Vanness Wu (; born August 7, 1978) is a Taiwanese-American singer and actor. He was a member of the Taiwanese boyband F4 and the Korean Mandopop duo Kangta & Vanness.
Early life Vanness Wu was born in Santa Monica, California to Taiwanese immigrant parents, George Wu and Mimi Yang. He was named after Van Nuys Boulevard, where he and his parents used to live. After graduating Corona del Mar High School in Newport Beach, California, he moved to Taiwan to pursue a career in entertainment. He learned to breakdance as a teenager and competed in numerous dance competitions throughout the '90s and featured in the 1998 breakdancing-themed music video for Jason Nevins' remix of Run-D.M.C.'s "It's Like That".
Career Early career with F4
Wu starred as Mei Zuo (美作), one of the F4 members, in the Taiwanese drama series Meteor Garden and its sequel, Meteor Garden II. At the conclusion of the series, they continued to perform together and released three studio albums as the boy band F4. In 2002, Wu became the second F4 member, after Vic Chou, to release his debut solo album, Body Will Sing. The track, "I Hate Myself" is listed at number 95 on Hit Fm Taiwan's Hit Fm Annual Top 100 Singles Chart for 2002. Hit-Fm年度百首單曲 2002 (#51 to 100) Retrieved 16 April 2011 The album was awarded as one of the "Top 10 Selling Mandarin Albums of the Year" at the 2002 IFPI Hong Kong Album Sales Awards, presented by the Hong Kong branch of IFPI.IFPI Hong Kong 2002 IFPI Hong Kong Album Sales Awards winners list Retrieved 19 April 2011
In 2003, he performed a Mandarin Chinese rap in a version Beyoncé's single "Crazy in Love", featured on the Asian special edition of her album Dangerously in Love.
In 2004, Wu made his film debut in the Hong Kong film Star Runner and was nominated at the Hong Kong Film Awards for Best Newcomer.
In 2006, he collaborated with Korean singer Kangta, forming Kangta & Vanness. The duo released the album Scandal.
In 2008, Wu was announced as the opening act and special guest for Kanye West's "Glow in the Dark" concert in Shanghai. They performed the hit song "Good Life".
Solo career Wu has appeared in several Taiwanese dramas as well as motion pictures. In 2009, he starred as Ren Guang Xi in Autumn's Concerto, one of the highest-rated Taiwanese idol drama. He also released his first Japanese single "Only", which entered Top 10 of the Oricon Chart, as well as another single "I Don't Wanna Lose You".
Wu's third Chinese solo album C'est La V was released July 2011 under Universal Music Taiwan. It features collaborations with international artistes such as Ryan Tedder from OneRepublic, as well as Bruno Mars and Justin Michael who wrote the track "Knockin".
Wu is also the creator/designer of his own designer label 3.V.O.7.
In 2012, Wu won the "Best Crossover Singer" at the 16th Chinese Global Music Charts.
In 2013, Wu joined Jiangsu TV's diving variety show Stars in Danger: The High Dive, and won the silver medal.
In January 2015, Wu was announced to be one of the judges of the talent show Asia's Got Talent, along with Indonesian-French singer Anggun, Canadian musician David Foster, and former Spice Girls member Melanie C, which aired from March to May on AXN Asia.
In July 2015, Wu returned to the Philippines after a decade of his first visit for the special show for the #LiveinLevis event sponsored by Levi's in line with the launch of the Women's Denim Collection for Fall 2015. Wu's performance was a way of thanking the brand's fans and style seekers.
In 2016, it was announced that Wu would star in his first Chinese television series The Princess Weiyoung alongside Tiffany Tang, playing the 5th century prince and then Emperor Tuoba Yu of the Northern Wei Dynasty. He was also in the science fiction film Pili Back. In the same year, he participated with his sister Melody in the third season of The Amazing Race China, based on CBS's reality program of the same name, where they were eliminated on the ninth leg and finished 4th.
In 2019, he starred in Ip Man 4: The Finale alongside Donnie Yen where he played Hartman Wu, a U.S. Marine Corps Staff Sergeant and Bruce Lee's student.
In 2018, he established his own footwear brand called xVessel.
In 2026, Wu reunited with his fellow F4 members for their first world tour, F✦FOREVER 1st World Tour, at Chengdu and Wuhan in China, Jakarta in Indonesia, Bulacan in Philippines, Bangkok in Thailand, Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia, and Singapore.
