Yifei Liu (劉亦菲; Liu Yifei), also known by her English name Crystal, was born on August 25th, 1987, in Hubei, Wuhan, China as Feng An (安風; An Feng), and is the only child to Shaokang An (安少康; An Shaokang) (the 1st Secretary in the Chinese Embassy in France and a French language university professor), and Xiaoli Liu (刘晓莉; Liu Xiaoli) (a dancer and stage performer). Her parents divorced when she was age 10, and was raised by her mother; Liu also changed her name to Xi Mei Zi Liu (劉茜美子; Liu Xi Mei Zi).

Liu also began a career in the entertainment industry as a child, debuting as a model, before she immigrated to Queens, New York, in the United States with her mother. She lived in the states for five years, as per the requirements to earn her citizenship, attending school at Louis Pasteur Middle School 67. After five years, in 2002, she moved back to China, changed her name to Yifei Liu, and began pursuing an acting career. By the age of 15, Liu was accepted into the Performance Institute of Beijing Film Academy and graduated in 2006.

During her time at the academy, Liu was already receiving offers for roles, making her debut as an actress in a small role in the 2003 television drama 金粉世家 (Story of a Noble Family), based on the novel by Henshui Zhang (张恨水). It didn’t take long to get her big break in acting, as she starred in the leading role in the December television drama 天龙八部 (Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils), another series based on a novel. The drama aired in both mainland China and Taiwan, and was well recieved, earning her the nickname Fairy Sister by media and fans in Taiwan.

In 2006, Liu ventured into music, signing with Sony Music Japan, releasing her debut EP 真夜中のドア (Mayonaka no Door) on the 19th of July, and later her debut album All My Words in September of that same year. In August, she released her first Chinese album, which was self titled.

By 2008, Liu recieved her first acting role in Hollywood, starring in the film The Forbidden Kingdom (功夫之王) alongside Jackie Chan and Jet Li. Not only was this her first role in Hollywood, it was also her first venture onto the silver screen. It would be several years in the making for her return to the silver screen in Hollywood, with Disney’s 2020 live action remake of Mulan, which reunited her with The Forbidden Kingdom (功夫之王) co-star Jet Li. The film would also mark her return to music, as she released her own Mandarin version of the hit song “Reflection” for the film.