Five child stars in China who made it in show business, from the girl who ‘sang’ at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, to actress in a Stephen Chow film
- The eyes of the world were on Lin Miaoke when she lip-synched a song at the opening ceremony for the 2008 Olympics. She did some acting, and is a student now
- Guan Xiaotong was in a TV series aged four, and went on to attend Beijing Film Academy. Xu Jiao made her debut in a Stephen Chow film and later appeared in more
For some child stars, the loss of childhood innocence and privacy is too high a price to pay for fame, and they disappear from public view. For those who survive the pressure and constant public scrutiny, their early debuts give them a head start in an intensely competitive industry.
Here are five Chinese child stars who went on to have successful careers.
Guan Xiaotong
The hugely popular 23-year-old actress (and girlfriend of heartthrob Lu Han) comes from a show business family: her father, Guan Shaozeng, is an actor and her mother, Li Jun, a theatre actress.
She first appeared in TV crime drama Yan Hai Chen Fu (2004). It started production in 2001, when Guan was four. In 2005, she got a role in epic fantasy film The Promise, which was directed by Chen Kaige and stars Cecilia Cheung Pak-chi. Her breakthrough role was as a devoted daughter in the 2014 television series A Servant of Two Masters.
