Tong Yao

On August 11, 1985, Tong was born in Kunming, Yunnan.[1]

In 1996, she attended the Chinese Song and Dance Art School in Beijing. She returned to Kunming in the following year, when she was accepted to Kunming Art School. She spent a year studying Hulusi, which is a free reed wind instrument from China and the Shan State. She entered the Central Academy of Drama in 2002, majoring in acting.[2][3]

In 2002, Tong made her television debut in Tracks In The Snowy Forest, playing a health worker in the Northeast Democratic United Army named Bai Ru.[4]

In 2006, Tong amassed a member of television credits namely My Sun, Walking Duster, and Life of Dragon and Tiger.[5][6] She had a minor role as Pan Ying in The Young Warriors, a historical television series.[7]

Tong had a cameo appearance in Moonlight Lady (2007), a historical television series based on the real life on Song dynasty poet Li Qingzhao. That same year, she also appeared in Repeat an Error and I Want to Understand You.[8]

In 2008, she co-starred with Lin Shen in the romantic comedy film Afraid to Say Love You, which is her film debut.[9] In the following year, Tong appeared in the film Nine Dragon Jade, in which she played You Erjie.[10]

Her 2010 work includes Simple Dish, Lei Feng, Military Honour, Wind Up the First Pass and Qiao Longbiao.[11] That same year, she starred with Xu Shaoyang in the thriller horror film Snapper.[12]

In 2011, Tong was cast in comedy film A Big Deal.[13]

As lead actress, she co-starred Liu Wei and Ni Ping in the romantic comedy film Wings (2012).[14] And she starred as May, reuniting her with co-star Chen Bolin, who played her romantic interest, in Snowfall in Taipei, a film adaptation based on the Japanese novel of the same name.[15] That same year, she was cast in war drama Militia Ge Erdan, playing the wife of Huang Bo's character.[16]

In 2013, Tong played the female lead role in a business-themed romantic drama film Day of Redemption.[17]

Tong played Annie Yang, the lead role in Francis Sung's directed film To Love Somebody.[18] She had a supporting role in The White Haired Witch of Lunar Kingdom, a fantasy wuxia film.[19] She co-starred with Zhang Xinyi and Jiang Xin in the television series Three Bosom Girls.[20]

In 2015, she played the love interest of Li Chen's character in the television series Boys to Men.[21]

In 2016, three television work she headlined, Stepmother Xu Duoduo, My Spicy Girlfriend and Customize Happiness premiered.[22][23][24]

In 2018, Tong starred as a key supporting role in the historical drama Ruyi's Royal Love in the Palace, alongside Wallace Huo and Zhou Xun.[25][26] She gained popularity for her portrayal of the role as Gao Xiyue.[27] The same year, she starred in the period drama Like a Flowing River.[28] Her performance garnered her the Best Supporting Actress at the Magnolia Awards.[29]

In 2019, Tong was cast in the female-centric modern drama Nothing But Thirty.[30]

In 2020, Tong began filming the spy drama The Rebel.[31]

On October 1, 2019, Tong Yao and Wang Ran (王冉), seventeen years her senior, married in an ancient castle in Italy.[32] Wang Ran graduated from Harvard University and is the CEO of CEC Capital.[33]

• Tong Yao on IMDb(credit as Yao Tong)
• Tong Yao on Sina Weibo (in Chinese) (registration required)
• Tong Yao on Sinablog