Ma Yili

In this Chinese name, the family name is Ma.

Ma Yili (Chinese: 马伊琍, born 29 June 1976) is a Chinese actress. She is known for her roles in the television series My Fair Princess III (2003), Qiao's Grand Courtyard (2006), Struggle (2007), The First Half of My Life (2017) and Blossoms Shanghai (2023), as well as the film B for Busy (2021).

Ma Yili
马伊琍
Ma Yili at the 14th FIRST International Film Festival Red Carpet in August 2020
Born	(1976-06-29) 29 June 1976 (age 48) Hongkou District, Shanghai, China
Alma mater	Shanghai Theatre Academy
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1996–present
Agent	Easy Entertainment
Spouse	Wen Zhang ​ ​ (m. 2008; div. 2019)​
Children	2
Chinese name
Simplified Chinese	马伊琍
Traditional Chinese	馬伊琍
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Mǎ Yīlì

Ma ranked 42nd on Forbes China Celebrity 100 list in 2019.^[1]

Early life

Ma was born in Hongkou District, Shanghai on June 29, 1976, with her ancestral home in Rudong County, Nantong, Jiangsu.^[2] She entered Shanghai Theatre Academy in 1994, majoring in acting, and graduated in 1998.^[3]

Career

Ma started her acting career in the 1996 television series Vacuum Love Records, in which her sweet appearance and strong-willed character left a deep impression on the audience.^[4] However in the next few years, Ma maintained a low profile on screen.^[5]

Ma regained attention through the television series Long Live Our Dreams (2000) and Black Hole (2001) and the film Eyes of a Beauty (2001). She actually shaved her head for her role in Long Live Our Dreams. She gained further popularity after she played the role of Ziwei in the third season of the popular drama My Fair Princess (2003). Next came the hit series Qiao's Grand Courtyard (2006), where Ma played a innocent girl who matures through a painful romance.^[6] She then starred in the highly popular youth series Struggle (2007). Ma's role as a passionate, direct and optimistic young woman resonated with the thoughts of the young generation, and shot her to widespread fame.^[7][8]

Following her breakthrough, Ma has won various honors and awards, such as the Golden Phoenix Award and Huading Award, and the Best Actress award at the Changchun Film Festival for her role in Life Today (2007),^[9] Best Actress award at the Asia Rainbow TV Awards for her role in Marriage Battle (2010)^[10] and Best Supporting Actress award at the China Image Film Festival for her role in Tracks Kong Lingxue (2011).^[11]

Ma then starred in Two City One Family (2011), which reflects the differences of a couple who come from different cities in China. Ma, who is of Shanghai descent, successfully portrayed the role of a Beijing young lady,^[12] and clinched the Best Actress award at the China TV Drama Awards.^[13] She then starred in both seasons of Puberty Hit Menopause (2013) which earned high ratings; as well as family drama Little Daddy (2013), directed by her husband Wen Zhang and which she serves as producer.^{[citation needed]}

In 2015, Ma starred in Swan Dive for Love, a series that narrates the story of a white-collar couple striving to make themselves richer amid a series of challenges.^[14] She won the Best Actress award at the Huading Awards for her portrayal of a determined and strong-minded career woman.^[15] The following year, she starred in Chinese Style Relationship, a critically acclaimed comedy-drama that depicts three Chinese couples as the navigate through life and love.^[16] Ma was nominated for Best Actress at the Shanghai Television Festival.^[17]

In 2017, Ma starred in romance/family drama The First Half of My Life. Opposite from her usual strong characters, Ma played a struggling housewife in the series.^[18] The television series was a major ratings hit in China and was hotly debated on social media sites like Weibo.^[19]

In 2018, Ma played a supporting role in the female-centric war film Goddesses in the Flames of War, reportedly receiving no wages for the film.^[20][21] She won the Best Supporting Actress award at the China Movie Channel Media Awards for her performance.^[22] Another film which stars in, Enter the Forbidden City won the award for Best Film.^[22] The same year, she starred in the mystery film Lost, Found alongside Yao Chen; a remake of the Korean film Missing;^[23] as well as crime film The Road Not Taken.^[24]

In 2023, Ma starred in Blossoms Shanghai, adapted from Jin Yucheng's novel of the same title.^[25]

Other activities

Ma was appointed the National Ambassador for UNICEF China in 2015.^[26]

Personal life

While at the Shanghai Theatre Academy in 1996, Ma dated a senior student for a year. They broke up amicably when Ma entered her senior year and the boy graduated. In 1999, Ma was introduced to director Guan Hu through a friend. In 2000, Guan invited Ma to join the cast of his TV drama Black Hole, and the two began a relationship for four years. They broke up in 2004.

