Ariel Lin Yi-chen (; born 29 October 1982) is a Taiwanese actress and singer. She rose to fame for her role as Yuan Xiangqin in the Taiwanese drama It Started with a Kiss (2005) and the Chinese fantasy drama The Little Fairy (2006). Lin won Best Actress at the 43rd and 47th Golden Bell Awards for her roles in They Kiss Again (2007) and In Time with You (2011) respectively.
Career
2004: Beginnings
Lin was first discovered in a Taiwanese beauty contest. She made her debut in the television drama True Love 18 (2002). Lin also starred in her first film Love Me, If You Can (2004), which earned her a nomination for Best Actress at the 40th Golden Horse Awards. She gained more popularity after starring in the idol drama series My Secret Garden II and Love Contract opposite Mike He. She also sang the theme song for Love Contract, titled "Alone in the northern hemisphere", which topped the KTV and ring tone charts for 12 weeks.
2005âÂÂ2007: Breakthrough
Lin rose to mainstream popularity for her role as Yuan Xiangqin in the popular Taiwanese idol drama It Started with a Kiss (2005). The series topped ratings in Taiwan, and was a hit across Asia.
Lin then starred in her first Chinese drama, The Little Fairy (2006) where she played the Seventh Fairy Maiden. The series was extremely popular and had high ratings, marking her successful foray into the Chinese market. The same year, she starred in Tokyo Juliet alongside Wu Chun.
Lin reunited with Joe Cheng in They Kiss Again (2007), the sequel of It Started with a Kiss. The drama had an average rating of 3.43, becoming one of the highest rated idol dramas. Lin's performance in the drama won her the Best Actress award at the 43rd Golden Bell Awards, making her the first actress in history to win the award with an idol drama. The same year, she released the single "Adventure of Lunia" as the theme song for the video game '.
2008âÂÂ2013: Continued success and singing career
Lin starred in the 2008 adaptation of Louis Cha's novel The Legend of the Condor Heroes. She plays Huang Rong, opposite her The Little Fairy co-star Hu Ge, who plays Guo Jing. She also starred in the Taiwanese drama Love or Bread, her third collaboration with Joe Cheng.
In 2009, Lin signed a three-year and three-album contract with Avex Taiwan. She released her first album, Blissful Encounter, which sold 20,000 copies within 2 days. The same year, she starred in her first theater play, The War and Peace between Men and Women.
Lin then starred in romance drama In Time with You (2011), co-starring Bolin Chen. It was the highest rated Taiwanese idol drama of the year and was extremely popular across Asia. Lin won her Golden Bell Award for Best Actress trophy for her performance in the series. She then starred alongside Feng Shaofeng in the historical drama Prince of Lan Ling (2013). In 2013, she was listed by Forbes as the 85th most influential celebrity in China.
2014âÂÂpresent: Films
Following her television career, Lin focused on films. In 2014, she starred in the crime caper Sweet Alibis alongside Alec Su. It was chosen as the Most Popular Taiwanese Film at the 6th Straits Film and Television Awards. Lin then starred in Go Lala Go 2 (2015), the sequel to the 2010 hit film Go Lala Go!. However unlike its predecessor, it was a critical and commercial flop.
Lin turned to the thriller genre in The Mysterious Family (2017), playing a rape victim who becomes psychologically scarred after the incident. The same year, she was cast in the television drama Old Boy alongside Liu Ye, marking her small-screen comeback after 4 years.
In 2018, Lin was cast in the historical drama I Will Never Let You Go as the protagonist.
Personal life
Lin was born in Yilan, Taiwan to a middle-income family. She has a younger brother. Her parents separated when she was very young and divorced when she was in high school. (Lin helped reconcile them in 2014.) Lin was raised by her mother and lived in poverty for many years. She began taking care of the family in her second year of high school after her mother suffered a cerebellar stroke. At age 18, she entered a beauty competition because she wanted to win the prize money and buy her brother a new computer. She won first place. She was also accepted to National Chengchi University, a top university in Taiwan. She graduated with a BA in Korean literature while working as an actress part-time. When she filmed in China, several of her classmates copied notes for her.
