# Michelle Chen
**Michelle Chen** (陈妍希; pinyin: Chén Yánxī; birth name Chen Mei-hsuan) is a Taiwanese actress and singer known across Chinese-language cinema and television, best known for playing Shen Chia-yi in the 2011 film *You Are the Apple of My Eye* and Xiaolongnü in the 2014 television series *[The Romance of the Condor Heroes](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-romance-of-the-condor-heroes)*.
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1983, Taipei, Taiwan[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3720749) |
| Education | University of Southern California graduate; fluent in English, Mandarin, and Taiwanese[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3720749) |
| Breakthrough role | Shen Chia-yi in *You Are the Apple of My Eye* (2011), adapted from Giddens Ko's novel; nominated for Best Actress at the 48th Golden Horse Awards[2](https://app2.atmovies.com.tw/star/sUY0091667/) • [3](https://woman.udn.com/woman/story/123164/9226649) |
| First film | *Hear Me* (2009), as deaf Olympic swimmer Lin Xiaopeng; nominated for Best New Actress at the 46th Golden Horse Awards[2](https://app2.atmovies.com.tw/star/sUY0091667/) |
| Signature TV role | Xiaolongnü in *The Romance of the Condor Heroes* (2014), opposite Chen Xiao as Yang Guo[2](https://app2.atmovies.com.tw/star/sUY0091667/) |
| Marriage | Married actor Chen Xiao on July 5, 2016; divorced February 18, 2025; one child[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3720749) |
| Recent work | Zhao Shangxian, the hero's mother, in *The Legend of Zang Hai* (2025, 40 episodes); lead in *Sniper Butterfly* (2025, 30 episodes)[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3720749) |
## Early life and debut
Chen was born in 1983 in Taipei into a comfortable family and went to the United States for her education, majoring in marketing with a minor in art.[2](https://app2.atmovies.com.tw/star/sUY0091667/) After graduating from the [University of Southern California](https://www.edgepedia.org/university-of-southern-california) in 2006 she returned to Taiwan and was signed by producer Angie Chai of Comic Ritz (可米瑞智), the company behind Taiwan's idol-drama boom.[2](https://app2.atmovies.com.tw/star/sUY0091667/) • [4](https://www.wowscreen.com.tw/starts.php?start_id=2407)
Her first roles came in the idol dramas *Devil Beside You* (换换爱, 2007), *Wish to See You Again* (这里发现爱, 2008), and *Wo Bu Liao Jie Ni?* (不良笑花, 2008).[2](https://app2.atmovies.com.tw/star/sUY0091667/) In interviews she has described a rocky start: on her first drama a director asked whether she could act at all, and as a newcomer on *Wish to See You Again*, under a director known for strictness, she was scolded almost daily.[5](https://culture.people.com.cn/BIG5/n/2013/1014/c22219-23188225.html)
## Hear Me and the breakthrough
**First film.** Chen made her film debut in *Hear Me* (听说, 2009), playing Lin Xiaopeng, a deaf swimmer training for the [Deaflympics](https://www.edgepedia.org/deaflympics) and the older sister of Lin Yangyang, played by Ivy Chen.[3](https://woman.udn.com/woman/story/123164/9226649) She joined the production late and had to learn sign language in a short time while also training in swimming; she later said she practiced sign language for five days before shooting began, alongside daily physical training.[6](https://news.tvbs.com.tw/entertainment/1476844) The performance earned her a Best New Actress nomination at the 46th Golden Horse Awards and a Best Actress nomination at the 12th Taipei Film Festival.[2](https://app2.atmovies.com.tw/star/sUY0091667/) • [5](https://culture.people.com.cn/BIG5/n/2013/1014/c22219-23188225.html)
**You Are the Apple of My Eye.** In 2011 Chen played Shen Chia-yi, the female lead of *You Are the Apple of My Eye* (那些年，我们一起追的女孩), adapted from [Giddens Ko](https://www.edgepedia.org/giddens-ko)'s novel and directed by Ko himself. She was 28 at the time, playing a 17-year-old high school student.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3720749) • [6](https://news.tvbs.com.tw/entertainment/1476844) The film was a hit across Taiwan, Hong Kong, and mainland China, and one report credits it with about NT$1.2 billion in box office; the role made Chen a household name and earned her a Best Actress nomination at the 48th Golden Horse Awards.[3](https://woman.udn.com/woman/story/123164/9226649) • [2](https://app2.atmovies.com.tw/star/sUY0091667/) Media and audiences began calling her the "national goddess" (国民女神) and "first-love goddess".[3](https://woman.udn.com/woman/story/123164/9226649) • [4](https://www.wowscreen.com.tw/starts.php?start_id=2407)
## Mainland career and The Romance of the Condor Heroes
After the breakthrough, Chen worked increasingly in mainland Chinese productions, with television dramas such as *Drunk in the Red Dust* (醉红尘) and *Jing Hai Feng Yun* (镜海风云) and films including *Together* (在一起, 2013) and *Run for Love* (奔爱, 2016).[2](https://app2.atmovies.com.tw/star/sUY0091667/) In 2013 she played Inspector Angela in the action comedy *Badges of Fury* (不二神探), for which she also wrote, performed, and co-wrote the lyrics of the song "Clueless Boy" on the soundtrack.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3720749)
