Which Chinese celebrities renounced their native citizenships? Liu Yifei, star of Disney’s Mulan, is a naturalised American while Jet Li gave his Chinese passport up

Sep 20 , 2021

Seven Chinese celebrities who don’t have Chinese citizenship, including Liu Yifei, Kris Wu, Gong Li and Jet Li. Photos: 刘亦菲/Weibo; @kriswu, @officialgongli, @jetli/Instagram

Kris Wu, a former member of K-pop idol group Exo, and actor Shawn Dou are Canadian citizens while Gong Li used to be married to Singaporean tycoon Ooi Hoe Seong

Bafta award-winning director Chen Kaige holds an American passport, though his son Arthur Chen Feiyu recently dropped his foreign US citizenship

Over the past few weeks, the citizenship status of ethnically Chinese stars with foreign passports has come under the spotlight across Chinese media in the midst of the country’s crackdown on the entertainment industry.

Some actors such as Nicholas Tse and Arthur Chen Feiyu were quick to reveal that they have renounced – or are in the process of renouncing – their foreign citizenships.

But which Chinese celebrities still hold foreign passports? Here’s a list of ethnically Chinese stars who lack – or turned down – Chinese citizenships.

Liu Yifei

Chinese-American actress Liu Yifei moved to the US with her mother at the age of 10, becoming a naturalised American citizen. Liu only holds American citizenship as under Chinese law, dual nationality is not recognised.

Chinese-American actress Liu Yifei starred as Mulan in the Disney’s live action remake. Photo: Stephen Tilley/Disney Enterprise

The Mulan star still visits China, though; she was spotted recently going shopping in a commercial centre in Beijing with her assistant.

Gong Li