Janice Wu

The Phenomenon That Began on a Campus

Janice Wu wasn't looking for the camera when she enrolled at Wuhan University. She was studying drama, and photos taken of her on campus went viral before she had a professional agent. In 2015, she played the younger version of the lead character in My Sunshine, and viewers quickly forgot the main actors to focus on her.

Audiences wanted to see more of her.

That series was the trigger for a media frenzy that the actress handled with unusual composure. In 2017, she appeared in Fighter of the Destiny alongside Luhan. The production racked up 30,000 million views on digital platforms. That's because Janice Wu has the ability to draw massive audiences without working too hard to seem like an unreachable star.

In 2018, she filmed The Brightest Star in the Sky, playing a personal assistant in the music industry. The plot was simple, but her performance avoided the over-the-top gestures that often weigh down these productions. And the gamble paid off.

The Skater Who Refused Stunt Doubles

The years 2019 and 2020 defined her status in the industry with Le Coup de Foudre and Skate Into Love. In the latter, she played a speed skater and spent months training on the ice so she wouldn't need stunt doubles for the competition sequences. Producers praised her physical endurance during fourteen-hour shooting days in subzero temperatures.

But the momentum came to an abrupt halt.

In 2021, her marriage to actor Zhang Yujian was confirmed, along with the news that the couple had a daughter together. The announcement came after months of speculation in the Chinese press about her disappearance from the spotlight. The actress put her private life first during a period when her career was at the peak of its commercial demand.

In February 2022, she announced her divorce in a brief social media post. There were no lengthy statements or televised dramas. She simply returned to the film sets to make up for lost time.

Her Return After a Family Silence

In 2023, she appeared in Meet Yourself in a brief role that proved crucial to the emotional development of the story. Her appearance surprised fans who were hoping for a comeback in a long-running leading role. But she preferred projects with more specific dramatic weight.

Her work in Faithful that same year showed a more mature side, far from the youthful characters that made her famous. Endorsement deals picked up again, and cosmetics brands revived her image for national campaigns.

In 2024, she worked on the series A Beautiful Lie under the direction of Li Huizhu. The production had a budget of several million yuan to recreate realistic medical settings in every episode. iQIYI oversaw the final edit of 40 episodes, which were delivered for international distribution late that year.