Kelly Lin Biography: Net Worth, Husband, Height, Age, Movies, Awards, Parents, Religion
Lin Hsi-Lei, professionally known as Kelly Lin, is a Taiwanese actress and model born on October 29, 1975, in Taipei, Taiwan.
She moved with her family to Santa Barbara, California, at the age of 12 and later graduated from the University of California, Irvine, where she studied economics and comparative literature.
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After initially hoping to become a singer, she entered modeling and eventually established herself as an actress in Taiwanese and Hong Kong cinema.
She became particularly recognized for films such as Fulltime Killer, Infernal Affairs II, After This Our Exile, Boarding Gate, Mad Detective, Triangle, The Sparrow and Reign of Assassins.
| Kelly Lin | |
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| Wiki Facts & About Data | |
| Real Name: | Lin Hsi-Lei |
| Stage Name: | Kelly Lin |
| Born: | October 29, 1975 (age 50 years old) |
| Place of Birth: | Taipei, Taiwan |
| Nationality: | Taiwanese |
| Ethnicity: | Taiwanese Chinese |
| Height: | 170 cm |
| Religion: | Buddhism |
| Parents: | Mr. and Mrs. Lin |
| Spouse: | Chris Young |
| Relationship: | Married |
| Children: | Kaitlin Young, Mila Yang |
| Occupation: | Actress, Model, Director |
| Net Worth: | $10 million |
Early Life and Education
Kelly Lin was born Lin Hsi-Lei (林熙蕾) on October 29, 1975, in Taipei, Taiwan. She was brought up by Mr. and Mrs. Lin. There is no information about her siblings available.
When Lin was 12 years old, her family moved from Taiwan to Santa Barbara, California, where she spent much of her adolescence and young adulthood.
Growing up in the United States gave her a multicultural background that later became useful in her international entertainment career.
Lin attended the University of California, Irvine, where she studied economics and comparative literature and earned a bachelor’s degree.
Her academic background was therefore substantially different from the entertainment career she eventually pursued.
After graduating, Lin was initially interested in becoming a singer. She recorded demonstration tapes for a record company, hoping to establish herself as a vocalist.
Instead, she began receiving offers for television and print advertising, which led her toward professional modeling.
Her modeling career quickly expanded across Taiwan, Hong Kong and mainland China.
She appeared on numerous magazine covers and became a prominent fashion and advertising model before making the transition into acting.
Career
Kelly Lin entered the entertainment industry through modeling before establishing herself as an actress.
Her early modeling work included television commercials, print advertising and fashion-magazine appearances throughout East Asia.
She made her acting debut in the mid-1990s and gradually became a familiar performer in Taiwanese and Hong Kong productions. Her early television and film work included Xi Le Hui, Hong Yan Hua and The Phantasmal Angel.
Lin‘s breakthrough in Hong Kong cinema came through collaborations with director Johnnie To.
She appeared in Fulltime Killer, alongside Andy Lau and Ekin Cheng, and subsequently worked with To on projects including Triangle, Mad Detective and The Sparrow.
Her film career expanded beyond Hong Kong. She appeared in After This Our Exile, earning a nomination for Best Supporting Actress at the Hong Kong Film Awards, and worked with French filmmaker Olivier Assayas in Boarding Gate, which was screened at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival.
Lin continued appearing in internationally distributed films, including Written By, Gasp, My Fair Gentleman and Reign of Assassins, the latter featuring Michelle Yeoh and Jung Woo-sung.
Her work across Asian and European productions helped establish her as an actress with an international profile.
She later appeared in The Devil Inside Me, Show Time and other productions before taking a period away from acting. She subsequently returned to the screen, including an appearance in the Netflix series At the Moment, in 2023. More recently, she has continued to receive television and film credits, including The Fixers.
Lin has also remained associated with fashion and charitable causes. She has supported campaigns promoting children’s welfare and has publicly advocated the adoption of stray dogs in Taiwan.
Awards and Nominations
- Hong Kong Film Awards — Best Supporting Actress: Nominated for After This Our Exile
- FHM — Asia’s Sexiest Woman: Ranked No. 1 in the magazine’s 2002 list
Social Media
- Instagram Handle: @kellyhlin
Personal Life
Kelly Lin is 50 years old. She is married to Chris Young (Yang Chen), a Chinese-American businessman involved in the clothing industry. The couple married on March 28, 2011, in a private beach wedding in the Maldives.
The wedding was deliberately low-key, with Lin and Young celebrating privately rather than holding a large traditional celebrity ceremony.
At the time, Lin said that she would continue using the name Kelly Lin rather than taking her husband’s surname.
Lin and Chris Young have two daughters. Their first daughter, Kaitlin, was born on August 31, 2011, several months after their wedding. Their second daughter, Mila, was born on February 26, 2014.
The family has maintained a relatively private lifestyle, although Lin occasionally shares family photographs and moments on social media.
She has spoken publicly about motherhood and the transition from being primarily recognized as a screen actress to balancing entertainment work and family responsibilities.
Her husband has occasionally appeared in photographs shared by Lin, including social gatherings involving her longtime entertainment-industry friends. In 2020, she was photographed on a double date with Shu Qi and Stephen Fung, alongside Chris Young.
Lin has also maintained strong friendships within the Asian entertainment industry. Her friendship with Shu Qi has been particularly visible, with the two actresses appearing together at social gatherings and regularly acknowledging each other’s birthdays.
Her personal interests have included fashion, travel, family activities and animal welfare. She has also been associated with campaigns supporting children and has publicly encouraged the adoption of stray dogs in Taiwan.
Although motherhood led her to reduce her acting workload at certain points, Lin has not completely left entertainment.
She has periodically returned to acting, including later television appearances, while maintaining her family life between the United States and Asia.
Net Worth
Kelly Lin has a net worth of $10 million.
Her income sources include film acting, television acting, modeling, advertising, fashion work and entertainment-related appearances.
Her career has included commercially successful Hong Kong productions as well as internationally screened independent films, while her long-running modeling career added another major source of professional income.
Filmography
- Xi Le Hui
- Hong Yan Hua
- The Phantasmal Angel
- Fulltime Killer
- Infernal Affairs II
- After This Our Exile
- Boarding Gate
- Triangle
- Mad Detective
- The Sparrow
- Election 3
- At the Moment
- The Fixers
What People Ask
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