Ruby Lin - WikiHQ

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Ruby Lin Xin-ru (; born January 27, 1976) is a Taiwanese actress, television and film producer, and singer.

Lin began her career as a commercial model in 1993 and gained pan-Asian prominence for her role as Xia Ziwei in the megahit TV series My Fair Princess (1998-1999). She followed the success with TV series such as The Duke of Mount Deer (2000), Romance in the Rain (2001), Boy & Girl (2003), Affair of Half a Lifetime (2004), Beauty's Rival in Palace (2010), The Glamorous Imperial Concubine (2011) and The Way We Were (2014). While focusing mostly on TV, she also starred in films such as The House That Never Dies (2014), The Devotion of Suspect X (2017) and Miss Andy (2020). As a singer, she released six albums, beginning with Heartbeat (1999).

Since Lin started her own studio in 2009, she has been producing TV dramas and TV films starring herself, both in mainland China and Taiwan. Her production debut The Glamorous Imperial Concubine (2011) won her Best Producer at the 2012 TV Drama Awards Made in China, and her first Taiwanese drama production The Way We Were (2014) won three out of seven nominations, including Best Television Series at the 50th Golden Bell Awards.

According to Apple Daily, Lin was the third highest-earning Taiwanese drama actress in 2011, and the top-earner in 2012 and 2013. Lin ranked 30th on Forbes China Celebrity 100 list in 2013, 36th in 2014, 82nd in 2015, and 68th in 2017.

Early life

Lin was born and raised in Wugu, New Taipei City, Taiwan. Her father was a businessman, and her mother a housewife. Her English name, Ruby, is from her mother's love of the jewel. As the eldest of four children in family, Lin has two younger brothers—one a year younger and the other six years younger—and a half-sister, ten years younger, from her father’s second marriage after divorcing from Lin's mother when Lin was 7. After her parents' divorce, Lin lived with her mother, who took her to visit relatives in Japan every year. She graduated from Ri Xin Primary School and Zhong Dian High School. Lin originally planned on going to the United Kingdom to study after high school graduation. However, she was discovered by a talent agent at the age of seventeen, during her second year in high school, and started working as a part-time commercial model. Her first TV commercial was for a tea brand in 1994.

Lin’s parents were initially opposed to her involvement in the entertainment industry.

Career

Early work: 1995–1996

When Lin received her first experience in front of the camera in 1995, for a minor role, she started to develop a passion for acting. After filming her first TV commercial, Lin caught the attention of TV and film directors, and many companies began seeking her for roles. She received her first role in the film School Days, with Jimmy Lin and Takeshi Kaneshiro. From 1995 to 1997 after MD completed, Lin had roles in several Taiwanese TV series and began to attract attention and buzz from the media. In 1996, Lin went to China for the first time to film; she considered this a period of valuable experience and a time that she began to learn about acting.

Breakthrough: 1997–2001

After playing minor roles in various series and films, Lin was selected by Taiwanese writer Chiung Yao to audition for a main role in the comedic period drama My Fair Princess, a joint production by mainland China and Taiwan which was adapted from Chiung Yao's own novel. Originally picked for the role of Princess Saiya, Lin was ultimately chosen by the company to play Xia Ziwei instead, as the actress scheduled to play the main role was unavailable.

After My Fair Princess, Lin starred in a number of successful television series. In 2000 she starred in Hong Kong TVB's production of The Duke of Mount Deer with Dicky Cheung, Shu Qi and other well-known artists. In this series, Lin played Princess Jian Ning – a sassy, funny girl. This role demonstrated her acting range, since it differed from the nice, sweet image she had developed from her role in My Fair Princess. The following year, she starred in Romance in the Rain, a costume drama based in the 1930s and 1940s, also written by Chiung Yao. The series was a commercial success and recorded the highest ratings of the year. For two consecutive years (2000 and 2001), Lin was included in the Top Ten Most Famous Asian Superstars. The same year, she was selected in fourth place in "Malaysia 2001 Heavenly Kings & Queens".

