S1E1: Chinese drama My Fair Princess: The cast's dramatic off-screen lives

The Straits Times Podcasts

It is one of the most famous Chinese period dramas ever, but where are the members of its main cast now?

Synopsis: How Did We Get Here is a new scripted series under the #PopVultures banner, where host Jan Lee will deep dive into a celebrity, a band or the cast of a movie or film that made an impact on Asian entertainment and how they got to where they are now.

There is a good argument to be made that the most famous Chinese drama ever aired is the Qing dynasty period royal romance My Fair Princess, best known for its first two seasons aired in 1998 and 1999.

The story is about a case of mistaken identity. An orphaned street urchin named Xiaoyanzi accidentally becomes a princess in place of her friend, the Qing emperor Qianlong’s illegitimate daughter Ziwei.

The series broke viewership records, became extremely popular across Asia and was an unprecedented hit that turned its main cast members into household names - Vicki Zhao, Ruby Lin, Alec Su, Zhou Jie, Fan Bingbing and Julian Chen.

Now, 26 years since the drama first aired - a lot has happened to the main cast. Two have been effectively cancelled by the Chinese government, one has apparently become a successful farmer, one is widely disliked by Chinese netizens and one quite literally got "burnt".

#PopVultures host Jan Lee discusses How Did We Get Here.

Highlights (click/tap above):

1:20 Introduction about My Fair Princess

4:11 How the series got cast and its impact on Asian entertainment

11:57 What happened to Julian Chen?

14:16 What happened to Alec Su?

17:16 Is there a feud between Ruby Lin and Zhou Jie?

28:03 The cancellation of Fan Bingbing

35:12 The many troubles of Vicki Zhao and her eventual downfall

Produced by: Jan Lee ([e-mail]) Amirul Karim

Edited by: Amirul Karim

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Kapitler

1. Chinese drama My Fair Princess: The cast's dramatic off-screen lives (00:00:00)

2. Intro to My Fair Princess (00:01:20)

3. The cast & impact on Asian entertainment (00:04:11)

4. What happened to Julian Chen? (00:11:57)

5. What happened to Alec Su? (00:14:16)

6. Is there a feud between Ruby Lin and Zhou Jie? (00:17:16)

7. The cancellation of Fan Bingbing (00:28:03)

8. The troubles of Vicki Zhao and her downfall (00:35:12)