Profile | Mystery Chinese woman steals show at 2024 Cannes Film Festival, but who is she?
- Cannes cameras focus on ‘unknown’ woman from China, puzzling people on social media, believed to be a rich online influencer, accused of being a gold-digger
When the 77th Cannes Film Festival opened on May 14, people on mainland social media were bewildered by a mysterious Chinese woman who got more red carpet attention than top celebrities like Gong Li.
While veteran actress Gong – making her 20th visit to the festival – only got a long shot during the live opening broadcast, the mystery woman received a long, 90-second close-up shot.
She was later revealed to be Wan Qianhui, an influencer with 6.5 million followers on Douyin.
Wan is also known as the wife of famous Chinese musician San Bao.
Their marriage in 2017 sparked heated online reactions because Wan, born in 1993, is 25 years younger than her husband.
Wan started dating San when she was a student at the Department of Musical Theatre in the Central Academy of Drama, China’s top drama and stage arts institution.
Despite being described as a gold-digger, Wan did not live up to her haters’ expectations.