Musical style
Wu's albums are composed of a majority of dance tracks, although he did include a handful of soothing ballads. A number of songs, such as the upbeat "Never Let You Go", bear nostalgic reminders of 90s pop genre, although it is predominantly Western hip-hop in quality. A musical arts research analysis published at jstor.org has contrasted and compared this track with the works of a fellow contemporary Asian-American artiste, Leehom Wang, who also has an established fan-base and following in East-Asia.
Personal life Wu and Taiwanese actress Vivian Hsu had previously dated from 2002 to 2005.
Wu first met Singaporean actress and socialite Arissa Cheo in California in 2006, Cheo was also a heiress to the million-dollar palm oil refiner business Mewah Group. Cheo would later went to become an entrepreneur in 2009. Wu and Cheo were officially married November 7, 2013 and held wedding ceremonies in Los Angeles on November 15, 2013 and in Singapore on January 5, 2014 respectively.
In May 2018, Wu filed for divorce, citing they had been living separately for the last three years, which Cheo refused to sign. Wu filed again in June 2018, with amended reason citing irreconcilable differences and Cheo's lack of support for Wu's career. Both of them eventually signed the agreement in December of the same year, and their divorce was officially finalized in February 2019.
In early May 2026, Wu secretly had a marriage in Las Vegas. Two days after F4's reunion concert in the Philippines, Wu announced his remarriage in his Instagram account on June 29, 2026 without identifying his new wife, which led to speculations. Taiwanese news ETtoday reported that his new wife was the Japanese singer Emi Aramaki on the following day on June 30, 2026 and was confirmed by Wu's agency B'in Music.
Filmography
Television series Year English title Chinese title Role Notes2001 Meteor Garden 流星花園 Mei Zuo Live-action adaptation of Japanese manga Boys Over Flowers Meteor Rain 流星雨 Mei Zuo Mei Zuo's chapterPeach Girl 蜜桃女孩 Ah Li Live-action adaptation of Japanese manga Peach Girl2002 Meteor Garden II 流星花園2 Mei Zuo Come to My Place 來我家吧 JJ Live-action adaptation of Japanese manga Uchi ni Oideyo by Hidenori Hara 2004 Say Yes Enterprise 求婚事務所 Song Zhenkai Story 01: Cinderella 2008 Wish to See You Again 這裡發現愛 Leo 2009 Autumn's Concerto 下一站,幸福 Ren Guang Xi 2011 Material Queen 拜金女王 Cai Jiahao 2012 Ti Amo Chocolate 愛上巧克力 Fang Jiahua 2016 The Princess Weiyoung 锦绣未央 Tuoba Yu 2018 Love Won't Wait 如果，爱 Song Qiaozhi
Film Year Title Alternate Role Notes 2003 Star Runner 少年阿虎The Kumite (Canada, USA) Bond Cheung (Zheng Jianbang) Film debutNominated―Hong Kong Film Awards for Best Newcomer 2005 Dragon Squad 猛龍Dragon Heat (USA) Wang Sun-ho 2006 Cars 汽車總動員 Lightning McQueen Voice-acting, Taiwanese version only. 2007 Kung Fu Fighter 功夫無敵 Ma Li 2008 Three Kingdoms: Resurrection of the Dragon 三國之見龍卸甲 Guan Xing 2009 LaMB Dr. Jack Griswold English voice-acting. Kung Fu Chefs 功夫廚神 Long Jianyi 2010 The Haunting Lover 借室還魂 Liang Guang 1040 Movie Himself Exclusive interview. 2011 The Road Less Traveled 樂之路 Mike Produced by Smash and Grab (co-founded by Vanness). 2012 Baseballove 球愛天空 Lin Chenghui 2013 Machi Action 變身 Cameo appearance. 2014 Girls 閨蜜 Sky (Jiu Tian) 2015 Dragon Blade 天將雄獅 Cameo appearance. Monk Comes Down the Mountain 道士下山 Cui Daorong 2016 Lulu the Movie 露露的电影 Himself Exclusive interview. Birth of the Dragon Sonny Lo 2017 A-Choo 打噴嚏 Alternative title: My Lover is a Superman (我的情敌是超人). Pili Back 霹雳再现 2019 Undercover Punch and Gun Hou Wu Ip Man 4: The Finale 葉問4 Hartman Wu