Lin is severely myopic (-7.0D) and wears contact lenses. In June 2008, Lin was diagnosed with a 2 cm cyst on her pituitary gland, following which she had an operation in February 2009.
In 2013, she decided to take a break from her career. She went to United Kingdom and obtained a Master of Arts (MA) in Acting for Screen from the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, University of London in 2014.
On 24 December 2014, Lin married businessman Charles Lin. The couple were introduced by mutual friends. On 29 September 2021, Lin announced her pregnancy hours after media broke the news. She gave birth to a girl on 18 October that year. She wrote a book during her pregnancy, which topped Books.com.tw's bestseller lists (both print and e-book) when it was published in January 2022. On 16 June 2025, she announced the birth of her second child, a son, born on June 14.
Filmography
Film
Television series
Theatre
Discography
Studio albums
Singles
Music video
- 2001:
- Believe - ç¸信 (May day - äºÂæÂÂ天) 2001
- Lonely Flight - å¯Âå¯Âé£Âè¡ (Maggie Chiang - æ±Âç¾Âçª) 2001
- Nunchuks - éÂÂæÂªæ£ (Jay Chow å¨æÂ°å«) 2001
- Paper Flight - ç´Âé£Âæ© (Sandy Lam - æÂÂæÂ¶è®) 2001
- 2002:
- MAKE A WISH (Vic Chou - 卿¸Âæ°Â) 2002
- Love Guardian é®å®ÂæÂÂæÂÂ
(Power Staton - Ã¥ÂÂÃ¥ÂÂç«è»Â) 2002
- Angel (David Tao - é¶åÂÂÃ¥ÂÂ) 2002
- 2003:
- Friends Ã¥ÂÂæÂŒÂÂæµ· - Rainbow (You Chiu-Hsing å°¤ç§Âè of Power Station Ã¥ÂÂÃ¥ÂÂç«è»Â) 2003
- She's having my baby (Tension) 2003
- 2004:
- Secret Garden II æÂÂçÂÂç§Âå¯Âè±å II - å®ç´ÂçÂÂèÂÂå (Zhang Jian) 2004
- Cha Cha (Secret Garden II OST - æÂÂçÂÂç§Âå¯Âè±å II é»è¦ÂÃ¥ÂÂè²帶) (Ariel Lin - æÂÂä¾ÂæÂ¨, Cheryl Yang - æ¥Â謹è¯, Yolin Liang - æ¢ÂÃ¥ÂÂç³, Michelle Lin - æÂÂç«Âé¯, Marcus - 張天é vàDaniel Lee - æÂÂå²³) 2004
- Love Contract æÂÂæÂÂ
Ã¥ÂÂç´ÂÃ¥ÂÂè²帶-å¤å®åÂÂÃ¥ÂÂç 2004 (Ariel Lin - æÂÂä¾ÂæÂ¨) 2004
- Love Contract æÂÂæÂÂ
Ã¥ÂÂç´ÂÃ¥ÂÂè²帶-ä¸Âé (Fish Leong - æ¢ÂéÂÂè¹) 2004
- Love Contract æÂÂæÂÂ
Ã¥ÂÂç´ÂÃ¥ÂÂè²帶 - Shinning (丸åÂÂ) 2004
