Taipei Personalities Trivia Quiz

Answer: Natalie Morales

Natalie Morales was raised as an 'air force brat', living overseas until the age of 18. After acquiring a degree in journalism, Morales worked at various behind-the-scene network jobs before getting her start on air with News 12 - The Bronx. A large portion of her career has been with NBC, starting with the Hartford, CT station WVIT-TV, then moving on to MSNBC (2002-06). From there, she began with "The Today Show" (AKA "Today") where she has been a national correspondent, co-anchor, and news anchor.

The other newscasters presented as options are all known for their ABC network affiliation.

Answer: Dee and Barbie Hsu

Barbie Hsu (b. 1976) and her little sister Dee (b. 1978) were active as 'SOS' an 'ASOS' for a little less than a decade, producing eight albums between 1994 and 2001 before moving on to other ventures.

Barbie began her acting career in 2001 with the television series "Meteor Garden" and her first movie role was 2005's "The Ghost Inside".

Dee went a different route than her sister, taking on the role of variety show hostess in 1998 with "Guess Guess Guess". Along with her variety show hosting, Dee also had the opportunity to host various awards ceremonies, including the "Golden Bell Awards", the "Golden Melody Awards" and the "Golden Horse Awards".

Answer: Fahrenheit

Aaron Yan (b. 1985 as Aaron Wu Keng-Lin) was 'discovered' in the mid 2000s through his online blogging presence by Comic International Productions. He quickly found himself as part of the boy band Fahrenheit along with Calvin Chen, Jiro Wang, and Wu Chun. Each of the members has their own assigned temperature: Chen is 77, Wang is 95, Chun is 59, and Yan is 41. The group produced their first album in 2006.

At the same time, Yan began his career in acting, with his first role in 2004 as a guest star on "I Love My Wife". Amidst his acting and singing with Fahrenheit, Yan also began producing solo material, giving his first solo concert 2010 and releasing his first solo album in 2011.

Answer: Rainie Yang

Rainie (Lily) Yang (b. 1984) began her entertainment career as a member of the girl group 4 in Love, but the group met with only limited success in the short time it was active (2000-01). Yang kept her stage name, though, as she moved into other entertainment fields. She achieved success as a variety show host, but really began to make a name for herself as an actress when she got the lead role in the drama series "Devil Beside You" in 2005.

Yang did not let her aspirations as a singer lapse either, and she released her first solo album, entitled "My Intuition", in 2005.

Answer: Jay Chou

Jay Chou (b. 1979) is about as successful as one could ever care to be. In the year 2000 he released his first album (entitled "Jay") and by the year 2003 was being hailed as the 'Asian King of Pop'. He has sold in excess of 30 million albums and has been on (at least) half a dozen 'world' concert tours.

Outside of his talents as a singer/songwriter, Chou has also made a name for himself as an actor and director, not only in the Asian market, but also in North America. His first television role was in 1999 on "Thyme Fried Fish", while his first fim role was a cameo in 2003's "Hidden Track". "Green Hornet" (2011) marked his first foray into Hollywood filmmaking.

Answer: The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones

Although born in Taipei (in 1984), Gao spent his childhood in Vancouver, BC, up to and including attending post-secondary schooling at Capilano University. In 2004 he returned to Taiwan to pursue a modelling career, which soon expanded into television and movies. His first TV part was as a guest star on "Magicians of Love" (2006), while his first movie role was in 2098's "All About Women".

"The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones" is based on the first book of Cassandra Clare's six volume "The Mortal Instruments" youth series. In the film, teenager Clary Fray begins seeing strange symbols and people that no one else seems to be able to see. She soon learns that she is actually half-human and half-angel - a being called a nephilim - along with her mother, who had kept it a secret from her. She joins a group of other nephilim who fight against demons and downworlders, calling themselves Shadowhunters. Clary finds herself caught up in a race to find one of three Mortal Instruments, called the Mortal Cup. Godfrey Gao's character, Magnus Bane, is the High Warlock of Brooklyn.

Answer: Puff Kuo

Born in 1988, Puff Kuo began her career in entertainment doing television commercials and music videos in 2008. Her exposure in these endeavours brought attention, and in 2011 her career took a decidedly upward turn as she began acting in television and movies, while also singing as part of the mandopop trio Dream Girls.

Dream Girls produced their first album in April of 2011, her first TV show role aired in December of the same year ("Inborn Pair"), and her first movie role was in 2012's "Silent Code".

Answer: Ariel Lin

Ariel Lin (b. 1982) began her acting career after being discovered when she won a Taiwanese pretty subway girl contest. Her first TV role was in 2002 on the show "True Love 18", and her first movie role was 2003's "Kung Fu Girls". More prominent roles, coupled with a singing career launched through songs associated with her TV and film roles, launched her career skyward.

She has won multiple acting and music awards since.

Answer: Lo 'Dark Cloud' / Luo Xiao Hu

Chen Chang (b. 1976) comes from an acting family, with both his father and his brother being established actors. Chang's first acting credit was playing son to his father in the 1991 drama "A Brighter Summer Day". In "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" (2000), his character Dark Cloud was the lover of the character played by Ziyi Zhang (Jen Yu, daughter of Governor Yu).

Chang has also branched out into the music field, but has primarily established himself as a respected film actor, including nominations for Best Actor at the Golden Horse Awards, his first being for "Three Times" (2005).

Answer: Shu Qi

Born in 1976, Shu Qi began her entertainment career in erotic films before moving over to the mainstream film industry. One of her earliest film roles was in 1996's "Viva Erotica", which is actually a comedy movie about the Category III (soft porn) industry. She received awards for Best Supporting Actress and Best Newcomer at the Hong Kong Film Awards for her role.