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Chen Emilie Yan was born on February 9, 2000, in Shanghai, China, to a Chinese mother and a German father. At the age of five, she and her family moved to Germany, settling near Düsseldorf. There, Yan began studying psychology, completing her bachelor's degree at Durham University in the United Kingdom. She then went on to study acting at the University of Music and Performing Arts Graz.
While still a student, she appeared on stage in 2023 at Schauspielhaus Graz and at the Deutsches Theater in the production "Identitti Rezeptionista."
Following her graduation, Chen Emilie Yan joined the Stadttheater Ingolstadt for the 2024/25 season as a permanent ensemble member.
She made her screen debut in 2024 with a small role in the six-part television docudrama "Die Spaltung der Welt" ("A World Divided," 2024). Her first leading role came in the drama "Staatsschutz" ("Prosecution"), in which she plays an idealistic public prosecutor who becomes the victim of a racist attack in eastern Germany and is confronted with a justice system that downplays and silences racism. The film premiered in the Panorama section of the 2026 Berlinale.