Famous People Who Lived in Shanghai

Shanghai certainly isn’t Hollywood, but don’t let that fool you, we’ve had our fair share of celebs, famous writers, sports stars and the like. Here are some noteworthy names that have called Shanghai home over the years. 

SHANNON LUCID

ASTRONAUT

(Born January 14, 1943)

Not many people are aware that one of America’s most famous female astronauts was born in Shanghai. Shannon Lucid (or Shannon Matilda Wells Lucid) was born in Shanghai to Baptist missionary parents in 1943. They relocated to Bethany, Oklahoma, where Shannon would grow up to become a biochemist and NASA astronaut, spending over 220 days in space throughout her career. 

JAMES GRAHAM "J.G." BALLARD

AUTHOR

(1930 –2009)

Famed author J.G. Ballard was born in a Shanghai International settlement in November of 1930. His father was a chemist for a textile manufacturing firm that did business in Shanghai at the time.  Him and his family returned to their native country of Britain in 1945, after witnessing the atrocities of World War II first-hand. J.G. went on to write dozens of famous science fiction and dystopian novels. His most famous book, ‘Empire of the Sun,’ a fictional novel loosely based on his early experiences in Shanghai during the War.

TSUNG DAO LEE

PHYSICIST, SCIENTIST

(Born November 24, 1926)

Tsung Dao Lee is a Shanghai-born American physicist who received the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1957.

ANGELA BABY

ACTRESS/MODEL

(Born February 28, 1989)

Angela Yeung Wing, also known by her Chinese name Yang Ying, as well as her stage name Angelababy, has had an enormously successful career in Hong Kong as an actress and a model. Despite her notierity in Hong Kong, she was actually born in Shanghai. Her mother is Chinese and her father half-Chinese, half-German.

EDWARD JUDD

ACTOR

(1932–2009)

The British actor Edward Judd was born in 1932 in Shanghai, China to British parents.  During his teenage years he moved back to England and began acting in plays and films. His film debut was The Small Voice (1948), followed by Once a Jolly Swagman (1949) and The Guinea Pig (1948), X the Unknown (1956), The Day the Earth Caught Fire (1961), First Men in the Moon (1964), Island of Terror (1966) and Invasion (1966). He also spent a lot of time making television cameos in the 1990s. One fun fact about Judd is that he is best friends with Michael Caine. The two first met while shooting an Army recruitment documentary in South England.

MARIO MACHADO

TV NEWSMAN & ANCHOR

(1935 –2013)

Born in Shanghai in 1935, Mario’s father was vice-chancellor of the Portuguese Consulate in Shanghai. He moved to LA as a child and eventually became a television and radio broadcaster. He made television history when, in 1970, he became the first Chinese-American on-air television news reporter and anchor in Los Angeles and perhaps in the nation. He also went on to have acting roles in three RoboCop films. Brian's Song (1971), Oh, God! (1977), Rocky III (1982), Scarface (1983), and St. Elmo's Fire (1985).

DAN VADIS

ACTOR

(1938–1987)

Dan Vadis was born in Shanghai in January of 1938. He moved to American in his youth and went on to be a US Navy Sailor, and eventually a film star in numerous Italian and American movies throughout the 60’s and 70’s. With his muscular build and 6’4 frame he often played gladiators, Greek gods and even a cowboy in several early Clint Eastwood films. 

LI MINGHUI

SINGER

(1909-2003) 

Minghui is considered the first Chinese pop singer. Her performances gave Shanghai the renowned moniker of “Oriental Paris.” Her biggest hit ‘Drizzle’ was considered to be China’s first genuine pop song. Throughout her career she recorded over 2,000 songs and released over 300 albums.

YAO MING

PROFESSIONAL BASKETBALL PLAYER

(Born September 12, 1980)

Perhaps the most famous Shanghai ren, Yao Ming was the first Chinese basketball player to enter the NBA Draft. As part of the Houston Rockets he made huge waves in the basketball world, gaining world fame and recognition. In 2002 he was named one of the ten figures in CCTV’s program named “Top Ten People Who Moved China.” In 2009 he bought the Shanghai Oriental Basketball Club and became the first Chinese basketball player who also owned his own team.

CHEN YIFEI

ARTIST

(1946-2005)

A world-famous Chinese oil painter in the modern age, Chen worked primarily with oil paintings to create Chinese motifs. His paintings represent tranquility and stillness, always with a splash of traditional Chinese aesthetic. He’s been exhibited in Washington D.C., New York and Tokyo and widely collected international. His painting ‘The Wind of Mountain Village’ depicting Tibetan folklore was auctioned for the highest price ever paid for a Chinese oil painting. 

HAN HAN

RACECAR DRIVER

(Born September 23, 1982)

Born and raised in Shanghai, Han Han is a professional rally driver, best-selling author and currently one of China’s most popular bloggers.

LIU XIANG

ATHLETE/RUNNER

(Born July 13, 1983) 

Anyone who paid attention to the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens would have surely noticed this famous Shanghai-native runner. Born in Shanghai in 1983, his charm and speed wowed everyone, he even set a world record in 2006 for the 110 meter hurdles.

ZHENG XU

ACTOR

(Born April 18, 1972)

Shanghai-born Zheng Xu is an actor and producer, best known for starring in such films as Ren zai jiong tu: Tai jiong (2012), Wu ren qu (2013) and Gang jiong (2015). 

AN WANG

COMPUTER ENGINEER AND INVENTOR

(1920 - 1990)

An Wang was a Chinese-American computer engineer and inventor, who did formidable work in the field of magnetic core memory. He was an important figure throughout the electronic industry during his lifetime, a co-founder of computer company Wang Laboratories, he had a net worth of almost $2 Billion when he passed away from cancer in 1990 at the age of 70.

SUN LI 

ACTRESS/TV PERSONALITY 

(Born September 26, 1982)

Sun Li is a Shanghai-born Chinese actress, hailed by critics and netizens as China's "Queen of Television".

DU JUAN

MODEL 

(Born September 15, 1982)

Du Juan is a Chinese fashion model, film actress, and former ballet dancer. She has been touted as the world's first international Chinese supermodel.

CHEN YUN (LIAO CHENGYUN) 

PARTY CHAIRMAN

(1987-1992)

Chen Yun  is considered by many as one of the most influential leaders of the People's Republic of China during the 1980s and 1990s. He was one of the major political leaders of China both during and after the Chinese Civil War along with Mao Zedong, Liu Shaoqi, Zhou Enlai, Zhu De and Ren Bishi and was later considered to be one of the Eight Elders of the Communist Party of China.

CHARLES K, KAO

ELECTRICAL ENGINEER

(Born November 4, 1933)

Shanghai-born Hong Kong, American and British electrical engineer and physicist who pioneered in the development and use of fiber optics in telecommunications, an invention for which he and several others were jointly awarded the 2009 Nobel Prize in Physics.

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