As Lin felt she had achieved all she could in television, she started venturing into films. In 2000, she appeared in three Hong Kong films - Winner Takes All, Comic King and the action movie China Strike Force with Aaron Kwok and Taiwanese actor-singer Leehom Wang. Although Lin had only a supporting role, she considered it a learning experience. With these films, she made inroads into the Hong Kong market. The same year, Lin also appeared in the youth romantic TV series Boy & Girl; it was broadcast in China by CCTV, receiving the highest rating of all series aired in 2003. With this series, Lin was selected one of the Top 10 actresses of the year; of those 10 actresses, she was the only one from Taiwan. and performance at the New York Film Academy.

Returning home to Taiwan with a new passion for acting in February 2005, Lin starred in Paris Sonata. For her role in Paris Sonata, she learned to play piano two months before filming. After Paris Sonata, she selected the TV drama Sound of Colors (a remake of Jimmy Liao's book) as her next work, portraying a blind radio DJ. Lin's performance as a blind girl received good reviews from audiences and the news media. This drama was broadcast in many countries, including Hong Kong, Taiwan, Philippines, Vietnam and the United States. This was followed by the dramas Star Boulevard and Da Li Princess, which were expected to be released in 2008 by CCTV.

Another Milestone: 2006–2009

thumb|Lin in 2007

In 2006, Lin's starred in the television series Ancestral Temple where she further expanded her acting range. After three months of filming in Huang Shan, China, the series was completed at the end of October 2006. Its broadcast by CCTV-1 was planned for 2008. On June 6, 2006, Lin won the Most Popular Actress in Taiwan award at the 2nd Chinese TV Drama Award ceremony in Beijing. She has also been regularly featured in polls as one of the Top 10 contemporary Chinese actors.

At the end of 2006, Lin bid farewell to her management company Zhong Jie, after a 10-year relationship, and on November 30, 2006 ceremoniously signed with Huayi Brothers Film and Television group for a reported $10 million. Hua Yi Bros. is (as of 2011) the largest management and domestic movie-making company in China. In September 2007, she guest-starred in CCTV's historical drama Su DongPo. In this series she played the first wife of Su Dongpo (writer, poet, artist, calligrapher, pharmacologist, and statesman of the Song dynasty, one of the major poets of the time), played by Lu Yi.

After filming the digital film Evening of Roses, Lin took on more challenging roles. In late 2007, she co-starred as Daji with Ray Lui in The Legend and the Hero 2 (also known as Fengshen Bang), one of the major vernacular Chinese novels written during the Ming dynasty. After speculation over who would receive the leading role of Daji (who was known for her beauty and cruelty which ruined a dynasty), the role was offered to Lin. When Lin committed to play Daji, she could not escape comparison with Fan Bingbing, who played the same role in the first part of the series. Lin's performance received generally positive comments from media. NetandTV commented, "In comparison to the previous version, the bright spot in this new version's Daji gets a new makeover. Ruby Lin's look gave Daji a brand-new definition". Lin has often said "comparing with other people is meaningless, I just wants a breakthrough from past looks, to surpass myself."

thumb|Lin in Beijing, China in 2008 In 2008, Lin returned to Taiwan for the series Love in Sun Moon Lake, playing an aboriginal woman; this was the first TV series to obtain permission for mainland Chinese actors to film in Taiwan. It was also announced that Lin had been cast as Sun Shangxiang in the new Romance of the Three Kingdoms TV adaptation directed by Gao Xixi, titled Three Kingdoms. The series was aired in May 2010, and was well-received both domestically and internationally, earning an estimated 800 million RMB (133.3 million USD) by 2012.

In early 2009, she was cast in Fallen City. In this film, Lin plays a rebellious woman during the 2008 Sichuan earthquake. In July 2009, Lin starred as Empress Dou in the Chinese big-budget historical fiction television drama Beauty's Rival in Palace. For her role in the series, Lin received a salary of 150,000 renminbi per episode. When the series premièred on a Shanghai TV station in March 2010 with the highest rating of the year, Lin got positive reviews from audiences and critics. It was reported that Beauty's Rival in Palace sold well in the Korean and Japanese markets, due to Ruby Lin's unwavering popularity in Asia. Beauty's Rival in Palace is another milestone in Lin's career.

Challenge : 2010–2011

In May 2010, her first stage play, Sweet Sweet Love, began a Chinese tour. The play is based on the 1996 Hong Kong romantic film Comrades: Almost a Love Story, which starred Maggie Cheung and Leon Lai. During its three-month run, it was performed in four cities: Shanghai, Beijing, Hangzhou and Shenzhen. Due to popular demand, a fifth city (Nanchang) was added.

