JOHOR BAHRU, Dec 6 — Sultan of Johor Sultan Ibrahim Almarhum Sultan Iskandar today granted an audience to China’s mega movie star Fan Bingbing.
According to a post on His Majesty’s official Facebook, the celebrity made the courtesy call as part of her engagements at the 34th Singapore International Film Festival.
The visit was facilitated by her Johor-born international manager, Jersey Chong, who wanted to introduce Bingbing to the next Yang di-Pertuan Agong.
“As Anak Johor, I am so proud that my Sultan will be the next King of Malaysia. We wrote officially to the Johor Istana to enquire if Bingbing could call on His Majesty.
“We were thrilled when the reply came that Tuanku Sultan has graciously agreed to meet Bingbing,” said Chong to the Royal Press Office here, according to the Facebook post.
The movie star was accompanied by her mother, Zhang Chuanmei, who is an entrepreneur, said the post.
Bingbing’s younger brother, Fan Chengcheng, is also a very famous pop singer and actor in China.
Bingbing, who has 63 million followers on Weibo (China’s version of X, previously known as Twitter) and 4.1 million Instagram followers, is often touted as the face of global Chinese culture.
Her box-office appeal extends beyond just Chinese movies, having also acted in the Hollywood superhero movie – X-Men: Days of Future Past, as well as in French and Korean movies.
One of the world’s highest-paid actresses, she runs her own artistes’ management agency, a production company and Fan Beauty – a cosmetics and skincare brand that has achieved great success in China.
Additionally, she has been the face of Adidas, Louis Vuitton and Moet and sells everything from lipstick to diamonds.
In 2017, Time magazine featured her on the cover. She was also named Times 100 Globally Most Influential People, making her the only Asian actress selected.
