Fala Chen

Early life and education Chen was born on 24 February 1982, and raised in Chengdu, Sichuan, China until the age of 14, when she immigrated to Atlanta, Georgia, United States with her parents. Graduating from high school within the top 10 of her cohort, she went on to pursue a course in Marketing and International Business in Emory University's Goizueta Business School in May 2005.

During her college-term-breaks, Chen took part in several pageants as a means to pay for her tuition fees. Amongst them was the Miss Chinese International Pageant 2005 hosted in Hong Kong by TVB where she represented New York City after winning Miss New York Chinese 2004. She won 1st runner-up, kicking off her career in entertainment.

In 2014, Chen began a 4-year Master of Fine Arts in Drama (MFA) Program at the Juilliard School in New York City. She graduated in May 2018.

Career Television 2005–06: Entry to the TV scene In 2005, Chen began her professional acting career when she signed an 8-year contract with TVB. She started out as a host on numerous variety shows on TVB's Mandarin channel TVB8, before making her acting debut in the TVB series Forensic Heroes guest starring as a murderess.

2007–09: Breakthrough

In 2007, after starring in Heart of Greed, The Family Link, and Steps, Chen won her first acting award in the Best Supporting Actress category for her role in Steps. The role landed her nominations in the "Best Supporting Actress" and "My Favorite Female Character" categories for the second year in a row.

In 2009, Chen was nominated again for the "Best Supporting Actress" and "My Favorite Female Character" categories for her role in The Stew of Life.

2010–13: Leading-roles and entry to the music scene

In 2010, Chen was cast in TVB's grand production series No Regrets as second female lead, securing her position as one of Hong Kong's celebrated new actresses, alongside Tavia Yeung, Linda Chung, Myolie Wu, and Kate Tsui. The role won her the Best Supporting Actress Award at the TVB Anniversary Awards and Best Actress in a Supporting Role at the 16th Asian Television Awards.

She later took on roles as the first female lead in productions including Lives of Omission, Queens of Diamonds and Hearts, and Triumph in the Skies II. Lives of Omission (2011) was a distant sequel to the 2009 film Turning Point in which Chen had also acted in as the sister of a triad boss. Queens of Diamonds and Hearts (2012) allowed Chen to experiment with looking 'ugly' on screen as her character Chung Mo Yim, based on historical figure Zhongli Chun, was born with a prominent birth mark on her face. Chen played the role of Holiday Ho in Triumph in the Skies II —a free-spirited punk girl who aspires to fly—who became emotionally entangled between two male leads, Captain Samuel Tong played by Francis Ng and Captain Jayden Koo played by Julian Cheung. Chen also starred in 2013's Will Power alongside veteran actors Wayne Lai and Moses Chan where she played the role of Sam Yuet Kan, a junior barrister with a tough personality.

Her contract with TVB ended in mid 2013 and Chen became a self-managed artiste.

2014: Entry into China's TV industry

Chen acted in her first mainland Chinese drama series, Sound of the Desert, where she played the role of Li Yan.

Chen starred in the Cantonese version of Despicable Me 3 as the voice of Lucy Wilde, an Anti-Villain League agent, Gru's wife and the girls' adoptive mother. Doing voiceover for an animation film for the first time, Chen commented that it requires a lot of energy and precision to sync with the character's lip movement and it takes capturing the unique sounds and myriad of nuances in personality to bring the character to life.

2015: Films pending release Chen concluded filming for The Treasure, directed by Gordon Chan and Ronald Tsang.

2021: American feature debut Chen made her American film debut after being cast in the Marvel Cinematic Universe feature film Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings as Ying Li. The movie is directed by Destin Daniel Cretton, and opened in theaters on 3 September 2021.

Theatre 2013–16: Stage debut Ever since Chen's contract with Television Broadcasts Limited (TVB) concluded in 2013, she went on to pursue a 4-year Master of Fine Arts in Drama (MFA) Program at Juilliard School with the passion and determination to better herself as a professional artiste. The MFA Program only accepts 8 to 10 students each year, and encompasses areas such as production, directing, playwriting, pedagogy, and current trends in American and World Theater.

Chen's debut on the theatre stage came in 2016 with Skylight - the premiere of Chinese adaptation of the 1995 British play written by David Hare that debuted in West End and Broadway. The play was scheduled to run for 24 shows at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, but due to overwhelming responses, 11 additional shows were added, making that a total of 35 shows running across 1 July 2016 to 14 August 2016. Starring alongside Dayo Wong and Terrance Lau, Skylight was a sold-out show within a few hours, and it received plenty of raving positive reviews including praises for Chen's performance as a theatre actor.

Music Starting in 2009, Chen has been sporadically participating in the music scene, singing theme songs for The Stew of Life, Links to Temptation, and Queens of Diamonds and Hearts.