Variety and reality show Year English title Chinese title Notes 2013 Stars in Danger: The High Dive 星跳水立方 Diving variety showQualified into finals 2015 Asia's Got Talent Judge (Season 1) 2016 The Amazing Race China 3 极速前进第三季 With sister Melody 2019 Street Dance of China 就是街舞 Judge (Season 2) 2022 Call Me by Fire 披荊斬棘 Season 2
Discography
Studio album Album# Title Track List Notes 1st Body Will Sing (身體會唱歌) Released: September 19, 2002 Label: Sony Music Taiwan Language: Mandarin Format: Studio album (CD) Genre: Mandopop Countries: Taiwan, Hong Kong, Japan 序曲 尋找茱麗葉 My Friend 我討厭我自己 身體會唱歌 寂寞廣場 Sick 想像十個你 那個女生 午夜場的電影 因為太愛你) Can't Help Falling in Love (by F4) "CD + CD Extra" version also featured "Ask for More" by F4 2nd V.DUBB Released April 20, 2007 Label: Sony Music Taiwan Language: Mandarin Format: Studio album (CD) Genre: Mandopop Countries: Taiwan, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea 我的王國 Never Let You Go 放手 Just One Dance Friday Night 幻想這愛 零時差 媽媽 如果 Eternity 幻想這愛 (中文混音版) [Remix Version] Japanese release featured a Japanese version of "Wanna Love Somebody" as Track 11, plus a Japanese version of "Wanna Love Somebody (Justin Michael Remix)" as Track 12 3rd In Between (New + Best Selection) Released July 1, 2008 Label: Sony Music Taiwan Language: Mandarin Format: Studio album (CD) Genre: Mandopop 我不是自己 Lucky Me 自己的節奏 我討厭我自己 午夜場的電影 零時差 尋找茱麗葉 我的王國 放手 想像十個你 Never Let You Go Listen to Your Heart 誰讓妳流淚 因為太愛你 媽媽 4th Reflections Released February 3, 2010 Language: Japanese Label: Pony Canyon Format: Studio album (CD) Genre: J-pop Hyper Car Kodoku Stuck on U Reason Purple Rain I Don't Wanna Lose You Only Super Model (English) Sail Away (English) Devil (English) First Japanese album 5th V Released April 27, 2011 Language: Japanese Label: Pony Canyon Format: Studio album (CD) Genre: J-pop Break Out! Mission Why No More Tears Soldier Better Shine On (Plasmo` Electric Mix) Love Will Come Second Japanese album Better was written by Bruno Mars 6th C'est La V Released July 15, 2011 Language: Mandarin Label: Universal Music Taiwan Format: Studio album (CD) Genre: Mandopop Intro 說愛就愛 Is This All feat. Ryan Tedder of OneRepublic Do it feat. 仔仔 命定 有你在 只要她快樂 愛的手榴彈 愛沒走 哎呀 透明愛 Knockin' Knockin' was written and produced by Bruno Mars 有你在 was featured in TV Drama "Material Queen" Is This All was written and composed by Ryan Tedder, and was also the theme song from TV Drama "Material Queen". 7th Different Man Released June 7, 2013 Language: Mandarin Label: Universal Music Taiwan Format: Studio album (CD) Genre: Mandopop V.A.N.N.E.S.S (Intro) 趁愛打劫 愛裡面 (feat.Enik Lin) Different Man Love Overtime 讓我更愛我 真的明白 你怎麼知道 改裝 (feat.Flowsik) LOV3 小婚禮 V.A.N.N.E.S.S (Outro) Love Overtime is a tribute to Michael Jackson and Prince 8th #MWHYB Released December 6, 2016 Language: Mandarin, English Label: Universal Music Taiwan Format: Studio album (CD) Genre: Mandopop #MWHYB: The Beginning BOOGIE IKYK (feat. 孟佳 Meng Jia) BASS GUN 屬於你和我之間的事 蹦蹦 玻璃屋 下一首情歌 愛是你愛是我 Westside (feat. brandUN) #MWHYB 9th Vanness Best Released March 10, 2017 Language: Mandarin, English Label: Sony Music Taiwan Format: Studio album (CD) Genre: Mandopop 尋找茱麗葉 我討厭我自己 Hip Hop Tonight (feat. 吳建豪) (by Coco Lee) 午夜場的電影 因為太愛你 My Friend 我的王國 Never Let You Go 幻想這愛 零時差 Lucky Me Listen to Your Heart 媽媽 自己的節奏 誰讓妳流淚 妳不愛我愛誰 Ask for More (by F4) 10th Take a Ride Released July 22, 2022 Language: English Label: Virgin Music Taiwan LAS S&D Format: Studio album (CD) / Digital Genre: Mandopop Take a Ride Mad Love Meaningless Chill Miss Us Here With Me Media (weights) Worship It's On Vibes 11th Dance Until We Die Released December 31, 2025 Language: Mandarin, English Label: B'in Music Taiwan Format: Studio album/Digital Genre: Mandopop Dance Until We Die