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Kylie Knott

US pop star Taylor Swift celebrates her birthday today, December 13. The newly 35-year-old singer was born in 1989 which, according to Chinese astrology, was a Year of the Snake.
Snakes, the sixth of 12 animal zodiac signs, are considered intelligent, charming and graceful, but can also come across as cold or distant.
People born in a Snake year – the most recent of which began in 1929, 1941, 1953, 1965, 1977, 1989, 2001 and 2013 according to the Gregorian calendar – are considered strategists and deep thinkers.
They also crave the spotlight, a place where Swift spends a lot of time.
The singer recently wrapped up a hugely successful world tour that reportedly brought in US$2 billion, making it the highest grossing tour of all time. She has also been basking in the media spotlight thanks to her highly publicised romance with American football star Travis Kelce.
Here are some more high-profile people born in the Year of the Snake.












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Aaron Kwok
Born in Hong Kong on October 26, 1965, actor and singer Aaron Kwok Fu-shing is known as one of the city’s “Four Heavenly Kings of Cantopop”.
He has given concerts around the world and won numerous music awards, as well as starring in television shows and films; Kwok won best actor at the Golden Horse Awards for Divergence (2005) and After This Our Exile (2006).












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Huang Xiaoming
One of China’s highest-paid actors, Huang Xiaoming was born in 1977. His role as Emperor Wu of Han in the television series The Prince of Han Dynasty (2001) helped his career take off.
Huang has big followings on two Chinese social media platforms – 60 million on Weibo and 20 million on Douyin – and made headlines in 2022 when he divorced Hong Kong actress and model Angelababy, whose real name is Angela Yeung Wing. She is also a Snake baby – one born in 1989.


Psy
K-pop’s Psy, born in 1977, became a household name in 2012 when his song “Gangnam Style” – referencing the wealthy lifestyle of residents of Gangnam district in the South Korean capital, Seoul – became a global phenomenon.
Made with humour and some silly dance moves, it was the first song to pass one billion views on YouTube.

Oprah Winfrey
Known simply as Oprah, the “Queen of All Media” was born in January 1954 at the tail end of a Snake year, and her zodiac sign’s charming trait makes her perfect as a television host.
Oprah is best known for The Oprah Winfrey Show, a hugely popular talk show that ran from 1986 to 2011. She was named the richest African-American of the 20th century and is also a television producer, actress, author – and podcaster.

Chris Martin
Hong Kong has been in the grip of Coldplay fever ever since the British band announced a series of concerts that will take place at Kai Tak Stadium, in Kowloon, in April 2025.
The shows, part of their Music Of The Spheres World Tour, will be extra special for the band’s frontman, Chris Martin, who will be celebrating a Snake year – he was born in 1977.

J.K. Rowling
The author, born in 1965, is best known for writing the Harry Potter fantasy book series, which has been translated into 80 languages and sold more than 500 million copies. Snakes feature prominently in the wizarding world, such as in the Slytherin student house at Hogwarts school.
The spotlight has been on Rowling recently, but not in a good way – the British author has come under fire for her social media comments about transgender people, and her comments have been criticised by LGBTQ advocates.

Xi Jinping
While not quite a celebrity, Chinese President Xi Jinping is also a Snake baby (he was born in 1953) and spends a lot of time in the spotlight.
Those born in the Year of the Snake are known for being analytical and for being people who do not jump right away into situations – just the traits needed by politicians.
Just this week, media outlets reported that US president-elect Donald Trump had invited Xi to attend his inauguration in January.
Trump was born in 1946, the Year of the Dog. According to Chinese astrology, Dogs are known for being loyal and determined, but impulsive and judgmental. If Xi accepts his offer, it should make for an interesting day out.


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Chinese culture

8 celebrities born in the Year of the Snake, from Taylor Swift to J.K. Rowling to Psy

Taylor Swift during a concert in Singapore as part of The Eras Tour. The singer is among a number of celebrities born in the Year of the Snake. Photo: Getty Images

Oprah Winfrey at a campaign rally for US Vice-President Kamala Harris in Philadelphia in 2024. Photo: AP

Chris Martin of British rock band Coldplay on stage at the Ernst Happel Stadium in Vienna, Austria in 2024. Photo: AFP

Author J.K. Rowling at an HBO series premiere in New York in 2019. Photo: AFP

Donald Trump at a bilateral meeting with Xi Jinping during the G20 leaders summit in Japan in 2019. Photo: Reuters

10 snake-themed Chinese-language movies that charm us, from erotica to horror to animation

A still from Anaconda (2024), one of our picks of the best Chinese snake movies.

