# Ruby Lin (林心如)
**Ruby Lin** (林心如; born 1976) is a Taiwanese actress, singer, and television and film producer who rose to fame across Asia as Xia Ziwei in the 1998 television series *Princess Returning Pearl* (還珠格格) and later became one of Taiwan's most prominent drama producers through her company Ruby Studio.[1](https://wiki.d-addicts.com/Ruby_Lin) • [2](https://bangumi.tv/person/16690)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1976, Taipei, Taiwan; height 167 cm[1](https://wiki.d-addicts.com/Ruby_Lin) |
| Professions | Actress, singer, producer; head of Ruby Studio (林心如工作室)[1](https://wiki.d-addicts.com/Ruby_Lin) • [2](https://bangumi.tv/person/16690) |
| Breakout role | Xia Ziwei in *Princess Returning Pearl* (1998), a series that set ratings records in China and across Asia[2](https://bangumi.tv/person/16690) • [3](https://tcmb.culture.tw/zh-tw/detail?id=624576&indexCode=Culture_Object) |
| Production company | Founded Ruby Studio in 2009; first produced drama *傾世皇妃* (2011)[2](https://bangumi.tv/person/16690) |
| Golden Bell Awards | *16個夏天* won Drama Program Award at the 50th Golden Bell Awards (2015); *有生之年* won the same award at the 59th (2024)[4](https://tavis.tw/gba/50th/winnerlist.htm) • [5](https://www.cna.com.tw/news/amov/202410190281.aspx) |
| Signature production | *Light the Night* (華燈初上), budgeted at NT$250 million, three seasons totaling 24 episodes[6](https://www.cna.com.tw/news/amov/202009110189.aspx) |
| Family | Married actor Wallace Huo (霍建華) in 2016; one daughter born 2017[1](https://wiki.d-addicts.com/Ruby_Lin) |
## Early career and stardom
Lin entered the entertainment industry at 17 as a part-time advertising model, appearing in commercials in Taiwan before her parents agreed to let her sign with a talent management company.[2](https://bangumi.tv/person/16690) Her first television appearances came in the mid-1990s, including a 1995 role in *臺灣重案錄*.[7](https://www.chinesewiki.zh-cn.nina.az/%E6%9E%97%E5%BF%83%E5%A6%82.html)
The turning point came in 1998 with *Princess Returning Pearl*, in which she played Xia Ziwei (and, in flashback, Xia Yuhe) opposite [Zhao Wei](https://www.edgepedia.org/zhao-wei), Alec Su, and [Fan Bingbing](https://www.edgepedia.org/fan-bingbing).[7](https://www.chinesewiki.zh-cn.nina.az/%E6%9E%97%E5%BF%83%E5%A6%82.html) The series set records for ratings in China and Asia and for reruns, and made Lin a household name across the Chinese-speaking world overnight.[3](https://tcmb.culture.tw/zh-tw/detail?id=624576&indexCode=Culture_Object) • [2](https://bangumi.tv/person/16690) She followed it with the 1999 sequel and with the [Qiong Yao](https://www.edgepedia.org/qiong-yao) drama *情深深雨濛濛*, and worked steadily in mainland Chinese productions through the 2000s, including *美人心計* (2010), in which her role as Dou Yifang further raised her profile.[7](https://www.chinesewiki.zh-cn.nina.az/%E6%9E%97%E5%BF%83%E5%A6%82.html) • [8](https://www.jiemian.com/article/10263794.html)
## Move into production
In 2009 Lin founded her own company, Ruby Studio, and formally reinvented herself as a producer-investor as well as a performer.[2](https://bangumi.tv/person/16690) Her first produced drama, the costume romance *傾世皇妃* (2011), in which she also starred, broke ratings records for the genre and sold rights to more than 20 countries.[2](https://bangumi.tv/person/16690) • [9](https://scdnews.com/images/paper/220329/220329B.pdf) She followed it with the modern drama *姐姐立正向前走* and the miniseries *遺忘*, starring in each while her studio produced.[2](https://bangumi.tv/person/16690)