Ma met Wen Zhang when filming together Zhang Li's historical drama Blades in 2005. In 2006, when filming TV series Struggle, Ma was pursued at the same time by her co-stars Wen Zhang and Tong Dawei. She, however, went to date Zhang Bo, Wen's college classmate, soon after when shooting the TV series Where is Happiness. Upon learning of Ma's relationship with Zhang, Wen ended his then relationship and renewed his pursuit of Ma, causing a rift between him and Zhang. Ma left Zhang for Wen, though they briefly broke up in early 2007. They quietly registered their marriage in 2008 without having a ceremony or informing their agencies. On 20 September 2008, they have their first daughter, Wen Zhujun (Ima). In August 2013, when Ma was pregnant with her second child, Wen Zhang and actress Yao Di had an extramarital affair. On July 28, 2019, they announced their divorce on Sina Weibo.^[27][28]

Filmography

Film

Year	English title	Chinese title	Role	Notes
1993	Liu Haisu	刘海粟	Chen Xiaojun
1999	Glass is Transparent	玻璃是透明的	Xiao Yazi
	Kong Yiji	孔乙己	Song Hanyu
	Liao Zhai: Xi Fangping	聊斋之席方平	Du Yucui
2001	Love at First Sight	一见钟情	Ju Zi
	Eyes of a Beauty	西施眼	Shi Yu
2003	Sleepless City	危情雪夜	Su Bao
2007	Life Today	江北好人	Zhao Xiaoyun	[29]
2011	Tracks Kong Lingxue	跟踪孔令学	Yang Qiuyue	[30]
	Love Is Not Blind	失恋33天		Cameo
2012	Cold War	寒战	Liu Jiehui's wife	[31]
2013	Badges of Fury	不二神探	Policewoman	Cameo
2016	Cold War 2	寒战2	Chen Xue'er	[32]
	When Larry Met Mary	陆垚知马俐		Cameo
2017	The Founding of an Army	建军大业	Xiang Jingyu	[33]
2018	Goddesses in the Flames of War	那些女人
	The Road Not Taken	未择之路	Xiao Mei
	Lost, Found	找到你	Sun Fang
2019	Enter the Forbidden City	进京城		[34]
	My People, My Country	我和我的祖国		[35]

