Angelababy

Early life

Angela Yeung was born on 28 February 1989 in Shanghai, to a father from Hong Kong, who is of half Chinese and half German descent, and a Shanghainese mother from Shanghai. Her birth name is Yeung Wing. Her father runs a fashion business in Shanghai. She gained an interest in fashion as a child under her father's influence. She said in an interview, "Even though he [her father] sells more mature clothes, I loved...ing to his store and trying on new outfits, and mixing and matching them. It was fun. I think that's how I developed a passion for fashion".

Yang moved to Hong Kong when she was thirteen, and signed a modeling contract with Style International Management at the age of 14. Although her English name is Angela, she was sometimes called "Baby" during her primary and secondary school years. She combined these two names to form her stage name, Angelababy. She speaks Mandarin, Cantonese, Shanghainese and English.

2007–2012: Beginnings

Angelababy debuted as an actress in the movie Trival Matters in 2007, where she had a 5-minute cameo appearance in the film. She then starred in numerous films as supporting roles, as well as appearing in music videos. Angelababy had her first leading role in the 2011 film Love You You alongside Eddie Peng. She sung a duet with JJ Lin titled "Bottom of the Heart" as part of the movie's soundtrack.

In 2012, Angelababy starred in alongside Mark Chao in First Time, a remake of the 2003 Korean film ...ing. Her performance in First Time won her the Most Anticipated Actress award at the 13th Chinese Film Media Awards.

2013–2014: Rising popularity

Angelababy then starred in Tsui Hark's crime action film Young Detective Dee: Rise of the Sea Dragon (2013), playing a beautiful courtesan. She won the Most Popular Actress award at the 21st Beijing College Student Film Festival.

In 2014, Angelababy joined the cast of Keep Running, a spin-off from the South Korean variety program Running Man. The series was a major hit in China, and propelled Angelababy into a household name. The same year, she starred alongside fellow Hurry Up, Brother member Michael Chen in romance film Love on the Cloud, which was a moderate success at the box office. Angelababy was crowned "Weibo Goddess", as well as "Weibo Queen" for the year 2014, and ranked 12th on Forbes China with an estimated income of 41 million yuan (US$6,604,000).

2015–present: International appearance and TV roles

Angelababy made her Hollywood film debut in Hitman: Agent 47 with a minor role. She then starred in Mojin: The Lost Legend, based on the popular tomb raiding novel series Ghost Blows Out the Light. The film become the highest-grossing Chinese-language IMAX film in China, with US$27.1 million (before being surpassed by The Mermaid). Angelababy won the Best Supporting Actress award at the 33rd Hundred Flowers Awards for her role, but was criticized for her mediocre acting and lackluster performance. The same year, she starred in her first television series, historical drama Love Yunge from the Desert based on Tong Hua's novel Song in the Clouds.

In 2016, Angelababy played a major supporting role in Hollywood science fiction film, Independence Day: Resurgence. The same year, she was listed as one of Forbes' inaugural 30 under 30 Asian Celebrities under the film, music, television and sport category.

In 2017, Angelababy starred alongside Wallace Chung in the historical drama, General and I. Although the series was a commercial success, she received criticism for her acting.

Personal life

Angelababy had been dating Chinese actor Huang Xiaoming, who is 12 years her senior, for six years, but their relationship was not revealed to the public until February 2014. On 27 May 2015, they obtained their marriage certificate in Qingdao, China and their wedding banquet took place in Shanghai on 8 October 2015. The wedding banquet was reported to be one of the most lavish in China's history with a reported estimate of US$31 million. In the same month, Angelababy sued a Ruili clinic for US$80,000 for referring to her as a recipient of plastic surgery. An examination she underwent at a Beijing hospital concluded that her face showed no signs of prior surgical work.

In October 2016, Huang and Angelababy announced her pregnancy. She gave birth to their son nicknamed Little Sponge on 17 January 2017 at the Hong Kong Adventist Hospital in Stubbs Road, Happy Valley, Hong Kong.

Other activities

Angelababy has invested in several businesses; including a nail parlour, a cafe (with fellow Hong Kong actor Tony Leung Ka-fai) and a lifestyle store.

In 2015, she set up her own venture capital fund, AB Capital. She then brought shares in Chinese overseas purchasing e-commerce site Ymatou and beverage brand HeyJuice.

In 2016, Angelababy entered the Hurun Philanthropy List, the youngest to be included. She and husband Huang Xiaoming donated US$2.6 million to a charity program initiated by Huang to help university graduates start a business or seek employment.