A retrospective of her producing career describes three phases: costume dramas as an entry point, Taiwanese idol dramas that leveraged her own star image, and, from the late 2010s, ensemble dramas depicting Taiwanese society.[8](https://www.jiemian.com/article/10263794.html)
## 16個夏天 and Golden Bell recognition
**Return to Taiwan.** In 2014 Lin produced and starred in *16個夏天* (*The Way We Were*), her first Taiwanese production after years working in mainland China, made with TVBS.[10](https://news.tvbs.com.tw/inter-news/614302) The romance, whose story spans 16 years, earned seven nominations at the 50th Golden Bell Awards in 2015, the most for any drama that year, including Best Actress for Lin.[10](https://news.tvbs.com.tw/inter-news/614302) • [4](https://tavis.tw/gba/50th/winnerlist.htm) The series won the Drama Program Award, along with directing and supporting actress, and the win marked public recognition of her transition from actress to producer.[3](https://tcmb.culture.tw/zh-tw/detail?id=624576&indexCode=Culture_Object) • [11](https://scdnews.com/images/paper/211205/211205B.pdf)
## Light the Night
Lin's most ambitious production was *Light the Night* (華燈初上), a period mystery drama made with the creative team behind *16個夏天* at a reported cost of NT$250 million.[6](https://www.cna.com.tw/news/amov/202009110189.aspx) Set in 1988 around the Japanese-style hostess bars of Lin Sen Road in Taipei, the "tiaotong" district (條通, Japanese for alley), it stars Lin and Yang Jinhua as two women who run a bar together, with an ensemble including Hsieh Chiung-hsien, Liu Pin-yen, Kuo Hsueh-fu, River Huang, and Yang Youning.[6](https://www.cna.com.tw/news/amov/202009110189.aspx) The drama was planned as three seasons of eight episodes each, 24 in total, with suspense framing the human relationships of the bar world.[6](https://www.cna.com.tw/news/amov/202009110189.aspx)
At the 57th Golden Bell Awards in 2022, *Light the Night* received 11 nominations, including two Best Actress nominations for Lin and Yang Jinhua, but won none.[12](https://www.cna.com.tw/news/amov/202210230098.aspx) Lin, who was nominated both as producer and lead actress, joked at the after-party that the team was the "largest shutout group ever," while noting it was her first time being nominated without winning anything.[12](https://www.cna.com.tw/news/amov/202210230098.aspx) Industry commentary credited the production with encouraging Taiwanese drama to move toward an American-style producer system.[13](https://www.verse.com.tw/article/the-secret-of-light-the-night)
## Later work
Lin continued producing through the 2020s. *有生之年* (*Shards of Her*-era family drama, 2023), which she produced after *Light the Night*, won the Drama Program Award at the 59th Golden Bell Awards in October 2024; accepting the trophy, Lin said through tears that the last time she had stood on the awards stage was nine years earlier with *16個夏天*, and thanked the network for giving her room to make the drama she wanted.[5](https://www.cna.com.tw/news/amov/202410190281.aspx) She also acted in *The Victims' Game* (2020), *[Copycat Killer](https://www.edgepedia.org/copycat-killer-tv-series)* and *At the Moment* (both 2023), and made guest appearances in *Holiday* (2025).[1](https://wiki.d-addicts.com/Ruby_Lin)
In 2026 she announced a new self-produced and self-starring drama about family and one's family of origin, with scripts finished after roughly three years of development and shooting expected from late September or October 2026; she said she had not acted in a leading role for two to three years and was looking forward to returning.[14](https://www.cna.com.tw/news/amov/202605170191.aspx) • [15](https://hk.on.cc/hk/bkn/cnt/entertainment/20260507/bkn-20260507091351744-0507_00862_001.html) That year she was also named an outstanding alumna of Shih Hsin University, alongside [Vivian Hsu](https://www.edgepedia.org/vivian-hsu).[16](https://www.cna.com.tw/tag/8915/)
