Liu Yifei Plays Mulan, Disney’s Most Badass Princess IRL
After the release of the Mulan trailer which brought honor to us all, you’ve probably seen the name “Liu Yifei” on your feed.
Liu Yifei, aka the most badass Disney princess, stunned netizens with her superb performance as the leading actress in the Mulan live-action film released last Friday (4 Sep).
We did some research on the rising Hollywood star and discovered that she can do a lot more than lead troops to the battlefield onscreen.
If you want to learn more about this multi-talented warrior, we picked out 8 interesting facts about this artist that will make you love her even more.
1. She is a Wuhan native
Liu Yifei currently lives in Beijing, but she was born in Wuhan.
Her grandmother still resides in Wuhan, but fortunately, she remained safe during the Covid-19 outbreak.
Last February, Ms Liu shared that she was touched by her countrymen’s efforts to stay at home and remain isolated for weeks. Just like all of us, she hopes that this dark chapter will end soon.
2. Forever young
Mulan is a 16-year-old Disney princess that disguises herself as a man to fight for her country.
On-screen, Ms Liu’s age seems close in age to the teen Disney princess — but she’s actually 33 years old!
Thanks to her flawless skin and gorgeous features, we’re keen to believe that age is just a number.
3. Beat out 1,000 contenders for Mulan
As it turns out, there was a lot of competition to find a real-life Mulan.
The casting directors even met around 1,000 candidates from 5 continents!
They were looking for an actress with martial arts skills, star power, and fluency in English — and Liu Yifei successfully ticked all the boxes.
4. A real-life warrior
Mulan is the Disney Princess with the highest kill count. After all, she engineered an avalanche caused by a rocket to crush an army of Huns.
To nail down the role, Liu Yifei used her experience as an accomplished martial artist and sword fighter from the 2008 movie, The Forbidden Kingdom.
For 3 months, she even trained 7 hours a day in horseback riding, sword-fighting, archery, and wirework. Not surprisingly, her stunts look phenomenal.
5. Gifted singer
Aside from being a multi-talented entertainer, Ms Liu is also a gifted singer.
Her musical repertoire includes a Japanese single Mayonaka no Door and a self-titled album Liu Yifei.
To promote Mulan, Liu Yifei sang her own rendition of the song Reflection in Mandarin. You can take a listen to her mellow take on the classic ditty here.
5. A fashion icon
Her enviable resume also includes being a brand ambassador and fashion icon — endorsing top global brands, while modelling for luxury products & apparel.
Armed with both talent and beauty, she became the brand ambassador of Adidas, Emporio Armani, Chaumet, and Tissot.
She was also featured on the cover of Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar.
6. Cat lady extraordinaire
Ms Liu takes the term “cat lady” to the next level. Her backyard is home to 30 adorable cats that receive a lot of TLC.
The actress and her mother also work with non-profit organisations to help cats find their furever homes. In the past, they even fostered around 60 cats!
Eventually, some of her fur babies were adopted by her friends and family.
7. Knows 4 languages
The actress is a jack-of-all-trades when it comes to languages. Besides Mandarin, she can speak English, Japanese, Korean, and French.
Hopefully, we can also make time to learn the language of love and understand most Asian dramas without relying on the subtitles someday.
8. Dated a K-drama oppa
While we can only dream of dating a K-drama oppa in real-life, Ms Liu has fulfilled this daunting obstacle in our bucket list.
She dated Hallyu star Song Seung Heon of the dramas East of Eden (2008) & Autumn in My Heart (2000) fame. In 2013, the couple met on the set of the film Third Way of Love and eventually started dating.
Much to the dismay of fans, the star-studded couple broke up in 2018.
At the moment, Ms Liu is not in a relationship, but her success in her career with this role proves that there’s nothing that she can’t do.
Stanning a multi-talented actress
And there you have it, these facts about Mulan’s lead actress Liu Yifei will undoubtedly impress fans of Disney’s recent live-action remake.
Hopefully, we’ll be able to see more of her performances in Wuxia films and Hollywood blockbuster movies in the years to come.
Have you caught Mulan – starring Donnie Yen, Gong Li & Jet Li – in cinemas yet? We’d love to hear your reviews in the comments below.
Featured image adapted from Instagram & Instagram.
