Name: 賈靜雯
Born: Oct. 7, 1974
Birthplace: Taipei City, Taiwan
Did You Know That…?
While Alyssa Chia has become known as the "Queen of primetime," she actually got her start as a host in children's programming before carving out her niche in TV dramas.
Born in Taipei City, Alyssa Chia is an outstanding and eye-catching Taiwanese actress, producer, and TV host. When she was just 16 years old, she was discovered by a talent scout and shot her first commercial for AGV Products. This marked her debut in Taiwan's entertainment scene. From there, she went on to become the host of the children's show "Fingers of the Immortal (神仙指頭)" and participated in her first TV drama "Jia Jia Fu (佳家福)."
In her teen years, Chia moved to China with her family since her father was looking to invest there. She was admitted to the Beijing Film Academy and began her formal studies of acting. Unfortunately, her father's investment turned out to be a failure, and to add further tragedy, he was also diagnosed with cancer. As a result of this, at the age of 20, Chia chose to leave her education and return to Taiwan. She must shoulder her family's financial pressure and heavy debts.
To support her family and to pay off family debts, Chia dedicated herself to acting work, playing parts in more than 20 TV drama series and a number of commercials in just few short years. In 1997, Chia earned attention for both her appearance and her acting skills, playing a leading role in Taiwan Television's 1997 drama series "Four Daughters (四千金)" and her profile began to skyrocket.
Within two months, she raised to the rank of top actresses in TV primetime dramas. Three years later, in 2000, she appeared in the TV drama series "Flying Dragon in the Sky (飛龍在天)," further cementing her position as one of Taiwan's top leading ladies of primetime. Later, she went to China, working in the film and television industry there, playing roles in popular TV series, such as "The Prince of Han Dynasty (大漢天子)" (2001), "The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber (倚天屠龍記)" (2002), and "Lady Wu: The First Empress (至尊紅顏)" (2003). As a result of this, her profile on the other side of the strait also began to grow. Over the years, her television roles have run the gamut from ancient times to the modern day, from the literary and artsy to the combative and martial, and despite this massive diversity, she has proven up to each and every challenge.
After years of work, she was finally able to pay off her family's debts. Soon after, the then-31-year-old Chia fell in love with Charles Sun (孫志浩), a scion of a wealthy family, and the two were married. The couple had one daughter, but it turned out that they were not suited for married life together, and with things not going well, they filed for divorce in 2010.
A few years later, Alyssa Chia met Hsiu Chieh-kai (修傑楷), who is nine years her junior, and once again made the leap into romance. The two went on to marry, becoming parents to two daughters and building a big, happy family together.
Over the years, Chia has been involved in a wide variety of charity efforts, including acting as the celebrity spokesperson for a number of organizations. She has been the face of the Chinese Christian Relief Association's "1919 Study Support Project (1919陪讀計畫)," the Modern Women's Foundation's fundraising for supporting victims of abuse (帶孩子回安全的家－受暴婦幼扶助計畫), the Good Friend Mission's after-school care plan for disadvantaged children and adolescents (課後照護計劃), and fundraising efforts to support children with Down's Syndrome.
In 2019, Chia's performance in "The World between Us (我們與惡的距離)" earned her the Best Actress gong in the 54th Golden Bell Awards.
In "The World between Us," she plays bereaved mother and news station chief Sung Chiao-an (宋喬安). Her portrayal of a victim's mother was a showcase for her ability to be at once strong and resolute, but also fragile and grief-stricken, even in her smile was a hint of desperation. The series also presented her with a struggle to present a variety of angles on the human condition, with many scenes including panic, helplessness, anger, and breakdowns, all of which she was able to portray with aplomb. The Golden Bell judges praised her performance, saying that "every scene was superlative."
Acting, Chia says, was her first real job. She has loved performing ever since she started, and she has no intention of slowing down yet. On the contrary, she intends to continue giving her best no matter the role.
Recently she published an autobiography, "Happiness Comes Slowly (賈如幸福慢點來)," reflecting on her early years, divorce, remarriage, and motherhood. Her story of finding happiness again after divorce is an inspiration.