China actress Yang Zi goes global with selection as torch-bearer for 2024 Paris Olympics

Yang Zi is also an ambassador for Major League Baseball (MLB) China and promotes the sport. Photo: Baidu

• Actress known as 'nation's daughter' has 62 million online followers, appeal gets Olympic-sized boost with torch-bearer appointment

Chinese actress Yang Zi will join a slew of other stars from the country to be torch-bearers at the Paris Olympics.

The 31-year-old, who leaves for France on June 26, is also an ambassador for China's leading dairy brand, Mengniu, which is a Worldwide Olympic Partner, the state broadcaster CCTV reported.

Dubbed the "nation's daughter" in China, Yang enjoys high popularity thanks to the success of the TV drama Home with Kids which was first broadcast in the early 2000s.

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She played a main character called Xia Xue, a teenage girl who is smart, lively and sensible but also a bit rebellious. Her portrayal was overwhelmingly acclaimed by Chinese audiences.

Yang graduated from the prestigious Performance Institute of Beijing Film Academy in 2014.

Over the past decade she has starred in many TV and film productions such as the ancient costume drama Lost You Forever, the inspirational Go Go Squid and Psychologist.

"The Olympic spirit is not only reflected in the competition. It also can shine in every corner of our life," said Yang on Weibo on June 18 when the news of her relaying the Olympics torch was announced.

She has 62 million followers on the platform.

Last year, she was appointed as the Major League Baseball (MLB) China ambassador as the American baseball organisation hoped to leverage Yang's popularity among China's youth to promote the sport in the country.

"Yang Zi has always been the princess I love. I believe she will succeed in fulfilling her task of passing the torch," said one of her fans on the Baidu website.

"I am so happy she has been selected to relay the Olympics torch. I will always support you and be proud of you!" another person said.

Before Yang, other Chinese stars including Tang Wei and Zhao Lusi joined the torch relay in France at the beginning of June.

Tang is the heroine of director Ang Lee's film Lust, Caution, while Zhao has a large fan base in China.

US-born freestyle ski star Eileen Gu, who won two gold medals at the Beijing Winter Olympics, is also a torch-bearer in France. .

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This article originally appeared on the South China Morning Post (www.scmp.com), the leading news media reporting on China and Asia.

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