Pint-sized megastar Angela Zhang

Angela Zhang is one of the most popular and accomplished singing actors in Asia. The young megastar has sung all her life, but her big breakthrough into the music scene came only after she landed a role in a Taiwanese soap opera.

In mainland China, mandopop singer Angela is known by her Mandarin Chinese name of Zhang Shaohan (张韶涵). And just like a beloved child, a beloved Chinese superstar also has many names, which is why Angela also goes by the names of Dian Yan Wa-Wa (电眼娃娃) and Mifen Mei (米粉妹), or shortly: Ang.

From the small screen to the hearts of the large public

Angela was born in Taiwan on January 19, 1982, but moved to Canada with her family when she was 12. The oldest of three children, she has one brother and one sister. Angela's singing talent became apparent during high school when she took part in a number of talent competitions. After graduating from Sir Winston Churchill Secondary School in 2000, she soon hit the big time when she was cast in the Taiwanese television series My MVP Valentine.

Angela's career in television took off rapidly, and in January 2004, she made her debut on the music charts with the release of her first album entitled Over the Rainbow, which was a big success. But that was not all for the industrious starlet, in December of the same year she released her second album called Aurora.

Although Angela is a very popular actress, she is mostly known for her accomplishments in television. So far her movie appearances are limited to one in the 2005 film Love Message by Taiwanese director A'Gan. In addition to that, Angela also lent her voice to Fiona in the second sequel to the animated film Shrek.

The year 2006, which saw the release of her third album Pandora, was a watershed in Zhang Shaohan's career. That year, Taiwanese television viewers went wild over the performance of the young and fresh actress in the drama Bump Off Lover 17. And since there's never too much of a good thing, Angela had a double part in the show, playing sisters Xu Yizhen and Xu Yijing.

Her hard work was paid off the following year at the Singapore Hit Awards, where she was honored with the awards for the best female artist and best performer, among others.

Rhythm & blues and bossanova

Angela Zhang is one of China's most talented entertainment artists, who manages to give captivating performances both in concert and on screen. Her voice is surprisingly resonant for her size, as the pint-sized starlet only measures 158 centimeters in height and weighs less than 40 kilograms.

But one thing the petite singer is not lacking is willpower and perseverance. However, so far her talent has only taken her as far as second place in the highly competitive cast of top Taiwanese female artists, topped by a colleague two years her senior by the name of Jolin Tsai.

Angela won the award for best female artist in 2007. (Image: China News Service)On her website, Angela says that she dreams of traveling around the world and lists reading, shopping and jogging as her hobbies. Her favorite colors are green, pink and white. As for her favorite foods, they can be found at Japanese restaurants.

Angela mentions Christina Aguilera, Japanese musicians Lisa Ono and Ringo Shiina, rapper Nelly and Zhang Huimei as her musical idols. Her favorite musical genres are rhythm & blues and Brazilian bossa nova.

Musical accomplishments and television appearances aside, the fairy-faced star is also a familiar sight on billboards and magazines having signed a number of product endorsement deals. This is not anything exceptional in the Asian entertainment industry, quite the contrary, but in Angela's case, all the supplemental activity may have put a dent in her professional credibility.

Not that this small mega-talented woman didn't fit all the characteristics of a superstar based on her musical merits alone.