Fallen stars in China: celebrity brushes with the law, censored by authorities or self-imposed exile. Where are they now, will they shine again?

In 2017, she was featured on the cover of Time Magazine as one of the “100 People Who Influenced the World.”

Actress Fan Bingbing “disappeared” and was subsequently caught up in a tax evasion scandal. Photo: EPA

Just a year later, the actress was involved in a high-profile tax evasion scandal that attracted international attention because she disappeared for months without a trace.

When the case ended, Fan and her companies were ordered to pay around 880 million yuan ($124 million) in fines.

In the years that followed, she slowly made a comeback with the launch of her beauty brand Fan Beauty in April 2019.

In 2023, she resumed her career as an actress in the Hong Kong-produced film Green Night.

Kris Wu (Wu Yifan)

Actor and singer Kris Wu is serving a prison sentence for rape in China and will be deported after his release. Photo: `

Kris Wu, 33, is a Canadian-Chinese actor, singer and former member of the K-pop band EXO.

In 2021, he was accused of raping several women by spiking their drinks and was sentenced to 13 years in prison for the crime. After his release he will be deported.

All of his music, film and television productions were banned in China and his social media presence was deleted.

Zheng Shuang

Zheng Shuang, 32, was one of China's most famous actresses when she was caught up in a surrogacy scandal in 2021.

Mainland Chinese actress Zheng Shuang has found herself at the center of a surrogate birth storm. Photo: Beijing Enlight Pictures

She was accused of leaving her two unborn surrogates to her boyfriend in the United States, who released an audio recording of Zheng complaining that abortion was not a viable option because the surrogates were more than seven months pregnant.

She was banned from appearing in television dramas and other entertainment projects and several brands, including Prada, also abandoned her.

After the rejection in China, she reportedly focused on legal matters and lived in the US with her two sons.

Zhang Zhehan

32-year-old actor Zhang Zhehan gained wide recognition for his portrayal of male lead Zhou Zishu in the ancient action drama Word of Honor.

Actor Zhang Zhehan was caught in a political storm after photos of him at Japan's controversial Yasukuni Shrine, which honors war criminals, were leaked. Photo: Weibo

However, in 2021, he was blacklisted for offending political sensitivities after photos were published of him posing in front of the Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo.

The Yasukuni Shrine is an extremely sensitive issue in China because it honors 14 convicted Class A war criminals from Japan's imperial past.

Zhang released a solo album in Taiwan and held three solo concerts in Thailand and Malaysia in 2023.

Li Yifeng

Li Yifeng, 36, had 61 million followers on Weibo and regularly won awards as the most popular drama actor in China when he was jailed in 2022 for visiting sex workers.

Actor and singer Li Yifeng was shunned by fans and sponsors alike after it was revealed that he had visited prostitutes. Photo: Weibo

Major brands canceled their contracts with him and his fans burned the merchandise he recommended.

A year later he resumed a normal life.

In 2023, he showed up in his hometown of Chengdu, capital of southwest China's Sichuan Province, and nearly 100 fans met him at the airport.

Zhou Libo

Renowned Chinese comedian Zhou Libo, 56, created the comedic Haipai Qingkou style, which includes extended monologues with social and political commentary.

In 2017, he was jailed twice on suspicion of sexual assault, extortion and drug possession. Its content was banned in China.

Zhou Libo became embroiled in political chaos because of his comedy style and was also imprisoned twice for sexual assault, extortion and drug possession. Photo: Handout

Zhou now lives in the United States and said he has “traveled around the world,” according to his last post on Weibo in January 2023.

Ke Zhendong

Taiwanese singer and actor Ke Zhendong, 32, won the best actor award at the Taipei Film Awards and had 33 million Weibo followers in China when he was arrested on drug charges alongside fellow actor Jaycee Chan in 2014.

After his release, he held a news conference in Beijing and said he would “never touch drugs for the rest of his life” before returning to Taiwan.

Award-winning Taiwanese actor Ke Zhendong was jailed for drug abuse in 2014. Photo: Reuters

In 2016, he starred in a mainland Chinese television series, but it was not well received. In 2021, he starred again in the Taiwanese film “Moneyboys” and received a nomination for Best Actor at the Golden Horse Awards.

Jaycee Chan (Fang Zuming)

Martial arts legend Jackie Chan's son Jaycee Chan, 41, is a well-known singer and actor in Hong Kong and the US.

In 2014, he got into legal trouble when he was arrested in Beijing for marijuana possession and sentenced to six months in prison for “acquiescing other drug users.”

Hong Kong actor Jaycee Chan, the son of film legend Jackie Chan, was arrested at the same time as Ke Zhendong and was also in prison. Photo: Reuters

After Chan's release, he turned to directing films and founded his own branding company.