- Love Contract æÂÂæÂÂ
Ã¥ÂÂç´ÂÃ¥ÂÂè²帶 - 失å» (A-Yue å¼µéÂÂå¶½) 2004
- Love Contract æÂÂæÂÂ
Ã¥ÂÂç´ÂÃ¥ÂÂè²帶 - éÂÂæÂ¼æÂÂÃ¥ÂÂä¹ÂéÂÂçÂÂ亠(A-Yue å¼µéÂÂå¶½) 2004
- Love Contract æÂÂæÂÂ
Ã¥ÂÂç´ÂÃ¥ÂÂè²帶 - ä¸ÂéÂÂï¼Âé¼ç´çÂÂï¼Â(æ½ÂÃ¥ÂÂæÂ
¶) 2004
- å¤å®åÂÂÃ¥ÂÂç (Ariel Lin - æÂÂä¾ÂæÂ¨) 2004
- Waiting for You - Ã¥ÂÂå¹ÂæÂÂ诠(Asnon Hu - è¡彦æÂÂ) (Love Contract MV) 2004
- ç½æÂÂÃ¥Â
 (Jeff Chang - å¼ ä¿¡å²) 2004 (Ariel Lin dub Korean for the girl in the MV)
- 2005:
- It Started with a Kiss æÂ¡ä½ÂÃ¥ÂÂä¹Âå» - Say you love me (Jason & 温å²Â) 2005
- It Started with a Kiss æÂ¡ä½ÂÃ¥ÂÂä¹Âå» - Meet éÂÂå° (æÂ¹éÂÂ
è³¢) 2005
- It Started with a Kiss æÂ¡ä½ÂÃ¥ÂÂä¹Âå» - Come A Little Closer é è¿Âä¸Âé»Âé» (æ¢Âå¿Âé ¤)
- It Started with a Kiss æÂ¡ä½ÂÃ¥ÂÂä¹Âå» - Can We è½ä¸Âè½ (Jason Wang çÂÂå¨Âç» & Lady Wen 溫åµÂ) 2005
- It Started with a Kiss æÂ¡ä½ÂÃ¥ÂÂä¹Âå» - The Whole World Could Hear Ã¥Â
¨ä¸ÂçÂÂçÂÂ人é½çÂ¥é (çÂÂä¿Âå») 2005
- It Started with a Kiss æÂ¡ä½ÂÃ¥ÂÂä¹Âå» - Regret å¾ÂæÂ (ä½ÂæÂ¸å®Â) 2005
- It Started with a Kiss æÂ¡ä½ÂÃ¥ÂÂä¹Âå» - æÂ¡ä½Âå (çÂÂèÂÂèµ) 2005
- Born in A Troubled Time - äºÂä¸Âæµ®ç (May day - äºÂæÂÂ天) 2005
- æÂ¡ä½Âå (çÂÂèÂÂèµ) 2005
- 2006:
- The Little Fairy 天å¤Âé£Âä» - ä¸Âç¼è¬年 (S.H.E) 2006
- The Little Fairy 天å¤Âé£Âä» - Ã¥ÂÂå¹´æ· (Tank) 2006
- The Little Fairy 天å¤Âé£Âä» - 天亮以徠(Hu Ge - è¡æÂÂ) 2006
- The Little Fairy 天å¤Âé£Âä» - å¤éÂÂç²¾æÂª (å³è¾å« & æÂÂéÂÂ) 2006
- The Little Fairy 天å¤Âé£Âä» - æÂÂÃ¥Â
 (Hu Ge - è¡æÂÂ) 2006
- The Little Fairy 天å¤Âé£Âä» - æ£Âåª 2006
- Tokyo Juliet æÂ±æÂ¹è±éºÂè - éÂÂ風 (è±åÂÂç²¾éÂÂ) 2006
- Tokyo Juliet æÂ±æÂ¹è±éºÂè - It Had To Be You éÂÂä½ è«屬 (Ariel Lin - æÂÂä¾ÂæÂ¨) 2006
- Good friend - 好æÂÂå (Alan Luo - ç¾Â
å¿Â祥) 2006
- 2007:
- Angel Wings - 天使çÂÂç¿Â
è (published in Beatrice Hsu 2007 Light Concert by Xu Zhiwei - 许å¿Âç®, Ariel Lin - æÂÂä¾ÂæÂ¨, Joe Cheng - éÂÂÃ¥Â
ÂçÂÂ
