Crystal Liu, also known as Liu Yifei, was born on August 25, 1987, in Wuhan, China. She embarked on her modeling career at the tender age of eight and received training in singing, dancing, and playing the piano. At the age of ten, she relocated to the United States with her mother, where they resided for four years before returning to China in June 2002 to pursue a career in modeling and acting.
In September 2002, Liu Yifei was accepted into the Performance Institute of Beijing Film Academy at the age of fifteen. She made her television debut in The Story of a Noble Family, followed by a role in Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils, a drama based on the novel by acclaimed martial arts writer Jinyong.
In October 2003, Liu Yifei made her big-screen debut in the movie Love of May, featuring the Taiwanese rock band May Day. Her popularity soared due to her role in the 2004 drama series adaptation of the video game, The Legend of Sword and Fairy. Upon graduating from the Beijing Film Academy in July 2006, she starred in another television production based on another book by Jinyong, The Return of the Condor Heroes, which received widespread acclaim in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Japan.
In August 2005, Liu Yifei secured a recording contract with Sony Music Entertainment Japan, marking her foray into the music industry. After taking singing and dance lessons for a year, her debut album Liu Yifei was released in China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Southeast Asia in August 2006, featuring a diverse music repertoire that included rap and soft rock. The same year, she also released a Japanese album, with the single "The Gate of Late Night" chosen as the theme for an animation series by Tokyo TV.
