Biography.guide
Home › People › Actor › Yan Ni
Portrait of Yan Ni

Yan Ni

b. 1971

Chinese actress

Don't just read it — keep itBiographies to ownE-book · Audio · Video From $7 →

About Yan Ni

Born 1971. Yan Ni is a Chinese actor.

Yan Ni (; born 10 March 1971 in Xi'an, Shaanxi), born Yan Kaiyan , is a Chinese film and television actress. She works for the Television Art center of the People's Liberation Army Air Force.

Yan ranked 54th on Forbes China Celebrity 100 list in 2015.

Biography

Yan Ni was born in Xi'an, Shaanxi. Yan's parents are ordinary workers, and all her family still live in Xi'an. After high school, she enrolled at a financial college to study accounting. Two years later she succeeded in gaining admission to an art organization of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) in Lanzhou, and then went on to enroll at the PLA's Art School in Beijing.

Yan started acting in 1992. In 1999 she had her first cinematic role, playing Qiqoqiqo Ma in the film Cog and Hen. Yan rose to fame for her role as Tong Xiangyu in My Own Swordsman, an 80 episode TV comedy-drama that tells the story of the happenings in a tavern during the Ming Dynasty. After My Own Swordsman she played secretary Xiang Yunxiu in National Action and played Niu Xianhua in The North Wind. Yan was awarded a Golden Eagle Award in 2010 for her role in The Wind From North.

In 2011 Yan had a supporting role in director Dayyan Eng's bilingual film Inseparable, which starred Oscar-winner Kevin Spacey. The film premiered at the Busan International Film Festival and was released in cinemas in China and other territories worldwide. In 2017 she reunited with her The North Wind co-star Xia Yu and director Dayyan Eng to star in the fantasy/comedy Wished, which debuted at the box office with the highest audience scores across the top four ticketing platforms for local Chinese comedies released that summer.

Yan will next be seen in the 2021 Hong Kong film Reindeer alongside Hu Ge.

In 2017, he appeared in the TV drama Mr. Right (also known as The Master of the House).

In November 2019, she was nominated for Best Actress in a Contemporary Chinese TV Drama at the 26th Huading Awards, based on audience satisfaction with the top 100 Chinese TV dramas, for her performance in Growing Pain.

In August 2020, she won the Best Leading Actress award at the 26th Magnolia Awards for her performance in Growing Pain.

In 2022, she starred in the film The Final Truth.

Personal life Yan has an ex-husband and daughter, who is also an actress.

Filmography

Film

Television series

Accolades

Biography shop

Don’t just read it —
keep it.

Full-length biographies made to live with: read them, listen on the way to work, watch them tonight.

  • E-book
  • Audio
  • Video
Browse the shop — from $7

Instant download · yours to keep · every purchase keeps this site free

Important facts

Birth century
Occupation
Education
People's Liberation Army Academy of Art
Awards
Magnolia Award for Best Actress in a Television Series
Also known as
Yan Kaiyan, Ni Yan

People in Yan Ni's life

Named in this biography and alive at the same time

Contemporaries

People whose lives overlapped Yan Ni's

Frequently asked questions

Who is Yan Ni?

Chinese actress

When was Yan Ni born?

Yan Ni was born on 10 March 1971 in Xi'an.

What is Yan Ni's occupation?

Yan Ni is an actor.

What nationality is Yan Ni?

Yan Ni is Chinese.

Sources & further reading

· Wikipedia: Yan Ni

· Wikidata: Q8048168

· DBpedia: Yan Ni (actress)

Cite this page

APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Yan Ni. https://biography.guide/yan-ni-actor/

MLA: "Yan Ni." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/yan-ni-actor/.

Chicago: "Yan Ni." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/yan-ni-actor/.

Data last updated: 2026-09-22 · Spot an error? Report a correction.

Page generated 2026-09-27 05:22 UTC