Benny Sa, also known as Sa Beining (; born 23 March 1976) is a Chinese television host known for his work for

China Central Television China Central Television (CCTV) is a Chinese state- and political party-owned broadcaster controlled by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Its 50 different channels broadcast a variety of programing to more than one billion viewers in six lan ...

(CCTV). He served as the one-time anchor of the documentary program ''Legal Report'' ().

Biography

Early experience

Sa Beining was born in a military family in Zhanjiang,

Guangdong Guangdong (, ), alternatively romanized as Canton or Kwangtung, is a coastal province in South China on the north shore of the South China Sea. The capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 126.01 million (as of 2020) ...

in March 1976, the son of Dèng Yǎjuān (), a graduate of

Shenyang Conservatory of Music Shenyang Conservatory of Music (Chinese: 沈阳音乐学院) is a music college in Shenyang, Liaoning Province, China. It is one of nine major conservatories in China. Established in 1938, the school serves approximately 8,000 students in undergra ...

, and Sǎ Shìguì (), a Chinese actor in Wuhan Drama Theatre, he has a younger sister: Sǎ Bèinà (). He is of

Hui The Hui people ( zh, c=, p=Huízú, w=Hui2-tsu2, Xiao'erjing: , dng, Хуэйзў, ) are an East Asian ethnoreligious group predominantly composed of Chinese-speaking adherents of Islam. They are distributed throughout China, mainly in the n ...

ethnicity. He started to perform on stage at the age of four, by age eleven, he hosted a house-party with his sister at home. Sa received his

LLM A Master of Laws (M.L. or LL.M.; Latin: ' or ') is an advanced postgraduate academic degree, pursued by those either holding an undergraduate academic law degree, a professional law degree, or an undergraduate degree in a related subject. In mos ...

from

Peking University Peking University (PKU; ) is a public research university in Beijing, China. The university is funded by the Ministry of Education. Peking University was established as the Imperial University of Peking in 1898 when it received its royal charter ...

in 1998, majoring in Law. After graduation, he joined the

, he hosted ''Legal Report'' (), ''Shouxi Yehua'' (), ''Insight'' (), and ''To Speak'' (). For his work in television he received the 2006 Golden Mike Award and the 2004 Golden Eagle Award for Best Programme Host.

Education experience

During high school Sa expressed his desire to attend the Beijing Film Academy or

Central Academy of Drama The Central Academy of Drama (), abbreviated Zhong Xi (), is a drama school in Beijing, China. It is a Chinese state Double First Class University Plan university identified by the Ministry of Education of China. The school is the first theatre ...

. In the winter holiday before the National College Entrance Examination, he was allowed to join in the winter camp held by

for his abilities in literature and art. Shortly after that he participated in the centralized exam held by Peking University for students who showed an exceptional performance in the exam, resulting in him gaining his letter of admission from Peking University. Because of this Sa served as a teaching assistant to share his experiences with other students before graduation.

Professional experience

Sa was selected to host the TV program ''Legal Report'' due to the recommendations of his instructors at the

Peking University Law School Peking University Law School () is the law school of Peking University, a public research university in Beijing, China. Founded in 1904 as the law department of Peking University, it is the oldest law school in China and is generally considered t ...

, as a result of his many extra-curriculum experiences and high score. The producers initially wanted a lawyer to host the show but chose to go in a different direction as a lawyer might be too busy to host the program and could lack the qualifications necessary for a host. Sa was aware that his hosting skills were weak, particularly during the early recording stage. He was worried that he would be eliminated due to poor performance and kept trying to determine how others viewed him. Sa practiced his hosting skills every day and was eventually selected as the official host of the program. In the second year after entering the

, he won the championship in the National TV Host Contest.

Personal life

Sa was in a relationship with Tú Jīngwěi () in 2006. They split in 2009. Then Sa reportedly had a whirlwind romance with Cén Lílán (). Sa was involved in a relationship with actress

Zhang Ziyi Zhang Ziyi (; ; born 9 February 1979) is a Chinese actress and model. She is regarded as one of the Four Dan Actresses of China. Her first major role was in '' The Road Home'' (1999). She later gained international recognition for her role in ...

beginning in September 2011; they split in 2013. In 2015, Sa was seen dating Canadian singer Lisa Marie Hoffman (known by her Chinese name 李白, Lǐ Bái). They married on 28 March 2016. In December 2019, the couple welcomed a set of fraternal twins.

Hosting experience

Award records

* 2000 The first prize of the China TV Legal System Host Competition * 2000 China TV List Newcomer of the Year Award * 2001 The Most Promising Host Award of the First National College Student TV Festival * 2001 CCTV Top Ten Hosts Online Awards * 2001 "Rongshida" TV host contest gold medal * 2004 CCTV Annual Grade B Moderator * 2005 The 5th Golden Eagle Festival Best National Host * 2005 CCTV Annual Grade B Moderator * 2006 The "Golden Microphone Award" TV broadcast host program award * 2006 CCTV Annual Grade A Moderator * 2007 CCTV Annual Grade A Moderator * 2008 CCTV Annual Grade B Moderator * 2009 CCTV Annual Grade A Moderator * 2010 China University Students TV Festival's most popular male host * 2011 Shanghai TV Festival "Top Ten New Chinese Language Style Hosting" * 2012 CCTV Annual Grade A Moderator * 2013 The "Golden Microphone Award" from the 2012 China Broadcasting Host * 2016 Top Ten Excellent Announcer and Host Award of CCTV

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sa, Beining 1976 births People from Zhanjiang Peking University alumni Living people CCTV television presenters Hui people