, Rainie Yang - æÂ¨ä¸Âç³, Mike He - è´ºåÂÂç¿Â, Cyndi Wang - çÂÂå¿ÂÃ¥ÂÂ, Phoebe Huang - é»ÂÃ¥ÂÂÃ¥ÂÂ, Wallace Huo - éÂÂ建åÂÂ, David Chen - éÂÂå®Âå¡, Penny Lin - æÂÂé¦åÂÂ, Eli Shih - æÂ½æÂÂç·, Van Fan - èÂÂé¸è£, Cheryl Yang - æÂ¨è°¨åÂÂ, Victor Wong - Ã¥ÂÂå , Alien Huang - é»Âé´»åÂÂ, Ben Pai - ç½åÂÂèÂÂ,... ) 2007
- Adventure of Lunia - 路尼äºÂæÂ°è¨ (Ariel Lin - æÂÂä¾ÂæÂ¨) 2007
- They Kiss Again æÂ¡ä½ÂÃ¥ÂÂ2å» - 幸ç¦ÂÃ¥ÂÂä½Â社 (Mavis Fan - èÂÂæÂÂè±) 2007
- They Kiss Again æÂ¡ä½ÂÃ¥ÂÂ2å» - ä½ (Ariel Lin - æÂÂä¾ÂæÂ¨) 2007
- 2008:
- Beating Heart è·³å¨çÂÂå¿ (Justin Lo - å´ç°) 2008
- Love or Bread æÂÂçÂÂÃ¥ÂÂè¬麵åÂÂ
- æÂÂÃ¥Â
Âæ°´ (Huang Wen-hsing - é»ÂæÂÂæÂÂ) 2008
TV Commercial
- 2001:
- TrainAsia 2U PrePaidCard (2001)
- TrainAsia 2U PrePaidCard CDbox (2001)
- TrainAsia 2U PrePaidCard KTV (2001)
- 2003:
- Jcode CF Meetings (2003) (Ariel Lin and Dylan Kuo)
- Xin Gui Bai Strawberry Biscuit CF 1 (2003) (Ariel Lin and Bryant Chang)
- Jcode CF Restaurant (2003) (Ariel Lin and Dylan Kuo)
- Xin Gui Bai Strawberry Biscuit CF 2 (2003)(Ariel Lin and Bryant Chang)
- Jcode CF Ghost House (2003) (Ariel Lin and Dylan Kuo)
- Xin Gui Bai Strawberry Biscuit CF 2 (2003)
- 2004:
- Jcode CF Valentines (2/2004) (Ariel Lin and Dylan Kuo)
- Jcode CF Motorcycle (2004)
- Contact Lens Solution CF (2004)
- 2005:
- Jcode CF Reminder (2/2005) (Ariel Lin and Mike He)
- Jcode CF Love (8/2005) (Ariel Lin and Mike He)
- Heme CF Romeo Juliet (12/2005) (Ariel Lin and Vic Chou)
- 2006:
- Jcode CF Love (1/2006) (Ariel Lin and Mike He)
- Jcode CF Slow Dance (2/2006) (Ariel Lin and Mike He)
- Sofy CF Puzzle (4/2006)
- Heme CF Romeo Juliet (5/2006) (Ariel Lin and Vic Chou)
- Green Tea CF Shopping (5/2006)
- Sofy CF Sleep In (9/2006)
- Green Tea CF Field (10/2006)
- Heme Commercial (11/2006)
- Heme CF Red Dress (11/2006)
- 2007:
- Heme CF Whack a Mole (1/2007)
- 711 Snoopy CF 1 (1/2007)
- 711 Snoopy CF Search (1/2007)
- 711 Snoopy CF Camera 1 (2/2007)
- 711 Snoopy CF Camera 2 (2/2007)
- Sofy CF Good Night Rest (2/2007)
- Qqueen CF (5/2007)
- 711 Snoopy CF Baseball (7/2007)
Bibliography
Awards and nominations
References
External links