Michelle Ye or Ye Xuan (born 14 February 1980) is a Chinese actress and producer. She is best known for her roles in, ''

Eternal Happiness ''Eternal Happiness'' (Traditional Chinese: 再生緣; literally ''Reincarnated Fate'') is a 2002 TVB television drama from Hong Kong based on a short story of the same name by Qing dynasty novelist Chen Duansheng. ''Eternal Happiness'' was pro ...

'', ''

Triumph in the Skies ''Triumph in the Skies'' is a Hong Kong drama television series that premiered on TVB in 2003, starring Francis Ng, Flora Chan, Joe Ma and Myolie Wu. The drama tells the lives of pilots working for the fictional Solar Airways based on Hong Kon ...

'', and ''Lost in the Chamber of Love''. Her most notable role was in the 2009 film Accident, in which she won the 2010 Hong Kong Film Award for Best Supporting Actress. Ye has worked as an on-site reporter for TVB at the

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

in 2004. In 1999, she won the Miss Chinese International competition. Apart from her acting career, she is the owner and chairman of the production company Michelle Ye Studios-Zhejiang Bohai Television Ltd, an owner of a sushi restaurant, and the Vice President of the Hengdian Film Association.

Early life

Michelle Ye was born in

Hangzhou Hangzhou ( or , ; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), also romanized as Hangchow, is the capital and most populous city of Zhejiang, China. It is located in the northwestern part of the province, sitting at the head of Hangzhou Bay, whi ...

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 was named after her mother's favorite actress

Zhou Xuan Zhou Xuan (; born Su Pu (); August 1, 1920 – September 22, 1957), also romanized as Chow Hsuan, was an iconic Chinese singer and film actress. By the 1940s, she had become one of China's Seven Great Singing Stars. She was the best known o ...

. Ye's mother was a housewife and her father a lawyer. Her father was constantly on business travel, thus leaving Ye to be cared for by her mother solely. When Ye was seven years old, her father moved overseas and only returned home for a total number of weeks within a year. Ye's parents divorced when she was nine years old. Her mother no longer wanted to care for her and instead wanted Ye's father to know what it was like to take care of their child. Ye then lived with her paternal grandparents. Her grandparents were retired professors who lived in a professor's hostel in the university. She was loved and spoiled by her grandparents, but her grandfather was extremely strict with her academics. Under his guidance, her academic results were good. Ye was involved in a lot of school activities. At the age of 10, her father brought her grandparents and Ye to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. Ye's father told her that a man's career is first priority and bringing her to the States would allow her to have a better education. Ye's grandparents could not acclimate to the new environment and returned to China. Her father was still busy with his career. She stated that initially she did hate her father. At the age of 13, Ye suggested to move out, claiming she did not want to live with a stranger. Her father agreed and let her rent an apartment. Every month she would go to her father's company for spending money. She would take care of laundry and meals herself. To earn extra money for other expenses, she lied about her age to work in a video rental store. Whilst at the store, she would often rent numerous series and movies to watch, which eventually influenced her to work in the entertainment business. She attended John Dewey High School. While there, she learned to speak

Cantonese Cantonese ( zh, t=廣東話, s=广东话, first=t, cy=Gwóngdūng wá) is a language within the Chinese (Sinitic) branch of the Sino-Tibetan languages originating from the city of Guangzhou (historically known as Canton) and its surrounding are ...

from a classmate. She won first place at the

International Science and Engineering Fair The Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) is an annual science fair in the United States. It is owned and administered by the Society for Science, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization based in Washington, D.C. Each May, more tha ...

in the

Botany Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek w ...

sector in 1998. She was the

valedictorian Valedictorian is an academic title for the highest-performing student of a graduating class of an academic institution. The valedictorian is commonly determined by a numerical formula, generally an academic institution's grade point average (GPA ...

of her class, thus earning her full scholarship to the prestigious

Wellesley College Wellesley College is a private women's liberal arts college in Wellesley, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1870 by Henry and Pauline Durant as a female seminary, it is a member of the original Seven Sisters Colleges, an unofficial g ...

, where she majored in

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

. Ye is fluent in Cantonese, English, and Mandarin. She was influenced by her stepmother to enter the 1998

Miss Greater Chinatown NYC beauty pageant Miss NY Chinese, also known as Miss New York Chinese or Miss Chinese New York and formerly called Miss Greater Chinatown NYC Beauty Pageant, is a beauty pageant that selects New York City's representative to the Miss Chinese International beauty pa ...

. She was 2nd runner up, but the winner resigned and the 1st runner up declined the title. She accepted the title and competed in Hong Kong for the Miss Chinese International 1999 competition on her birthday and won. After the competition, she went back and finished her first year of college. After further consideration, Ye decided not to continue her studies, but instead signed a contract with TVB. Her previous aspiration was to become a lawyer.

