Ruby Lin

The following year, she starred in Romance in the Rain, a costume drama based in the 1930s and 1940s, also written by Chiung Yao.

The series was a commercial success and recorded the highest ratings of the year.

Ruby Lin Xin-ru (born January 27, 1976) is a Taiwanese actress, television and film producer, and pop singer.

American entertainment critic Derek Elley named Lin as "Taiwan's TV Drama Queen".

Her first TV commercial was for Jasmine Tea in 1994.

Lin's parents did not like the idea of their daughter being involved in the entertainment industry, but she decided to pursue an acting career.

After appearing in many commercials, her parents finally agreed to allow her to sign a contract with an entertainment-management company.

Following high school graduation, Lin joined Jessie and Jones Entertainment Ltd on her 20th birthday.

Over the years, she has also helped her parents to Reconcile.

When Lin received her first experience in front of the camera in 1995, for a minor role, she started to develop a passion for acting.

After filming her first TV commercial, Lin caught the attention of TV and film directors, and many companies began seeking her for roles.

She received her first role in the film School Days, with Jimmy Lin and Takeshi Kaneshiro.

From 1995 to 1997, Lin had roles in several Taiwanese TV series and began to attract attention and buzz from the media.

In 1996, Lin went to China for the first time to film; she considered this a period of valuable experience and a time that she began to learn about acting.

"I was in my second year of high school when I first got involved in film & TV industry. I thought there would be other opportunities for me to study abroad, but one does not bump into the opportunity to be in a film every day. So, I just went and had a try. I told myself that if my filming career didn't work out, then I could still go back to school. But things are not always as they may have appeared to be."

After playing minor roles in various series and films, Lin was selected by Taiwanese writer Chiung Yao to audition for a main role in the comedic period drama My Fair Princess, a joint production by mainland China and Taiwan which was adapted from Chiung Yao's own novel.

Originally picked for the role of Princess Saiya, Lin was ultimately chosen by the company to play Xia Ziwei instead, as the actress scheduled to play the main role was unavailable.

3 years after Lin made her acting debut in a TV commercial, she rose to national and regional prominence overnight for her role as Xia Ziwei in the TV series My Fair Princess 还珠格格 (1998-1999).

My Fair Princess was highly popular in East and Southeast countries; launching Lin as a household name in Asia.

In 1999, she also began a singing career with her debut album Heartbeat released in Hong Kong first amongst Asian countries, and has since released 5 albums.

She followed the success with other hit series including The Duke of Mount Deer (2000), Romance in the Rain (2001), Boy & Girl (2003), Affair of Half a Lifetime (2004), Beauty's Rival in Palace (2010), The Glamorous Imperial Concubine (2011) and The Way We Were (2014).

In 2000 she starred in Hong Kong TVB's production of The Duke of Mount Deer with Dicky Cheung, Shu Qi and other well-known artists.

In this series, Lin played Princess Jian Ning – a sassy, funny girl.

This role demonstrated her acting range, since it differed from the nice, sweet image she had developed from her role in My Fair Princess.

"After it was decided that I played the role of Ziwei, I got the script only three days before I had to leave for filming. And that was also the first time I was leaving my native place for such a long time for filming and I had to overcome the challenges of being in an unfamiliar environment. (Taiwan Cover story Interview in 2001)"

The drama quickly became a phenomenal sensation, appealing to large audiences in mainland China, Hong Kong, South Korea, and Southeast Asia.

Lin rose to prominence and became a household name overnight.

After My Fair Princess, Lin starred in a number of successful television series.

Since Lin started her own studio in 2009, she has been producing TV dramas and TV films starring herself, both in mainland China and Taiwan.

Her production debut The Glamorous Imperial Concubine (2011) won her Best Producer at the 2012 TV Drama Awards Made in China, and her first Taiwanese drama production The Way We Were (2014) won three out of seven nominations, including Best Television Series at the 50th Golden Bell Awards.

According to Apple Daily, Lin was the third highest-earning Taiwanese drama actress in 2011, and the top-earning in 2012 and 2013.

Lin ranked 30th on Forbes China Celebrity 100 list in 2013, 36th in 2014, 82nd in 2015, and 68th in 2017.

Lin was born and raised in Taipei, Taiwan, the eldest of four children, having one brother a year younger the other, six years younger, and a half-sister, ten years younger, from her father's second marriage.

Her father was a businessman, and her mother a housewife.

Her English name is from her mother's love of the jewel.

After her parents' divorce, when Lin was seven years old, she lived with her mother, who took her to visit relatives in Japan every year.

She graduated from Ri Xin Primary School and Zhong Dian High School.

Lin originally planned on going to the United Kingdom to study after high school graduation but she didn't, never considering the prospect of an acting career.

However, she began her acting career at age seventeen as a part-time model.

While focusing mostly on TV series, her works also include film such as The House That Never Dies (2014), The Devotion of Suspect X (2017) and Miss Andy (2020).