Chen Chen (host)

Chen Chen (Chinese: 陈辰; pinyin: Chén Chén; born May 15, 1979) is a Chinese host and presenter. She gained national prominence for hosting various popular programs on Dragon Television.^[1]

Chen was a child actress during her schooling years. Initially she had no intentions of entering the entertainment industry and worked as a host for small-scale product launches and promotional events to earn extra money as a university student. A television director who was at such an event persuaded her to try hosting a television program. She was chosen to host the children's program Dragon Club (小神龙俱乐部) as she was fluent in both English and Mandarin Chinese. After receiving a positive response from viewers, she hosted the SMG's flagship entertainment and lifestyle program Entertainment Online (娱乐在线).^[2]

As she is bilingual, Chen has hosted and served as a translator at international events and conferences held in Shanghai, most notably the annual Shanghai International Film Festival.^[3][4] She co-hosted the 2015 Laureus World Sports Awards, which was held in Shanghai, together with actor Benedict Cumberbatch.^[5] The event drew much attention in China as Chen was the first Chinese national to host the awards and do it entirely in English without a translator.^[6]

Chen began shifting away from hosting television programs to producing in 2012. She was the producer and presenter of the critically-acclaimed program Heroes (闪亮的名字), which features the stories of ordinary citizens during significant periods of China's history, a departure from large-scale anniversary documentaries which typically glorified party or military achievements.^[1] The first season was nominated for Best Variety Program awards at the 2019 Shanghai Television Festival Magnolia Awards. Due to a positive reception from viewers, a second season was commissioned and it won the Best Literary/Cultural Program award at the biennial China Television Arts Starlight Awards.^[7][8]

Chen graduated from Shanghai International Studies University with a bachelor's degree in international journalism and master's degree in communication studies.^[9] She was exposed to the television and entertainment industry from an early age as her aunt Chen Peiying (陈佩英), better known by her stage name Xiao Chen (小辰), was a presenter and producer during the 1960s to 1980s.

In January 2019, she appeared in the audience of the singing competition Super-Vocal season 1, and it was revealed that she was married to participant Yu Di, a singer-songwriter and vocal instructor at Shanghai Theatre Academy.^[1]