Yan Luo (screenwriter)
Encyclopedia
Luo Yan is a Chinese American actress and screenwriter. She was born in Urumqi
, Xinjiang
. After having a successful acting career in China
, she came to the U.S.
in the mid 1980s. She started her own business during the early 1990s and later became the first female Chinese filmmaker to produce, write, and star in a Hollywood film.
Both her parents were biology
professors. She was raised by her grandparents in Shanghai
. When she was 10 years old, her grandfather was arrested and held in concentration camps. He died shortly after his release and Yan Luo had to take responsibility and care for her ailing grandmother at a very young age.
While working at the Shanghai Textile Factory, she secretly took acting classes and became an active member of a local theater group. In 1977, she applied to the Shanghai Drama Institute and was one of only 20 to be accepted in her class.
Her break through in China came with the movie Female Student Dormitory in 1984. She then starred in The Girl in Red.
Starting in 1986, Yan Luo studied English with the hopes of receiving a scholarship to study outside of China. Six months later she received one to study at Boston University
.
After working as a waitress, cleaning lady, baby sitter, and housekeeper during her time in Boston, she earned her Masters degree in Fine Arts in 1990.
She then interned with the Los Angeles
Theater Center and continued taking classes at UCLA, mainly focusing on film production.
In 1994, Yan Luo founded Moonstone International, an import-export company. Today the company reports annual sales of over $4 million and employs more than 20.
In 1996 she started to work on Pavilion of Women, a movie after the novel by Pearl S. Buck
. In 1997 she decided to co-write the script and started production in 1999.
Ürümqi
Ürümqi , formerly Tihwa , is the capital of Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China, in the northwest of the country....
, Xinjiang
Xinjiang
Xinjiang is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China. It is the largest Chinese administrative division and spans over 1.6 million km2...
. After having a successful acting career in China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, she came to the U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in the mid 1980s. She started her own business during the early 1990s and later became the first female Chinese filmmaker to produce, write, and star in a Hollywood film.
Both her parents were biology
Biology
Biology is a natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy. Biology is a vast subject containing many subdivisions, topics, and disciplines...
professors. She was raised by her grandparents in Shanghai
Shanghai
Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
. When she was 10 years old, her grandfather was arrested and held in concentration camps. He died shortly after his release and Yan Luo had to take responsibility and care for her ailing grandmother at a very young age.
While working at the Shanghai Textile Factory, she secretly took acting classes and became an active member of a local theater group. In 1977, she applied to the Shanghai Drama Institute and was one of only 20 to be accepted in her class.
Her break through in China came with the movie Female Student Dormitory in 1984. She then starred in The Girl in Red.
Starting in 1986, Yan Luo studied English with the hopes of receiving a scholarship to study outside of China. Six months later she received one to study at Boston University
Boston University
Boston University is a private research university located in Boston, Massachusetts. With more than 4,000 faculty members and more than 31,000 students, Boston University is one of the largest private universities in the United States and one of Boston's largest employers...
.
After working as a waitress, cleaning lady, baby sitter, and housekeeper during her time in Boston, she earned her Masters degree in Fine Arts in 1990.
She then interned with the Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
Theater Center and continued taking classes at UCLA, mainly focusing on film production.
In 1994, Yan Luo founded Moonstone International, an import-export company. Today the company reports annual sales of over $4 million and employs more than 20.
In 1996 she started to work on Pavilion of Women, a movie after the novel by Pearl S. Buck
Pearl S. Buck
Pearl Sydenstricker Buck also known by her Chinese name Sai Zhenzhu , was an American writer who spent most of her time until 1934 in China. Her novel The Good Earth was the best-selling fiction book in the U.S. in 1931 and 1932, and won the Pulitzer Prize in 1932...
. In 1997 she decided to co-write the script and started production in 1999.