A still from White Snake (2019), one of 10 Chinese-language films featuring snakes that we think make perfect viewing with the Year of the Snake coming.

A promotional poster for The Snake Girl (1974).

A promotional poster for Snake Beauty (1994).

7 snake idioms to ring in the Year of the Snake, including one about being two-faced

Why would legs drawn on a snake mean something is ruined? What does a bow’s shadow have to do with reptiles? Seven snake idioms and their meanings. Photo: Shutterstock

One idiom refers to drawing legs on a snake – in other words, making unnecessary changes to something. Snakes do not have legs. Those are called lizards (pictured: an iguana). Photo: Shutterstock

A snake and dragon statuette with Chinese coins and a pyramid. One idiom referring to snakes and dragons is used in association with spaces where both good and bad people can be found. Photo: Shutterstock

A golden Buddha statue in Thailand. A Chinese idiom refers to a person who has the words of the Buddha but the intention of a snake. Photo: Getty Images

An illustration of a giant snake killing an elephant, similar to a Chinese idiom that describes a snake trying to swallow an elephant – meaning a person who is never content. Photo: YouTube

An idiom that refer to being scared of rope after being bitten by a snake is like the English proverb “once bitten, twice shy”. Photo: Shutterstock

Why do people born in the Year of the Snake make good lovers, friends and colleagues?

People born in the Year of the Snake are caring friends – once you break the ice. They are also romantic lovers and also one of the best colleagues to have in a crisis. Illustration: Victor Sanjinez Garcia

Feng shui master Tong Pik-ha at her office in San Po Kong, Kowloon, Hong Kong. The independent Snake is very good at networking, Tong says. Photo: Jonathan Wong

People who are born in the Year of the Snake are very enterprising. Illustration: Adolfo Arranz

What Chinese animal am I? Characteristics of the Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, Pig, Rat, Ox, Tiger and Rabbit and when their years fall

Animals of the Chinese zodiac. Illustration: Shutterstock


Up next in the Chinese calendar is the Year of the Dragon. The dragon is one of 12 animal signs denoting the years in the Chinese calendrical cycle. The traits of each animal are believed to be reflected in the people born under their signs. Dragons are gifted, lucky, confident, intelligent and charismatic. Photo: Shutterstock

Bronze horse statues at a shrine in Taiwan. Those born in the year of the horse are said to be magnets for attention. Photo: Shutterstock

Sculptures of goats, part of a display of sculptures of the 12 Chinese zodiac animals at a scenic area in China. Photo: Shutterstock

A lantern in the shape of a rooster on display during Lunar New Year celebrations in Sydney, Australia, in February 2016 to herald the Year of the Rooster. Photo: Shutterstock

The rabbit is the luckiest Chinese zodiac animal of them all. Photo: Shutterstock

Lifestyle

Entertainment

Culture

Books

Film & TV

Music

Year of the Snake 2025: predictions, facts, myths and feng shui

Why the Year of the Wood Snake starting in 2025 could bring major change, and more luck

A snake at a farm in Bangkok, Thailand. The next lunar new year will be a Year of the Wood Snake, which comes around every 60 years. The previous one, in 1965, saw dynamic change and upheaval. Are we in for more of the same? Photo: Getty Images

Snakes made of palm leaves are displayed in Shanghai to celebrate the previous Year of the Snake in 2013. Photo: Getty Images

Following the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, people line up to vote, most for the first time, in Alabama in the US in 1966. Photo: Getty Images

Angry depositors protest and clash with police outside the office of the chairman of the Canton Trust and Commercial Bank in 1965, the previous Year of the Wood Snake in the Chinese lunisolar calendar. Photo: Chan Kiu

Why ‘growing snakes’ – shingles – is so painful and how to prevent it

That snake-like shingles rash can appear anywhere - not just on the trunk, but also the face where it can affect the eyes and vision.
Photo: Shutterstock


The shingles virus generally only appears on one side of the body, not both. Photo: Shutterstock

The shingles rash can appear anywhere, including the face, where it can affect the eyes and vision. Photo: Shutterstock

Dr Wong Sze-man says there is a lack of awareness of the complications that can arise from shingles. Photo: Marina Medical Clinic

Photo: Shutterstock 

The CDC recommends that everybody over 50 should get Shingrix, which comes in two separate doses separated by two to six months. Photo: Shutterstock

