Gui Gui

Early life

Wu Ying-chieh, nicknamed Gui Gui, was born in Keelung City, Taiwan on August 11, 1989. She is the only child of divorced parents, and has learned to foster a sense of self-sufficiency at a young age. In her early childhood, the family moved frequently, and this resulted in her having to attend five different elementary schools. Wu briefly attended the Dao Jiang Senior High School of Nursing & Home Economics (臺北市私立稻江高級護理家事職業學校) before transferring to Zhuangjing Senior Vocational School in the Xindian District of Taipei, where she became classmates with JPM's Wang Zi.

2005-2009: Variety debut, Hey Girl

In November 2005, Wu debuted as one of the original members of Blackie's Teenage Club (Chinese: 我愛黑澀會), a variety show seeking talents for the music television network, Channel [V]. After three rounds of casting, Wu was recruited to join Hei Se Hui Mei Mei (Chinese: 黑澀會美眉), a Taiwanese girl group established c. 2006. The group's name is a pun on the words "Hei She Hui" (Chinese: 黑社會, literally: black society; triad) and "Mei Mei" (Chinese: 妹妹, literally: sisters). After its move from Linfair Records, Hei Se Hui Mei Mei was renamed Hey Girl (Chinese: 黑Girl), and launched their first self-titled album in August 2008.

In April 2009, Channel V's director, Andy Chang, responded to rumors of Wu leaving his agency. He expressed that though she was unlikely to renew her contract, the singer would partake in group activities per usual since Hey Girl's record contract did not belong to Channel V. Yet, despite Chang's statement, Wu was notably absent from their album promotions, and on May 6, 2009, he confirmed her departure from both Hey Girl and Channel V's management.

2007-2015: Acting debut

In 2007, Wu announced her acting debut with the idol drama, Brown Sugar Macchiato. Her co-stars, Taiwanese boy band Lollipop F, stated that the drama should be viewed as an "introductory chapter" to the two groups as opposed to a major production. After thirteen episodes, the series ended on October 7, 2007, and an official soundtrack was released with songs from Lollipop and Hey Girl.

In 2008, Wu starred in Mysterious Incredible Terminator, opposite of Aaron Yan from Fahrenheit and Alien Huang. After the completion of M.I.T., Wu and Aaron, both widely praised for their on-screen chemistry and closeness, were to co-star in Taiwanese drama Momo Love. Yet, filming was halted due to Yan's scheduling conflicts, and once resumed, Wu and Aaron were respectively replaced by Cyndi Wang and Jiro Wang.

Following a two-year hiatus, Wu signed with Polyface Entertainment Media Group in 2011 and returned to the small screen. On the set of I, My Brother. Later that year, Wu was cast in the television version of Painted Skin, in collaboration with Fiona Sit, Chen Yi Rong, and Li Zhong Han. It was also this opportunity that allowed Wu to shift her focus to the Chinese market.

In 2012, Wu debuted on the big screen with a three part-film series, The Four, starring Ronald Cheng, Anthony Wong, Deng Chao, and Liu Yifei. In February 2013, she was cast in the Korean reality show, We Got Married with Ok Taecyeon, of South Korean boy band 2PM, as her virtual husband. Regarding this experience, she has commented, "I feel thankful that you found me. I think the fact that I was able to do this show was a gift from the up above."

In the consecutive years, Wu has starred in Chinese TV dramas: A Different Kind of Pretty Man (不一樣的美男子), Roommate Diaries (一男三女合租記), Incisive Great Teacher (犀利仁師), The Girl Wearing Tassel Earrings (戴流蘇耳環的少女), and The Legend of the Flying Daggers (飛刀又見飛刀 (2016年電視劇)).

2016: Return to music

On March 7, 2016, Wu signed with CJ E&M and returned to the music scene. In preparation for her Korean debut, she underwent a rigorous 3-month training session that included vocal, choreography and Korean lessons. On September 26, Wu released her first official music video, Sugar Rush, and on October 7, she launched her first self-titled EP, GEMMA. The mini album consisted of five tracks, four of which are in Chinese and one in Korean.

In an interview, Wu has stated that GEMMA represented a new identity. "G" is derived from her nickname, Ghost (Chinese: 鬼鬼) while Emma is her proclaimed English name. When asked about the origin of her alias, Gui Gui (literally: Ghost), the singer explained that she was "full of reckless things" (Chinese: 古靈精怪), given her love for mischief and tricks. In fact, on many occasions, Wu has used a phonological pun on the Chinese idiom to describe herself as someone having an eccentric or impish personality (Chinese: "鬼”靈精怪).

Wu's 1-year contract with CJ E&M ended in June 2017.

Soundtrack

DVD

Photo-books