Ariel Lin

Ariel Lin Yi-chen is a Taiwanese actress and singer recognized for her roles across television and film in Asia. She achieved widespread fame through her leading performance in the drama series It Started with a Kiss and her role in the fantasy production The Little Fairy. Over the course of her career, she has received two Golden Bell Awards for Best Actress, establishing herself as a prominent figure in the Asian entertainment industry.

Lin was raised in Yilan, Taiwan, by her mother in a low-income household alongside her younger brother. Her parents separated during her early childhood and divorced when she was in high school, though she later assisted in their reconciliation. During her secondary education, she took on family caregiving duties following her mother's stroke. At age eighteen, she entered a beauty contest to win prize money for a computer for her brother, taking first place. She earned a bachelor's degree in Korean literature from National Chengchi University while acting part-time, and later completed a master's degree in screen acting at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama in London.

Following her discovery at the beauty pageant, Lin made her television acting debut in True Love 18 and appeared in her first feature film, Love Me, If You Can, which earned her a Golden Horse Award nomination. She expanded her prominence through roles in My Secret Garden II and Love Contract, also performing a theme song that led music charts for twelve weeks. Her major career breakthrough arrived with the hit 2005 series It Started with a Kiss, followed by her entry into mainland Chinese television with The Little Fairy and a starring role in Tokyo Juliet.

In 2007, Lin reprised her role in the sequel They Kiss Again, earning the Best Actress prize at the 43rd Golden Bell Awards. She subsequently starred in the martial arts adaptation The Legend of the Condor Heroes and the romantic series Love or Bread. Signing a multi-album deal with Avex Taiwan in 2009, she released her debut record, Blissful Encounter, and acted in her first theatrical play. She achieved major critical success with the 2011 drama In Time with You, winning her second Golden Bell Award, before starring in the historical production Prince of Lan Ling.

Expanding her career into cinema, Lin starred in the crime film Sweet Alibis and the feature sequel Go Lala Go 2. She later explored the thriller genre with her role in The Mysterious Family before returning to television in the series Old Boy and the historical drama I Will Never Let You Go.

In her personal life, Lin married businessman Charles Lin in 2014. She gave birth to a daughter in 2021, accompanied by the publication of a bestselling book she authored during her pregnancy, and announced the birth of her second child, a son, in 2025.