Ouyang Nana

Inspired by cellist Mei-Ying Liao, Ouyang Nana started playing the guitar at the age of four, piano at the age of five and cello at the age of six. She won first place in cello and guitar and second place in piano at the Wenhua Taiwan Cup Music Competition in Taiwan.^[1] She started attending the music program at Dunhua Elementary School (敦化國民小學) in 2008 and graduated from the school in 2012 with top honors.

In 2010, she was admitted to study cello at the Affiliated Junior High School of National Taiwan Normal University. The same year, she became the principal cellist of the Century Youth Orchestra.^[2] In 2011, she took first place in the Grand Taiwan National Music Competition in both the cello and string quartet categories and first place in the National Music Competition of Taiwan. She has also participated in the National Cello Institute Summer Festival in the U.S. and 2011 Salut Summer Festival in Taitung.^[1]

In 2012, Ouyang became the youngest cellist to give a solo recital debut in Concert Hall of Taiwan.^[3] The same year, she won the First Award at the Taiwan School Year 100 National Music Competition and was accepted to the junior high music program at National Taiwan Normal University. In 2013, Ouyang began attending the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, but left in 2015 to focus on her career.^[4][5] She then signed with Universal Music and released her solo debut classical album 15.^[6] In 2016, she released her first single, "Warming Your Winter," for her first television drama, Yes! Mr. Fashion.^[7] In 2017, she released her second album, Cello Loves Disney.^[8] In December, she performed at the awards ceremony for the 2018 Breakthrough Prize, where she performed a rendition of "See You Again" alongside American rapper Wiz Khalifa. Ouyang became the first Asian person to perform at the event.^[3]

In September 2018, she resumed her studies at the Berklee College of Music, from which she graduated in 2024 with a diploma but did not earn a bachelor’s degree.^[9][10]

Ouyang first attracted attention with her appearance in the 2014 romance film, Beijing Love Story where she played a cellist.^[11] She next starred in the sports film To the Fore,^[12] where she was nominated for the Best Supporting Actress at the Macau International Film Festival.

In 2016, she began filming for the science fiction film, Bleeding Steel with Jackie Chan.^[13] The same year, she made her small-screen debut in the romance comedy drama Yes! Mr. Fashion opposite Chen Xuedong.^[14]

In 2017, she was cast as the female lead in the youth film Secret Fruit, based on the novel of the same name by Rao Xueman.^[15]

In 2018, she was cast as the female lead in the fantasy adventure drama The Great Ruler opposite Roy Wang.^[16]

On March 6, 2019, the Kuomintang (KMT) held a Central Standing Committee meeting, after which the party spokesperson Ouyang Lung, Nana's father, communicated its stance on cross-strait policy: maintaining the status quo of “no unification, no independence, no use of force” under the framework of the “Constitution of the Republic of China.” His remarks were framed by some mainland Chinese netizens as supporting Taiwanese independence. On March 21, 2019, Beijing TV censored Ouyang Nana's image in its program. Later that day, her studio issued a statement, saying that Ouyang Nana was already 18, "an adult with her independent thinking" who opposed Taiwan independence. She soon reposted her studio, saying: "As an overseas student, [I] often get asked 'where do you come from?' I come from China. This is my answer."^[17] She said:" I have a good relationship with both of my parental and maternal grandparents since I was young. I grew up hearing Sichuan dialect, and they said that people should not forget about their roots wherever they go. I am proud of being Chinese. I will remember that my hometown is Ji'an Jiangxi [sic]. I will never forget how touched I was when I saw my name on the old Genealogy."^[18]

Many Chinese netizens remained unsatisfied with her statement on Weibo, where most international brands typically limit their responses to appeal to the Chinese market when addressing such political issues. Facing popular demands that she post the statement on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube—platforms banned in China—to demonstrate her loyalty, she ultimately did.^[19][20] On March 22, 2019, Ouyang Lung responded to the media, saying "from my [cultural and] political background, I support the One-China Policy and 1992 Consensus". He said he was saddened by the mistreatment his daughter had garnered "simply by saying the status quo" and said that the Democratic Progressive Party should take responsibility for Cross-Strait relations.^[21]

In March 2021, she announced support for cotton from Xinjiang in mainland China, after some companies had expressed concerns about human rights abuses of Uyghurs at the Xinjiang internment camps.^[22] In 2024, Ouyang came out in support of a China Central Television (CCTV) statement in favor of Chinese unification.^[23] In 2025, Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council announced that Ouyang was under investigation for sharing Chinese government propaganda and may face fines.^[24]