Wu Yifan (Chinese: 吴亦凡, born November 6, 1990 in Guangzhou, China), also known as Kris Wu, is a Chinese-Canadian actor, singer, and model, and a former member of Korean-Chinese boy band EXO and its Chinese sub-group EXO-M.
Born and raised in Guangdong, China, Wu moved to Vancouver, Canada with his mother when he was 10 years old and lived there until he was 18, when he moved to Korea after successfully auditioning for SM Entertainment's Canadian Global Auditions. He debuted as a member of EXO in April 2012, but left in May 2014 after filing a lawsuit against SM Entertainment to terminate his contract in which alleged that the company disregarded his health, maintained unfair profit distributions, restricted his freedom, and treated him like a product rather than a person.
In the same year, Wu returned to China and continued building his career, now as both a musician and an actor. Wu starred in several #1 box office hits including Mr. Six (2015) and Journey to the West: The Demons Strike Back (2017), which are among the highest-grossing Chinese films of all time in his native country. He made his Hollywood debut in XXX Return Of Xander Cage (2017). After releasing several singles, he released his first full album Antares in November 2018.
On July 8, 2021, 19-year-old university student Du Meizhu accused Wu of raping her when she was 17 on Chinese social media. In further public statements, she cited instances of Wu allegedly inviting women to events, often under the pretext of auditioning for roles in dramas and music videos, for the purpose of getting them drunk and raping them. Following the events of Du's initial allegation, she was reportedly paid hush money by Wu's agency, but her speaking out resulted in "at least" 24 more women coming forward and stating that they had similar experiences with Wu. Wu denied all allegations but lost sponsorships and had his social media accounts and music removed from Chinese platforms.
On July 31, 2021, Wu was placed under criminal detention by the Beijing Chaoyang District police on suspicion of rape; he was formally arrested over allegations of rape on August 16 of that year. On November 25, 2022, the Beijing court convicted Wu of raping 3 women while they were drunk between November and December 2020 and "assembling a crowd to engage in sexual promiscuity" with 2 women on July 1, 2018. For these convictions, he was sentenced to 13 years in prison and deportation from the country after serving his sentence. He was also fined CN¥600 million (approximately $84 million USD) for tax evasion. In 2023, Wu unsuccessfully attempted to appeal his convictions.
- 2018 - Antares
- 2014 - Time Boils The Rain (时间煮雨)
- 2014 - There is a Place (有一个地方)
- 2015 - Bad Girl
- 2015 - Greenhouse Girl (花房姑娘)
- 2016 - From Now On (从此以后)
- 2016 - July
- 2016 - Sword like a Dream (刀剑如梦)
- 2016 - Good Kid (乖乖) [with Tan Jing]
- 2017 - Juice
- 2017 - 6
- 2017 - I Choose the Road (我选择的路)
- 2017 - Deserve [featuring Travis Scott]
- 2017 - Miss You (想你) [featuring Zhao Liying]
- 2017 - B.M.
- 2018 - Hold Me Down
- 2018 - Like That
- 2018 - Freedom [featuring Jhené Aiko]
- 2018 - Coupe [featuring Rich the Kid]
- 2019 - A Large Bowlful of Noodles (大碗宽面)
- 2015 - Somewhere Only We Know, as Ze Yang
- 2015 - Mr. Six, as Xiao Fei
- 2016 - The Mermaid, as Long Jianfei
- 2016 - So Young 2: Never Gone, as Cheng Zheng
- 2016 - Sweet Sixteen, as Xia Mu
- 2016 - L.O.R.D: Legend of Ravaging Dynasties, as Yin Chen
- 2017 - 'XXX Return Of Xander Cage, as Nicks
- 2017 - Journey to the West: The Demons Strike Back, as Tang Sanzang
- 2017 - Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets, as Captain Neza
- 2017 - Europe Raiders, as Le Qi
- 2018 - L.O.R.D: Legend of Ravaging Dynasties 2, as Yin Chen
Kris Wu provides examples of the following tropes:
- Hotter and Sexier: His "Bad Girl" song and music video, which includes suggestive lyrics, him being surrounded by sexy women, and a Shirtless Scene.
- I Have Many Names: His birth name is Li Jiaheng. He changed his name to Kevin Li when he was in Canada and while he was in SM Entertainment, he chose Kris as his stage name and currently his stage name while doing solo work in China is Wu Yi Fan or Kris Wu.
- Lonely Rich Kid: His character in Mr. Six is a rebellious, angry person, despite coming from a wealthy family, due to not having a loving father.
- Love Martyr: "Bad Girl" is about him deciding to no longer be this to his unfaithful, dismissive girlfriend.
- Lyrical Dissonance: "Bad Girl" is about him deciding to let go of a relationship in which his girlfriend mistreats and cheats on him...and it sounds quite upbeat, pop-ish, and fast-paced.
- Meaningful Name: Yifan roughly means "also normal". Kris means "a follower of Christ".
