“I wanted to become her,” said He Chengxi, a 31-year-old heiress from Shenzhen, southern China, pointing to a photo of a young Fan Bingbing. Between 2008 and 2016, he underwent a staggering 37 plastic surgeries, mostly on his face, costing over 8 million yuan (about $1.1 million), all in an effort to look like the Chinese superstar.
Born into a wealthy family, He was dissatisfied with his “ordinary” appearance and became obsessed with Fan Bingbing’s beauty, so much so that he threatened suicide when his parents opposed the surgery. He underwent eyelid surgery three times, demanding that the results mirror the characteristics of his idol.
Fan Bingbing, once one of China’s highest paid and most revered actresses, was admired for her so-called “perfect” appearance. Thanks to his transformation, He Chengxi gained sudden fame in 2016 after appearing in a national music competition. Nicknamed the “Mini Fan Bingbing”, she landed small roles in dramas and films.
During this time, she began dating her plastic surgeon, Yu Xiaoquan, who also altered her appearance to resemble Li Chen, Fan’s then-boyfriend. The two have built a personal brand as “clones” of China’s most glamorous couple, appearing at nationwide events. Yu later opened a cosmetic clinic with the slogan: “Turning ordinary people into celebrities.”
In 2017 the couple married and had a son. However, in 2018, their fairy tale unraveled. He Chengxi publicly revealed that Yu was having an affair with another man. They divorced and Yu was granted custody of their son.
The same year, Fan Bingbing was involved in a massive tax evasion scandal, fined 884 million yuan (~$125 million) and effectively blacklisted in China. As Fan’s public image plummeted, so did Lui’s. Netizens mocked her, acting opportunities disappeared, and her “impersonator fame” quickly faded.
He later turned to fashion blogging and live streaming, amassing around 330,000 followers. She has since undergone further surgeries to look less like Fan Bingbing, returning to the screen in minor television roles.
“I am myself,” she said in a 2024 video. “One of my life principles is not to live to please others.”
His journey continues to spark debate online. While some admire her beauty and resilience—“She’s beautiful now, even though she no longer looks like Fan Bingbing”—others criticize her for losing her identity: “When you completely copy someone, you lose the most precious thing: yourself.”
Meanwhile, Fan Bingbing remains excluded from Chinese media and has shifted attention abroad. Despite her exile, she won the best actress award at Taiwan’s Golden Horse Awards in November, an achievement largely ignored by the mainland media.
He Chengxi’s story serves as both a cautionary tale and a complex narrative about identity, obsession with celebrity, and the search for self-worth in an image-driven world.
Sources: Znews
