for hosting the variety show ''Super Trio series'' on the Hong Kong television network TVB over 18 years. He currently holds ...

, which was released in fall 2019.

Filmography

Television

Film

Variety show

Music video

Discography

Studio albums

Soundtrack appearances

Songwriting credits

Theater

Published works

* * (

e-book An ebook (short for electronic book), also known as an e-book or eBook, is a book publication made available in digital form, consisting of text, images, or both, readable on the flat-panel display of computers or other electronic devices. Alt ...

) *

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* *
Megan Lai
at

Sina Weibo Sina Weibo (新浪微博) is a Chinese microblogging ( weibo) website. Launched by Sina Corporation on 14 August 2009, it is one of the biggest social media platforms in China, with over 582 million monthly active users (252 million daily acti ...

Megan Lai's Official Youtube Music Channel
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lai, Megan 1979 births Taiwanese female models Taiwanese television actresses Taiwanese film actresses Taiwanese stage actresses Living people 21st-century Taiwanese singers 21st-century Taiwanese actresses Actresses from New Taipei Shih Hsin University alumni Ming Chuan University alumni 21st-century Taiwanese women singers Musicians from New Taipei