In June, Lin played a psychiatrist in the romantic film You Deserve To Be Single with Mike He and David Wu. For her performance, Lin was nominated for the 2010 Shanghai International Film Festival Press Prize as Best Actress. She also won the 2010 Vietnam DAN Movie Award for Favorite Taiwanese Actress. After that, Lin starred in Zhang Yang's film Driverless as a self-motivated businesswomen. Director Zhang Yang commented, "Ruby has a rare ability, all her emotions seem genuine". She received critical acclaim for her performance by audiences and media - "Without a doubt, Ruby Lin's wonderful range of emotions really steals the show. She delicately unveils the depths of a struggle during hard time of her life, both strong and brave yet desire to be protected."

After the success of Beauty's Rival in Palace, Lin was cast a starring role for well-known Chinese TV series by director Gao Xixi. This series Monopoly Exposure was written by Hai Yan (海岩), many of whose books have been successfully adapted for TV dramas.

2010 was a successful year for Lin. She won the Most Popular Actress award (voted online by residents of Asian countries) at the 5th Seoul International Drama Awards. According to Yahoo Korea, Lin was voted best actress with 17,358 votes followed by Fan Bingbing, Li Kun Wang and Yao Chen. Also in late 2010, Lin won the Favorite Actress of the Year award for her performance in Beauty's Rival in Palace at the annual TV Drama Awards Made in China and the QQ Annual Entertainment Star award. For her achievements in films and television series, Korean media dubbed her Taiwan's number-one actress and goddess of ancient Chinese series.

In January 2011, Lin started her first project The Glamorous Imperial Concubine as a producer. This series achieved excellent ratings and Lin won "Best producer of the year" award. She was also nominated as Best TV actress at the 2012 Huading Awards. Lin returned to the film industry again, playing a mom with two kids in the film Blood Stained Shoes, directed by Raymond Yip. The film ranked 2nd on "Top 10 box-office ranking in Chinese horror film chart". The media said that Lin's image was far removed from that which she has previously portrayed in other works.

In October 2011, Lin started on her second production, Taiwanese idol drama Drama Go! Go! Go! which co-starred Jiro Wang and Lin Gengxin. The series was released in November 2012. Lin's performance was well received by audiences and audience named Drama Go! Go! Go! as one of the most anticipated TV series of 2012.

Producing: 2012–2018

thumb|left|Lin in 2012

In March 2012, Lin was crowned Most Influential TV Actress at the 2012 annual Jeanwest Entertainment Awards. She also received a nomination at the Huading Awards as Best TV Actress for her performance in The Glamorous Imperial Concubine.

She then started filming for The Patriot Yue Fei, a 60-episode historical drama about the downfall of General Yue Fei in the Song dynasty. Lin portrayed the wife of General Yue Fei, played by Huang Xiaoming.

On April 27, 2012, Lin announced her third project television film Forgotten as producer and main actress. She played a married couple in the show with Christopher Lee, where their marriage started to fall apart due to a lack of communication and personality differences, and an unexpected accident changes their life entirely. It was scheduled to be first released in Taiwan on May 26, 2012. In Forgotten, critics and audiences praised Lin's performance as breakthrough. Xinhua News (Xinhua News Agency) states "Ruby Lin is recognized as one of the best promising producer. Also as actress, she is in a different class from others."

In addition, Youku Tudou Inc, the largest video-sharing website in China, bought copyright of TV series and films that were produced by Lin. Lin officially announced the news during the 18th Shanghai Television Festival.

On August 8, 2012, Lin was honored as Best Producer at the 2012 Asian Idol Awards for The Glamorous Imperial Concubine.

In December 2012, Lin was announced as one of the highest paid Chinese celebrities of the year, ranking 5th. She managed to earn over 90 million RMB this year through her studio alone. She also came in 2nd on the Taiwan's top-earning drama actors list, with a yearly income of 278 million NTD.

In August 2013, Lin won Most Favorite Actress at the 8th Beijing Film Festival for Youth Welfare. Except for some public appearances, Lin spent much time doing pre-production work for the drama Singing All Along, based on Li Xin's romantic novel series Xiuli Jiangshan.

