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Alice Yan

She is one of the biggest names in China’s entertainment industry, and spotting talent is her business.
But Yang Tianzhen is now putting her own skills to the test by studying for a master’s degree in the United States.
The famous mainland talent agent and entrepreneur is studying global communication and public policy at the University of Southern California (USC).
Her switch from the bright lights of the entertainment industry to the hallowed halls of academia has captivated mainland social media and left some asking, just who is Yang Tianzhen.

Her first lesson at USC was finding that fame is difficult to shake off, even if you are thousands of miles away from home.
On June 6, Yang complained on social media that Chinese students were gathering around the classroom where she studies to give her their résumés.
“I suggest you not wait for me at the entrance of the classroom. It will make my classmates feel weird. Thank you. Otherwise, I will have to attend online classes,” she said.
The incident is indicative of both China’s current tough job market and the big influence Yang has in show business.
Yang, who has been dubbed the walking traffic queen, is regarded as a legend of artist management.

Born as Yang Siwei in eastern Jiangxi province in 1985, Yang graduated from the Communication University of China in Beijing.
She enrolled in the directing department of the university, but in her third year realised she was not cut out for that line of work.
Instead, she went for marketing, planning and coordination before finding an internship at a Beijing-based agency.
After graduation, Yang joined the agency and became responsible for promoting their stars in the media.
In 2008, she became the director of communication at the Fan Bingbing Studio.
The cooperation between Yang and Fan, a top Chinese actress with international reach, ended six years later, but their friendship has remained.
In early June, Fan shared a picture of her and Yang together with the caption “long time no see”.
Besides Fan, Yang has managed a slew of top-tier stars from both mainland China and Taiwan, like Lu Han, Zhang Yixing, Zhang Yuqi, Mark Chao and Nana Ouyang.
In the past couple of years, Yang has taken part in numerous variety shows, winning the hearts of audiences with her positive personality, eloquence, insight and confidence.
She established her garment brand, Plusmall, in 2020, targeting big-sized women.
Yang was once well known for her sizeable physique, with her weight peaking at 115kg.

When she successfully got her weight down to less than 60kg, Yang was accused by some people of “betraying fat girls”.
“Losing weight is for the sake of my health, not for pleasing anybody,” Yang responded.
She revealed her secret to staying thin is working out for two hours three times a week.
Her announcement in May about her overseas study plans caused a stir on social media.
Some people asked: “Why bother to study abroad? You are already so successful?”
“Studying abroad was my dream when I was a little girl. It is an experience that cannot be replaced by other things,” Yang responded.


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Entrepreneur icon swaps bright lights of entertainment industry for hushed halls of academia, finds it is not easy to shake off fame


Entrepreneur icon swaps bright lights of entertainment industry for hushed halls of academia, finds it is not easy to shake off fame.


Fan Bingbing

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.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Entrepreneur icon swaps bright lights of entertainment industry for hushed halls of academia, finds it is not easy to shake off fame

Entrepreneur icon swaps bright lights of entertainment industry for hushed halls of academia, finds it is not easy to shake off fame