In 2014 she took the role of Xiaolongnü (Little Dragon Girl) in the wuxia series *The Romance of the Condor Heroes* (神雕侠侣), adapted from [Jin Yong](https://www.edgepedia.org/jin-yong)'s novel, opposite [Chen Xiao](https://www.edgepedia.org/chen-xiao) as Yang Guo. Her costume styling for the character drew online mockery, with netizens comparing her look to a "little steamed bun".[7](https://scdnews.com/images/paper/150618/150618C.pdf) The on-screen pairing turned into a real relationship, and the two married in 2016.[2](https://app2.atmovies.com.tw/star/sUY0091667/)
**English-language work.** In 2015 she starred in *Pali Road*, a romance shot entirely in Hawaii, playing Lily Zhang, a doctor who wakes from a car accident into a life she cannot remember; the cast included [Jackson Rathbone](https://www.edgepedia.org/jackson-rathbone), Sung Kang, and [Henry Ian Cusick](https://www.edgepedia.org/henry-ian-cusick).[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3720749) It was her first fully English-language performance, and the role won her Best Actress in a drama at the 32nd Los Angeles Asia Pacific Film Festival.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3720749) • [8](https://www.newton.com.tw/wiki/%E9%99%B3%E5%A6%8D%E5%B8%8C) On the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes it stands as her highest-rated film at 55 percent, ahead of Lou Ye's *The Shadow Play* (2018) at 20 percent.[9](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/michelle_chen)
## 2024–2025: divorce and renewed visibility
Chen and Chen Xiao announced their divorce on February 18, 2025, ending a marriage of about nine years; their statement said they would raise their child together.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3720749) • [3](https://woman.udn.com/woman/story/123164/9226649) Her screen work that year was prominent on both sides of the strait. In the costume political drama *[The Legend of Zang Hai](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-legend-of-zang-hai)* (藏海传), directed in chief by Zheng Xiaolong and starring [Xiao Zhan](https://www.edgepedia.org/xiao-zhan), she played Zhao Shangxian, the mother of the title character, in 40 episodes; the series premiered on May 18, 2025, broke Youku's all-time pre-registration record with over 9 million reservations, and reached a heat score above 8,000 within five hours of launch.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3720749) • [10](https://news.tvbs.com.tw/entertainment/drama/2875146) She then took the lead in the romance drama *Sniper Butterfly* (狙击蝴蝶), playing Jin Cen opposite the 19-years-younger actor Zhou Keyu, a pairing widely discussed as an "older woman, younger man" romance.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3720749) • [11](https://dw-media.tkww.hk/epaper/wwp/20251230/b01-1230.pdf)
Her Weibo account, her main direct channel to Chinese-speaking audiences, counts about 15.58 million followers, and in 2025 she also posted about new music writing, which she described as a new attempt alongside acting.[12](https://weibo.com/yanxi531)
## Music and other work
Chen has worked as a singer alongside acting: she contributed "Clueless Boy" to the *Badges of Fury* soundtrack in 2013 as writer, performer, and lyricist,[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3720749) competed in the singing-and-dancing survival show *Sisters Who Make Waves 2* (乘风破浪的姐姐2),[6](https://news.tvbs.com.tw/entertainment/1476844) and in 2025 spoke of having more time for music creation.[12](https://weibo.com/yanxi531) Her film credits also include a director credit for *Son of the Stars* (2011).[9](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/michelle_chen)
## References
1. [Michelle Chen (I) – IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3720749)
2. [陳妍希 Michelle Chen – 開眼電影網 @movies](https://app2.atmovies.com.tw/star/sUY0091667/)
3. [離婚後事業再登高峰！盤點《狙擊蝴蝶》陳妍希6大代表作 – udn 女子漾](https://woman.udn.com/woman/story/123164/9226649)
4. [陳妍希 Michelle Chen – WOW!SCREEN 電影雜誌](https://www.wowscreen.com.tw/starts.php?start_id=2407)
5. [陳妍希稱金庸沒說小龍女要冷若冰霜 坦言想演黃蓉 – 人民網文化](https://culture.people.com.cn/BIG5/n/2013/1014/c22219-23188225.html)
6. [陳妍希兼顧事業家庭 珍惜當下「挑戰選秀」 – TVBS新聞](https://news.tvbs.com.tw/entertainment/1476844)
7. [星期四 2015年6月18日 – 台灣新聞報 (SCD News)](https://scdnews.com/images/paper/150618/150618C.pdf)
8. [陳妍希：演藝經歷、個人生活、主要作品 – 中文百科全書](https://www.newton.com.tw/wiki/%E9%99%B3%E5%A6%8D%E5%B8%8C)
9. [Michelle Chen – Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/michelle_chen)
10. [肖戰私訊陳妍希超暖「10年緣分曝光」 – TVBS新聞](https://news.tvbs.com.tw/entertainment/drama/2875146)
11. [2025內地劇年終考 – 香港大公文匯傳媒](https://dw-media.tkww.hk/epaper/wwp/20251230/b01-1230.pdf)
12. [陳妍希michelle的微博](https://weibo.com/yanxi531)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of East and Southeast Asia › Taiwanese actors*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license