Shingles is caused by the varicella-zoster virus – or chickenpox – which most of us were exposed to as children. Photo: Shutterstock 

Mark Chern is a TCM practitioner in Singapore whose approach to treating shingles includes acupuncture and herbal remedies. Photo: LinkedIn 

From evil to good snake: how the zodiac animal became a righteous figure in Chinese mythology

Nüwa, the creator deity in Chinese folklore, is often depicted with a human head and serpent-like body. Photo: Pictures From History/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

An image from the Summer Palace, Beijing, China, depicting the Legend of the White Snake. Photo: Summer Palace

The cover of Liang Luo’s book.

Snakes are depicted as evil spirits in the Chinese classic tale Journey to the West. Photo: Imagin8 Press

The Legend of the White Snake has evolved over the centuries. 

The coming Year of the Snake celebrates an animal that has been transformed from evil spirit to righteous demon in Chinese mythology. Photo: Shutterstock

What the mythical snake Naga represents, both good and evil, in Hinduism and Buddhism

The seven-headed Naga Mucalinda (seen here in Thailand) is King of the Serpents in Buddhist mythology. The snake figure is also worshipped by Hindus. Photo: Shutterstock

A late 12th–early 13th century Cambodian statue depicting Mucalinda protecting Buddha from a storm. Photo: The Met

Naga statues in Lop Buri, Thailand. Sculptures of the serpents are more colourful and vivid in Thailand than those in Cambodia. Photo: Shutterstock

Stone carvings of Naga serpents and Khmer deities at Banteay Srey Temple, Angkor Wat, Cambodia. Photo: Shutterstock

Pet snakes trending in Hong Kong as Gen Z opts for ‘chill’ animals over cats and dogs

A ball python at Slave World pet shop in Hong Kong. Photo: Austin Zhang 

A ball python at Fishman Shop reptile specialist in Hong Kong. More youngsters in the city are keeping snakes as pets. Photo: Austin Zhang

A snake at Fishman Shop, a reptile specialist in Mong Kok, Hong Kong. Photo: Austin Zhang

A red bull snake at Slave World in Mong Kok. Photo: Austin Zhang

A Stuart’s milk snake at Fishman Shop. Photo: Austin Zhang

A ball python at Slave World. Photo: Austin Zhang

New understanding about how snakes regrow their guts could help treat human diseases

The mechanisms pythons use to regrow their intestines may provide insight on treatments for human gastrointestinal diseases, a new study shows. Photo: Dreamstime/TNS

Dr Stephen Badylak, deputy director of the McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh. Photo: University of Pittsburgh

Todd Castoe, the biology professor at the University of Texas at Arlington who led the python gut study. Photo: University of Texas at Arlington

A Burmese python on Hong Kong’s Lantau Island. When digesting their first meal in a long time, the Burmese pythons used in the new study increase their metabolic rate to 22 to 44 times that when fasting as they regenerate their intestines. Photo: Peter Parks

The new study’s findings about the gene BEST5+ could unlock new ways of healing and repairing Crohn’s disease, coeliac disease, and colorectal cancer in humans. Illustration: Shutterstock

An African ball python at Kadoorie Farm and Botanical Gardens in Hong Kong. Castoe says humans share with pythons a “back door secret” to remodelling their gut and reprogramming their metabolism. Photo: Jonathan Wong

How the snake is loved, hated or feared in cultures and religions around the world

A depiction of the Egyptian sun god Ra fighting the snake god Apep. Snakes are either hated in mythology as evil, sneaky, dangerous, or revered as saviours and friends of the gods. Photo: Getty Images

In the Biblical story of Adam and Eve, a serpent persuaded Eve to eat fruit from the forbidden tree.

Asclepius, the ancient Greek god of healing, is depicted with a snake coiled around his staff. Photo: Getty Images

Ancient Egyptian god Apep was a giant snake with human legs, and was at war with the sun god Ra. Photo: Getty Images

Jörmungandr is the giant snake monster in Norse mythology that declared war on the gods. 

Hindu god Shiva is often depicted with Vasuki the snake coiled around his neck. Photo: Shutterstock

As the Year of the Snake slithers closer, we look at some well-known people who were snake babies – including a Chinese politician


As the Year of the Snake slithers closer, we look at some well-known people who were snake babies – including a Chinese politician.


Fame and celebrity

Gangnam Style

Lunar New Year

Xi Jinping