## Cross-strait controversy
In January 2018, Lin's drama *我的男孩* (*My Dear Boy*), which she produced and starred in, was reported by mainland Chinese internet users to the authorities because it had received a NT$20 million production subsidy from Taiwan's Ministry of Culture, with the accusers describing it as a drama funded by supporters of Taiwan independence. The series was removed from mainland streaming platforms after airing only a few episodes.[7](https://www.chinesewiki.zh-cn.nina.az/%E6%9E%97%E5%BF%83%E5%A6%82.html) • [17](https://pdf.secretchina.com/Sydney/20210911_762/762A.pdf) Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council responded that political factors should not interfere with cross-strait cultural and audiovisual exchange.[7](https://www.chinesewiki.zh-cn.nina.az/%E6%9E%97%E5%BF%83%E5%A6%82.html)
## Personal life and charity
Lin married actor [Wallace Huo](https://www.edgepedia.org/wallace-huo) in 2016, and their daughter was born in 2017.[1](https://wiki.d-addicts.com/Ruby_Lin) She has served as a charity ambassador for the Maria Social Welfare Foundation, which supports children with intellectual disabilities, for more than a decade; in 2025 she appeared for its early-intervention fundraising program for children aged 0 to 6, and she has said she involves her daughter in donating money and toys.[18](https://pdf.secretchina.com/Global/2025_10_03_1023/Proof_Global_KZG_1023.pdf) • [16](https://www.cna.com.tw/tag/8915/) In 2024 she completed an MBA program run by Shih Hsin University in Shanghai, with her graduation photos drawing wide attention online.[19](https://www.gamersky.com/news/31391/)
## References
1. [Ruby Lin, DramaWiki](https://wiki.d-addicts.com/Ruby_Lin)
2. [林心如, Bangumi 番组计划](https://bangumi.tv/person/16690)
3. [第50屆電視金鐘最佳戲劇獎《16個夏天》製作人林心如, 國家文化記憶庫](https://tcmb.culture.tw/zh-tw/detail?id=624576&indexCode=Culture_Object)
4. [第50屆廣播電視金鐘獎得獎名單](https://tavis.tw/gba/50th/winnerlist.htm)
5. [「有生之年」奪金鐘戲劇節目 製作人林心如含淚致謝, 中央社](https://www.cna.com.tw/news/amov/202410190281.aspx)
6. [林心如新戲華燈初上 還原80年代特有條通文化, 中央社](https://www.cna.com.tw/news/amov/202009110189.aspx)
7. [林心如, chinesewiki](https://www.chinesewiki.zh-cn.nina.az/%E6%9E%97%E5%BF%83%E5%A6%82.html)
8. [从演员转型为制作人，谁是"内娱林心如"？, 界面新闻](https://www.jiemian.com/article/10263794.html)
9. [台灣影視 Daily News, 2022年3月29日, 美南日報](https://scdnews.com/images/paper/220329/220329B.pdf)
10. [《16個夏天》戲劇大贏家！獲七項入圍, TVBS新聞網](https://news.tvbs.com.tw/inter-news/614302)
11. [台灣景視 Daily News, 2021年12月5日, 美南日報](https://scdnews.com/images/paper/211205/211205B.pdf)
12. [華燈初上金鐘11入圍全落空 林心如自嘲最大摃龜團體, 中央社](https://www.cna.com.tw/news/amov/202210230098.aspx)
13. [《華燈初上》：追劇熱潮背後的5大關鍵, VERSE](https://www.verse.com.tw/article/the-secret-of-light-the-night)
14. [談醫美診所隱私 林心如喊恐怖像身處楚門的世界, 中央社](https://www.cna.com.tw/news/amov/202605170191.aspx)
15. [林心如再親自打造新劇, on.cc東網](https://hk.on.cc/hk/bkn/cnt/entertainment/20260507/bkn-20260507091351744-0507_00862_001.html)
16. [林心如 關鍵字新聞, 中央社](https://www.cna.com.tw/tag/8915/)
17. [看中國, 2021年9月11日](https://pdf.secretchina.com/Sydney/20210911_762/762A.pdf)
18. [看中國 Global, 2025年10月3日](https://pdf.secretchina.com/Global/2025_10_03_1023/Proof_Global_KZG_1023.pdf)
19. [林心如 標籤列表, 游民星空](https://www.gamersky.com/news/31391/)
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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 17, 2026; Sep 18, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 18, 2026; Oct 12, 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