As the 77th Cannes Film Festival kicked off on May 14, people on social media in mainland China were baffled by a mysterious Chinese woman who stole more attention on the red carpet than A-list celebrities like Gong Li.
Veteran actress Gon, who is attending the festival for the 20th time, was only given a long shot during the opening live broadcast, but the mystery woman was given a long 90-second close-up shot.
She was later revealed to be Wang Qianhui, an influencer with 6.5 million followers on Douyin.
Wang is also known as the wife of famous Chinese musician San Bao.
Their marriage in 2017 sparked outrage online because Wang, born in 1993, was 25 years younger than her husband.
Wang began dating San Bao when they were students at the Department of Musical Theatre at the Central Academy of Drama, China’s top drama and performing arts institution.
Despite being described as a gold digger – a term typically used to criticise young women who marry powerful older men – Wang did not live up to the expectations of her haters.
After giving birth to her two children in 2020, she launched her own career as an e-commerce influencer.
She mainly sells maternity and baby products, and has achieved total sales of up to 30 million yuan (US$4.15 million) in a single livestream session.
Wang wore a custom black-and-white dress by Harvey Senitt to the festival’s opening ceremony, and a silvery fairy gown and headdress adorned with pink flowers by Joli Poly Couture to the show the following day. Furiosa: The Mad Max Saga Premiere.
This is Wang’s second time on the Cannes red carpet, following her debut last year, and both times she was styled by actress Fan Bingbing’s stylists Bu Kewen and Wish Gui.
Fan was one of the first Chinese celebrities to walk the red carpet at Cannes, despite not having her film selected by the festival.
According to mainland Chinese media outlet Yang Cheng Evening News, even people who are unemployed can walk the red carpet by purchasing passes from the festival’s cooperating and sponsoring companies.
Wang is said to have gone to Cannes in 2023 as a top salesperson for Fan Bingbing’s beauty brand, Fan Beauty. Wang said she brought her own work with her to Cannes in 2024, but did not say what it was.
Wang said she has had success in the business world and would next like to pursue a career in acting.
She said she felt proud when Cannes staff recognised her and called her by name, but was also “itching to go to Cannes in the future with her own film.”