Career

In July 1999, she signed a contract with TVB. At the beginning of her career, Michelle Ye was well promoted by her company. She starred in several series and eventually earned "Fa Dan" status. Ye's most notable friends in the business are Myolie Wu and Rain Lau, in which they became sworn sisters after filming

. Ye was rumored to have dated several men, but among all of them, she only admitted to dating Benny Chan. Chan and Ye first worked together on the set of

Gods of Honour ''Gods of Honour'' is a Hong Kong television series adapted from the 16th-century novel '' Fengshen Bang'' (also known as ''Investiture of the Gods'' or ''Creation of the Gods''), a Chinese vernacular classic written by Xu Zhonglin and Lu Xixing. ...

. It was not until filming Network Love Story in China that they started to date. They dated for two years and allegedly split due to personality differences. After Jessica Hsuan was unable to film World's Finest, Hsuan recommended Ye to take the role as "Hai Tang". Director Wong Jing took notice of Ye and eventually offered her a contract with Rich & Famous Talent Management Group Limited, the same company that manages

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, Anthony Wong, Edison Chen, Denise Ho, etc. Ye's contract with TVB, which she did not renew, ended in June 2005. Instead, she accepted the contract with Rich & Famous Talent Management Group Limited a month later in the hope of landing big screen roles. Ye continues to gain recognition from renowned directors, such as Dante Lam and

Johnnie To Johnnie To Kei-fung (born 22 April 1955) is a Hong Kong film director, screenwriter and film producer. Popular in his native Hong Kong, To has also found acclaim overseas. Intensely prolific, To has made films in a variety of genres, though in ...

. She won the 2010 Hong Kong Film Awards for Best Supporting Actress. In 2008, Ye renewed her contract with Rich & Famous Talent Management Group Limited.

Other projects

Ye published an

autobiography An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life. It is a form of biography. Definition The word "autobiography" was first used deprecatingly by William Taylor in 1797 in the English peri ...

titled ''Shang Shan Ruo Shui - Xuan Gong Lue'' in July 2006. In 2011, Ye established her own production company (Michelle Ye Studios-Zhejiang Bohai Television Ltd) and has produced and starred in three series thus far, Ninth Widow, Athena, and Purple Hairpin. However, Ye has not ruled out a return to TVB after revealing she was recently asked to do so by several producers. In 2012, Ye was voted Vice President of the Hengdian Film Association and on the side, opened a sushi restaurant in Hengdian.

Awards and nominations

*(1998) Won second runner up in the "

1998" *(1999) Crowned first place as

Miss Chinese International Pageant 1999 Miss Chinese International Pageant 1999 was held on February 14, 1999 in Hong Kong. The pageant was organized and broadcast by TVB in Hong Kong. Miss Chinese International 1998 Louisa Luk of San Francisco, USA crowned her Michelle Ye of New York ...

*(1999) Won "Miss Classic Beauty" Award in the "Miss Chinese International 1999" *(2002) Nominated as "Most Improved Actress" for TVB 35th Anniversary Awards *(2002) Nominated as "Favorite Partnership" with

Raymond Lam Raymond Lam (; Jyutping: lam4 fung1; born 8 December 1979) is a Hong Kong actor and singer who is best known for roles in the television dramas ''A Step into the Past'', ''Twin of Brothers'', ''Moonlight Resonance'', ''Highs and Lows'' and ''Line W ...

for TVB 35th Anniversary Awards *(2003) Nominated as "Most Improved Actress" for TVB 36th Anniversary Awards *(2003) Nominated as "Favorite Actress" for TVB 36th Anniversary Awards *(2003) Nominated as "Favorite Partnership" with

and Kenneth Ma for TVB 36th Anniversary Awards *(2005) Nominated as "Best Newcomer" in Hong Kong Golden Horse Award for Moonlight in Tokyo *(2009) Nominated as "The Best Leading Actress" in The 66th Venice Film Festival for Accident *(2010) Won "Best Supporting Actress" in

29th Hong Kong Film Awards The ceremony for the 29th Hong Kong Film Awards took place on 18 April 2010. Wang Po-chieh's original nomination for the Best New Performer was withdrawn after he was confirmed to be an actor in the 2008 Taiwan film '' Winds of September''. His no ...

for Accident *(2011) Won "Hong Kong and Taiwan's Most Popular Actress of the Year" in LeTV Entertainment Awards

Filmography

Film

Television

Pageant history

Michelle Ye was originally 2nd runner up at the 1998 pageant, but the winner and 1st runner up did not want to compete in Hong Kong. She took over the crown and title. She later on represented New York at Miss Chinese International 1999 where she won.

References

External links

* *
Michelle Ye's Sina weibo
*Michelle Ye's Autobiography/Shang Shan Ruo Shui - Xuan Gong Lue {{DEFAULTSORT:Ye, Michelle 1980 births Living people American emigrants to Hong Kong Chinese emigrants to the United States Actresses from Zhejiang Hong Kong film actresses Hong Kong television actresses Miss Chinese International winners Actresses from Hangzhou John Dewey High School alumni Wellesley College alumni American autobiographers Writers from New York (state) Women autobiographers Hong Kong women writers 20th-century Hong Kong actresses 21st-century Hong Kong actresses Chinese film actresses Chinese television actresses 20th-century Chinese actresses 21st-century Chinese actresses American women non-fiction writers