In April 2014, Lin won the Outstanding Actress award at 1st China Television Star Awards by CTAC (China Television Artists Committee Actors Committee).

In May 2014, as producer and main actress, Lin came back to Taiwan with the television film Mother Mother, playing a role of an aggressive mother. Lin stated that she will continue to film one Taiwanese series per year. The same year, Lin starred in the romance TV series The Way We Were. This drama marks Lin's return to Taiwan television after a 10-year absence. As main actress and producer, Lin received favorable comments from both critics and audiences. The series not only received high viewer ratings, but was also selected as one of the most popular Taiwanese dramas of 2014 by many of media review. Within a day of release, it reached over 24 million views on the mainland Chinese video sharing site iQiyi. Since its debut on July 19, the drama has stayed within the top two on iQiyi's most popular dramas list.

On March 1, 2015, Estée Lauder Companies announced that Lin was their new brand ambassador for Taiwan region, and Lin was also selected as spokesperson for HTC.

After finished filming Raymond Yip's film Phantom of the Theatre in Shanghai, Lin joined the cast of the licensed remake of the Korean variety show We Got Married, titled We Are In Love. In November, Lin gained her first Asian Television Awards nomination for Best Actress with her performance in The Way We Were following a first Golden Bell Awards nomination on September.

In early 2016, Lin won Huading Awards for Best Actress in a TV Series and the Woman's Media Award for Most Influential Woman of the Year. In April 2016, Lin starred in Magical Space-time, a time-travel TV series directed by Fu-Hsiang Hsu. Lin also cast in adventure film The Precipice Game, playing the role of the woman who turns into a battle for survival.

In March 2017, Lin returned to work after halting work since December to prepare for labour. She played an affectionate mother who is willing to put her life on the line to protect her daughter in mystery-thriller The Devotion of Suspect X, adapted from Japanese author Keigo Higashino's award-winning novel with the same title. The film is a reunion between Alec Su and Ruby Lin who starred in 2004 in Magic Touch of Fate, a TV series in China. In May, Lin announced her comeback in a Taiwanese drama world with romance TV series My Dear Boy, which she is also producing.

On November 15, 2018, Lin's newest project, Miss Andy, clinched the MM2 Creativity Award at the Golden Horse Film Project Promotion Awards Ceremony. The award came with a grant of USD $10,000, a welcome relief for her first venture as a movie producer. Filming is scheduled to commence in April 2019, and will take place in Malaysia. According to the media, Lin will also take on the role of a Vietnamese illegal worker for the movie.

Recently: 2019–present

thumb|Lin at the 57th Golden Bell Awards in October 2022

In 2020, after stay in Malaysia almost 2 months for new film Miss Andy, Lin starred Taiwanese Netflix original series The Victims' Game as special guest. The series dominating Netflix's Chinese language programming list for many consecutive days, achieving a high score of 8.0/10 on China's Douban website. And also, Lin's performance received well acclaim, for such a complex and disturbing character. The reviewer for Asianfilmstrike said "The series’ace in the hole is Ruby Lin, who's only a presence in the final episodes, and in a role we dare not reveal: she sheds her smooth and pretty image completely, in an impressively somber and chilling turn."

In 2020, Lin starred in the modern drama The Arc of Life as the female lead and producer. According to the Appledaily, Lin ranked 5th on The Highest-Paid Taiwanese Actor Of 2020 list despite turning down multiple job offers in China.

In 2021, Netflix acquired the rights to Light the Night, a three-part series set in 1988 Taipei Red Light District. Lin was one of the producers and female leads in this series.

Ruby Lin Studio

In 2009, Lin establishing her own production company, Ruby Lin Studio (). Taiwan media reports that the company will deal with all aspects of the actress's career, including acting, singing and film roles. Till 2016, 2 artists - Miku Chang & Yang Zhiwen - and 1 director Fu-Hsiang Hsu are under Ruby Lin Studio. As a producer, she can have a lot more control over the entire TV project - overseeing the scripting process, hiring and casting. Lin stated, "I just kept getting offered the same type of role. Being an actress, you cannot really do much. Actresses can only wait for the roles to come."" "Now I can choose everything myself, whether it's the roles or the director that I want to work with or the cast that I want to feature. I feel much more in control over what I get to do." Despite the accolades from sitting in the producer's chair, she insists that acting will still be her "top priority".