2012: First album - Beautiful Life In 2010, Chen signed under Stars Shine International and subsequently launched her first Canto-pop debut album, Beautiful Life, released on 31 July 2012. Some of the highlights from the album are "", "", and "Beautiful Life". Among these songs, "" was the first plugged song which garnered her awards in the Best Newcomer category across various music platforms such as 2012 TVB8 Golden Music Awards for the Bronze Award, 2012 Jade Solid Gold Best Ten Music Awards Presentation, and "2013 IFPI Hong Kong Top Sales Music Awards".

Within a week from the launch of her album, it had climbed up to first place on HMV's 'Asian Album Top Sales Chart'.

Her contract with Stars Shine International ended in 2012.

Endorsements Chen was the spokesperson for Olay in mainland China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. She was also Hong Kong Cancer Fund’s Pink Ambassador for the Pink Revolution Campaign, held every October to promote breast cancer awareness and raise funds to support free services for patients and their families.

Personal life In 2008, Chen married Hong Kong businessman (later actor) Daniel Sit. In 2011, she brought Sit to attend a church sermon delivered by friend and No Regrets costar Sheren Tang, hoping to expose him to the Christian faith. The couple divorced in 2013.

In 2019, Chen married French entrepreneur Emmanuel Straschnov. In February 2021, she announced that she had given birth to a daughter. On 18 March 2024, Chen announced via Instagram that she had given birth to a son.

Filmography Television HBO Miniseries 2022Irma VepCynthia KengHBO Miniseries

Film Year Title Role Notes/2009 Turning Point 《Laughing Gor之变节》 Karen and Jodie Nominated - Hong Kong Film Award for Best New Performer 2010 Black Ransom《撕票風雲》 Superintendent Koo 72 Tenants of Prosperity 《72家租客》 Xiu Tou Hung 小桃紅 2011 I Love Hong Kong 《我愛HK 開心萬歲》 Lee Kei (Nikki) 李琪 The Fortune Buddies《勁抽褔祿壽》 Sister Man蚊姐 2013 Tales from the Dark 2《奇幻夜》 Chow Jing Ee 2015 Secret Treasure 2017 Despicable Me 3 Lucy Wilde Cantonese dub 2021 Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings Ying LiDweller-in-Darkness (voice) 2024 Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire Iwi Queen Peg O' My Heart Fiona 2025 Lucky Lu Si Yu Ballad of a Small Player Dao Ming 2026 Bloodline Director Short film

Theatre Year Title Role Notes2016 Skylight 《前度》 Kyra Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts

Discography

Albums Year Album title Album Information 2012 Beautiful Life Release date: 31 July 2012Label: Star Shine InternationalDebut Album

Awards

2002 Miss Asian America 2002

2003 Miss Chinatown USA 2003 - 1st runner up (officially known as Miss Chinese Chamber of Commerce 2003)

2004 Miss NY Chinese 2004 - Best MTV, Best Costume, and Miss Photogenic

2005 Miss Chinese International 2005 - 1st runner up

2007 TVB Anniversary Awards 2007 - Best Supporting Actress (Steps - Ching Ka-Man (Karmen)) Next TV Awards 2007: Hekura Most Self-confident New Actress

2008 Next TV Awards 2008: Hekura Acting Improvement Award Next TV Awards 2008: Most Promising Female Artist

2009 Next TV Awards 2009: Hekura Stylish Female Artist StarHub TVB Awards 2009: My Favorite TVB Female Character (Moonlight Resonance - Gum Wing Hing)

2010 TVB Anniversary Awards 2010 - Best Supporting Actress (No Regrets - Lau Ching) My AOD Malaysia My Favourite TVB Series Presentation 2010: Best Supporting Actress (No Regrets - Lau Ching) Next TV Awards: Top 10 Artist (No. 10)

2011 16th Asian Television Award - Best Actress in a Supporting Role (No Regrets - Lau Ching) StarHub TVB Awards 2011: My Favorite TVB Female Character (No Regrets - Lau Ching) Starhub TVB Awards 2011: Perfect Smile Award My AOD Malaysia My Favourite TVB Series Presentation 2011: My Favourite Top 15 Characters (Lives of Omission - Jodie) My AOD Malaysia My Favourite TVB Series Presentation 2011: My Favourite Onscreen Couple (Lives of Omission - Fala Chen and Michael Tse) Next TV Awards: Top 10 Artist (No. 9)

2012 StarHub TVB Awards 2012: My Favorite TVB Female Character (Queens of Diamonds and Hearts - Chung Mo-Yim) 2012 TVB8 Golden Music Awards: Best Newcomer Award (Bronze) 2012 Jade Solid Gold Best Ten Music Awards Presentation: Newcomer Impact Award

2013 TVB Star Awards Malaysia 2013: Favourite TVB Character (Triumph in the Skies 2 - Holiday) 2013 10th Huading Awards: Best Chinese Actress in TV Series (Queen of Diamonds and Hearts) 2013 IFPI Hong Kong Top Sales Music Awards: Best Newcomer Award