Who is Jia Ling? Hi, Mom actress and filmmaker who made Chinese box office history during the Lunar New Year holiday has a sad family story
- Jia, who started her showbiz career as a comedian in the male-dominated crosstalk industry, says her bubbly persona hides a melancholic streak
- Her film, a comedy in which she goes back in time and befriends her mum, then sees her die, springs from her regret at failing to see her mum before she died
Hi, Mom is the sleeper hit of this Lunar New Year holiday in Chinese cinemas, having taken 3 billion yuan (US$462 million) at the domestic box office.
Jia, 39, graduated from Beijing’s Central Academy of Drama 20 years ago and started her show business career as a crosstalk comedian. Crosstalk, or xiangsheng, is a traditional, rapid-fire comedic act starring two people who strive to outwit each other verbally.
In the past, she has talked about how she had to live rough and work odd jobs to continue in the male-dominated crosstalk industry. In 2008, she saw a surge of interest in her work thanks to Lunpengdou, a crosstalk stand-up comedy starring her and Bai Kainan, which ran for more than 80 sold-out performances in Beijing.
Jia went on to star in numerous comedies on television and on the big screen, which helped cement her status as one of the top woman comedians in China. In 2016, she set up Big Bowl Entertainment, and the production company’s first work was the short play Hi Mom, from which her movie was adapted.