Television series

Year	English title	Chinese title	Role	Notes
1994		哈雷哈雷	Teacher Yin
1995	Sculpture of Life	生命的雕塑		Cameo
1996	Vacuum Love Records	真空爱情记录	Xia Wenxin
1997	Heaven Warriors	天国洋将	Yang Zhenmei
1998	The Puppetmaster	戏梦人生	Chang Qingzhen
	Children of China	中华儿女	Hua Rui
	Years in Hong Kong	香港岁月	Xiao Fang
2000	Long Live Our Dreams	理想万岁	Xia Xiaoyan
	Previous And Present Life	前世今生	Qin Wanying/Shen Xiaohui
	Our Citizens	咱老百姓之爱要明媚	Lin Yali
	Sleepless Tonight	今夜无眠	Li Xiu
	Perfect Wedding Guide	完全婚姻手册之老公自家好	Wang Che
2001	Black Hole	黑洞	Xiao Yun
	Happy Family	幸福家庭	Pan Min
	Return Me the Passion	还我激情	Jin Jiali
2002	Always Keep in Mind	永远的铭记	Shen Xuanqing	[36]
	The Eloquent Ji Xiaolan 2	铁齿铜牙纪晓岚2	Yan Ruyu
2003	My Fair Princess III	还珠格格3	Xia Ziwei
	Yes, I Love You	谁都会说我爱你	Lin Juruo
2004	Seven Samurai	七武士	Mei Xiaoyao
	Seven Days	七日	Shao Jingran
2005	Sister Wu	五妹	Sister Wu	[37]
2006	Blue Sea	碧海深沉		Cameo
	Qiao's Grand Courtyard	乔家大院	Jiang Xueying
	Wine Alley	酒巷深深	Gu Yu
	Library	天一生水	Lin Ruoyun/ Xie Mingni
	The Moon and The Sunshine	月牙儿与阳光	Zhang Xiaoyue	[38]
	The Jinyiwei Guard	锦衣卫	Noble Consort Zheng	[39]
2007	Don't Say Love Is Bitter	别说爱情苦	Yu Diqing
	Struggle	奋斗	Xia Lin
	Where Is Happiness	幸福在哪里	Qi Ruogu	[40]
2008	Silent Beauty	美丽无声	A Ju	[41]
	Locking Love	锁春记	Zhuang Zhiyan	[42]
2009	Second Brother	二哥		Cameo
2010	Marriage Battle	婚姻保卫战	Li Mei
	King of Silk	经纬天地	Liang Shun'er	[43]
	Puberty Hit Menopause	青春期撞上更年期	He Fei'er
2011	Two City One Family	双城生活	Hao Jingni
2012	Beautiful Day	风和日丽	Yang Xiaoyi	[44]
2013	Puberty Hit Menopause 2	青春期撞上更年期2	He Fei'er	[45]
	Little Daddy	小爸爸	Li Sanmei
2015	Swan Dive for Love	北上广不相信眼泪	Pan Yun
2016	Chinese Style Relationship	中国式关系	Shen Yinan
2017	Razor	剃刀边缘	Guan Haidan	[46]
	The First Half of My Life	我的前半生	Luo Zijun
2019	On the Road	在远方	Lu Xiaoou	[47]
2020	Miss S	旗袍美探	Su Wenli	[48]
2021	Quiet Among Disquiet	安静	Lin Mo	[49]
2023		好事成双
2023	Blossoms Shanghai	繁花	Ling Zi
2024	To the Wonder	我的阿勒泰	Zhang Fengxia	[50]

Awards and nominations

Year	Nominated work	Award	Category	Result	Ref.
2008	Life Today	15th Beijing College Student Film Festival	Best Actress	Nominated
		9th Changchun Film Festival		Won	[9]
2009		2nd Huading Awards		Won	[51]
		12th Golden Phoenix Awards	Society Award	Won	[52]
2011	Marriage Battle	1st Asia Rainbow TV Awards	Best Actress in a Comedy Role	Won	[10]
	Tracks Kong Lingxue	3rd China Image Film Festival	Best Supporting Actress	Won	[11]
	Two City One Family	2nd China TV Drama Awards	Best Actress	Won	[13]
2016	Swan Dive for Love	19th Huading Awards	Best Actress	Won	[15]
	Chinese Style Relationship	6th China TV Drama Awards	Outstanding Actress	Won
2017		23rd Shanghai Television Festival	Best Actress	Nominated	[17]
	The First Half of My Life	4th Hengdian Film and TV Festival of China	Best Actress	Won	[53]
2018		24th Shanghai Television Festival	Best Actress	Won	[54]
	Goddesses in the Flames of War	8th China Movie Channel Media Awards	Best Supporting Actress	Won	[22]
	The Road Not Taken	75th Venice Film Festival	Focus China: Actress Award	Won	[55]
2019	Lost, Found	10th China Film Director's Guild Awards	Best Actress	Won	[56]
		25th Huading Awards	Best Actress	Won	[57]
		17th Golden Phoenix Awards	Society Award	Won	[58]
		32nd Golden Rooster Awards	Best Actress	Nominated	[59]
	The Road Not Taken	11th Macau International Movie Festival	Best Actress	Nominated	[60]
	On The Road	Golden Bud - The Fourth Network Film And Television Festival	Best Actress	Nominated	[61]
2020		Best Choice of Multi-Screen Communication	Influential Actress	Won	[62]
		26th Shanghai Television Festival	Best Actress	Nominated	[63]
	Miss S	29th Huading Awards	Best Actress (Contemporary Drama)	Won	[64]
2022	Myth of Love	13th China Film Director's Guild Awards	Best Actress	Nominated	[65]