Ma Yili (Chinese:马伊琍, born 29 June 1976) is a Chinese actress. She is known for her roles in the television seriesMy Fair Princess III (2003),Qiao's Grand Courtyard (2006),Struggle (2007),The First Half of My Life (2017) andBlossoms Shanghai (2023), as well as the filmB for Busy (2021).

Ma ranked 42nd onForbesChina Celebrity 100 list in 2019.^[1]

Ma was born inHongkou District,Shanghai on June 29, 1976, with herancestral home inRudong County,Nantong,Jiangsu.^[2] She enteredShanghai Theatre Academy in 1994, majoring in acting, and graduated in 1998.^[3]

Ma started her acting career in the 1996 television seriesVacuum Love Records, in which her sweet appearance and strong-willed character left a deep impression on the audience.^[4] However in the next few years, Ma maintained a low profile on screen.^[5]

Ma regained attention through the television seriesLong Live Our Dreams (2000) andBlack Hole (2001) and the filmEyes of a Beauty (2001). She actually shaved her head for her role inLong Live Our Dreams. She gained further popularity after she played the role of Ziwei in thethird season of the popular dramaMy Fair Princess (2003). Next came the hit seriesQiao's Grand Courtyard (2006), where Ma played a innocent girl who matures through a painful romance.^[6] She then starred in the highly popular youth seriesStruggle (2007). Ma's role as a passionate, direct and optimistic young woman resonated with the thoughts of the young generation, and shot her to widespread fame.^[7][8]

Following her breakthrough, Ma has won various honors and awards, such as theGolden Phoenix Award andHuading Award, and the Best Actress award at theChangchun Film Festival for her role inLife Today (2007),^[9] Best Actress award at theAsia Rainbow TV Awards for her role inMarriage Battle (2010)^[10] and Best Supporting Actress award at theChina Image Film Festival for her role inTracks Kong Lingxue (2011).^[11]

Ma then starred inTwo City One Family (2011), which reflects the differences of a couple who come from different cities in China. Ma, who is of Shanghai descent, successfully portrayed the role of a Beijing young lady,^[12] and clinched the Best Actress award at theChina TV Drama Awards.^[13] She then starred in both seasons ofPuberty Hit Menopause (2013) which earned high ratings; as well as family dramaLittle Daddy (2013), directed by her husbandWen Zhang and which she serves as producer.^{[citation needed]}

In 2015, Ma starred inSwan Dive for Love, a series that narrates the story of a white-collar couple striving to make themselves richer amid a series of challenges.^[14] She won the Best Actress award at theHuading Awards for her portrayal of a determined and strong-minded career woman.^[15] The following year, she starred inChinese Style Relationship, a critically acclaimed comedy-drama that depicts three Chinese couples as the navigate through life and love.^[16] Ma was nominated for Best Actress at theShanghai Television Festival.^[17]

In 2017, Ma starred in romance/family dramaThe First Half of My Life. Opposite from her usual strong characters, Ma played a struggling housewife in the series.^[18] The television series was a major ratings hit in China and was hotly debated on social media sites likeWeibo.^[19]

In 2018, Ma played a supporting role in the female-centric war filmGoddesses in the Flames of War, reportedly receiving no wages for the film.^[20][21] She won the Best Supporting Actress award at theChina Movie Channel Media Awards for her performance.^[22] Another film which stars in,Enter the Forbidden City won the award for Best Film.^[22]The same year, she starred in the mystery filmLost, Found alongsideYao Chen; a remake of the Korean filmMissing;^[23] as well as crime filmThe Road Not Taken.^[24]

In 2023, Ma starred inBlossoms Shanghai, adapted fromJin Yucheng's novel of the same title.^[25]

Ma was appointed the National Ambassador forUNICEF China in 2015.^[26]

While at theShanghai Theatre Academy in 1996, Ma dated a senior student for a year. They broke up amicably when Ma entered her senior year and the boy graduated. In 1999, Ma was introduced to directorGuan Hu through a friend. In 2000, Guan invited Ma to join the cast of his TV dramaBlack Hole, and the two began a relationship for four years. They broke up in 2004.

Ma metWen Zhang when filming togetherZhang Li's historical dramaBlades in 2005. In 2006, when filming TV seriesStruggle, Ma was pursued at the same time by her co-stars Wen Zhang andTong Dawei. She, however, went to dateZhang Bo, Wen's college classmate, soon after when shooting the TV seriesWhere is Happiness. Upon learning of Ma's relationship with Zhang, Wen ended his then relationship and renewed his pursuit of Ma, causing a rift between him and Zhang. Ma left Zhang for Wen, though they briefly broke up in early 2007. They quietly registered their marriage in 2008 without having a ceremony or informing their agencies. On 20 September 2008, they have their first daughter, Wen Zhujun (Ima). In August 2013, when Ma was pregnant with her second child, Wen Zhang and actressYao Di had an extramarital affair. On July 28, 2019, they announced their divorce on Sina Weibo.^[27][28]

• Ma Yili onWeibo(in Chinese)

• 1976 births
• Shanghai Theatre Academy alumni
• Actresses from Shanghai
• Living people
• 21st-century Chinese actresses
• 20th-century Chinese actresses
• Chinese stage actresses
• Chinese film actresses
• Chinese television actresses

• CS1 uses Chinese-language script (zh)
• CS1 Chinese-language sources (zh)
• Articles containing Chinese-language text
• All articles with dead external links
• Articles with dead external links from February 2024
• Articles with permanently dead external links
• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata
• Articles with hCards
• Articles containing simplified Chinese-language text
• All articles with unsourced statements
• Articles with unsourced statements from October 2020
• Articles with Chinese-language sources (zh)