Rainie Yang Cheng Lin (Chinese: 楊丞琳; born 4 June 1984) is a Taiwanese singer, actress, and television host. Yang began her career in 2000 as a member of girl group 4 in Love and after the group disbanded in 2002, she began a successful solo career with her album, My Intuition, in 2005. In addition to singing, she is known for co-hosting the variety show Guess from 2002 to 2007, and for her acting roles in TV dramas Meteor Garden in 2001, Devil Beside You (2005), Why Why Love (2007), and Hi My Sweetheart (2009), for which she received the Best Actress award at the Golden Bell Awards.
Early life
Yang was born and raised in Taipei, Taiwan, her father's ancestors were from Guangdong, China. She spoke Cantonese at home. By the time she was 13, she had to start working because her father's business failed, which led to her parents being divorced. She attended Hwa Kang Arts School which specialized in performance arts.
Career
2000–2005: Career beginnings
Yang began her career in 2000 as a member of Taiwanese girl group 4 in Love, where she was given the stage name Rainie. The group's popularity in the musical industry achieved limited success.[1] After they disbanded in 2002, Yang continued to pursue her career in the entertainment industry as a TV host, hosting shows such as the variety show Guess from late 2002 to early 2007. After playing supporting roles in a series of Taiwanese TV dramas, including the highly popular pan-Asia hit Taiwanese series Meteor Garden and its supplementary mini-series Meteor Rain, she landed the leading role as Qi Yue, in the Taiwanese drama Devil Beside You with Mike He in 2005. In the same year, she released her debut album, My Intuition, featured the hit song "Intuition" as the theme song of Devil Beside You and "Ideal Lover". The album was commercially successful and sold over 160,000 copies in Taiwan and over 1 million copies throughout Asia. It was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Foundation in Taiwan (RIT).
2006–2008: Career advancements and acting projects
In 2006, she released her second album, Meeting Love, which sold over 150,000 copies in Taiwan and 1,200,000 copies across Asia. On 8 January 2007, Yang recorded her last Guess episode due to her busy schedule and focus on her musical and acting career. Hoping to portray herself as a "serious" actress, Yang co-starred in the lesbian-themed film Spider Lilies with Isabella Leong. However, after co-starring in Spider Lilies, Yang returned to her previous cute image by becoming the leading role in the drama Why Why Love, with Mike He and Kingone Wang, which aired during the summer of 2007. She subsequently released her third album, My Other Self on 7 September 2007. It features the theme song from Why Why Love, "Lacking Oxygen" and the insert song "Perfect Example".
On 23 April 2008, while filming the Taiwanese drama Miss No Good in San Chih, Taiwan, Yang fell heavily from the stairs, and was sent to Mackay Memorial Hospital in Taipei. The stairs were located between the third floor, where the dressing room was located, and the first floor, where the film set was located. The crew originally thought the falling object was a light frame, but upon hearing a groan, they realized it was her. After an X-ray examination, doctors diagnosed Yang's injury as a spinal contusion. After leaving the hospital, producer Angie Chai took Yang to a Chinese massage therapist.[2]Miss No Good, starring Yang and Will Pan, was aired during the fall and winter of 2008 and met with much success. During this period of time, she also released her 4th album, Not Yet a Woman, which features the insert song "Too Much Trouble" and the theme song "Take Me Away" that were featured Miss No Good.
Yang released her first compilation album, Whimsical World Collection, on 23 April 2010. It consists of 3 new tracks, 35 previously released tracks and 15 music videos from her previous five studio albums. On 22 October 2010, she won Best Actress at the 45th Golden Bell Awards, for her role as Chen Baozhu in Hi My Sweetheart.
In 2011, Yang released her sixth studio album Longing for..., which features the song "We Are All Silly", an interlude of Love You. In 2012, Yang starred in the romantic short film, Heartbeat Love, with Show Lo. On 17 August 2012, she released her seventh studio album Wishing for Happiness. Her second concert tour, Love Voyage, embarked on 14 December. On 23 August 2013, Yang released her eighth studio album Angel Wings.
2014–2019: Traces of Time in Love and Delete Reset Grow
On 30 September 2016, her tenth studio album Traces of Time in Love was released. It was nominated for three awards at the 28th Golden Melody Awards, including Song of the Year, Best Lyricist, and Best Single Producer for the title track "Traces of Time in Love". Yang thus joined the list of having been nominated for all three prestigious entertainment awards in Taiwan, namely the Golden Bell Awards (television), the Golden Horse Awards (film) and the Golden Melody Awards (music). In the same year, Yang starred in the Taiwanese television series Life Plan A and B.
On 9 October 2016, Rainie Yang attended the new album autograph session and has voiced that she supports the LGBTQIA+ community and legalization of homosexual marriage equal rights when the Lee Tien-chu has sponsored his anti-gay expression. Yang was annoyed and said that homosexuality is not a crime and love is inherently gender neutral. She also said that she would like to continue play LGBTQIA+ acting roles in the future, and that it is an honor to have the opportunity for interpretation.[7] On 27 November 2019, Yang released her eleventh studio album Delete Reset Grow.
2020–present: Like a Star and concert tour
On 5 November 2020, Yang released her twelfth studio album Like a Star. The following day, Yang embarked on her Like a Star World Tour. In June 2023, the tour expanded into mainland China for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic.
Personal life
Yang dated Alien Huang, godson of Yang's mother, for two years while they were both students at Taipei Hwa Kang Arts School. Their relationship ended after Yang entered the entertainment industry and dropped out of the school. From around 2001 to 2003, Yang dated Ben Pai, member of B. A. D., until she began a relationship with her Original Scent of Summer co-star Roy Chiu in 2003. She later described Chiu as moody and difficult, stating that he was the worst of all her boyfriends: “It was an unblessed relationship; no one around me wanted us to be together. During the eight months we dated, I saw him fewer than ten times.” They broke up after Yang sent a text message, to which Chiu responded half a month later, agreeing to the breakup. The two had no contact for 15 years after, until they reconciled in 2018 when she congratulated Chiu backstage at the 20th Taipei Film Awards for winning the Best Actor Award. [8][9]
In 2004, she had a half-year relationship with actor Yi Lee. From 2005 to 2006, Yang dated Junhao Yuan after they co-starred in the idol drama Devil Beside You. They ended their relationship because she felt too young to consider marriage, which had been proposed by his family. [10][11] In 2011, Yang was spotted boarding the same flight from Taipei to the United States with Sunny Wang, and Wang was also seen entering Yang’s home. The two-month relationship ended as soon as it became public.[12] From 2012 to 2014, Yang dated Prince Chiu.[13]
In December 2014, Yang began dating Chinese singer-songwriter Li Ronghao, who wrote the song “幸福果子” for Yang in 2007[14][15] On 11 July 2019, Li announced that Yang accepted his wedding proposal on his 34th birthday.[16][17] On 17 September 2019, Yang and Li confirmed they have obtained their marriage certificate in China.[18]
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