Janet Hsieh

Janet Hsieh (Chinese: 謝怡芬; January 20, 1980) is a Taiwanese-American television personality, violinist, author, and model based in Taipei, Taiwan. She is the host of the Discovery Travel and Living Channel's long-running series Fun Taiwan.^[1] The program is currently in its 13th season and has expanded to include Fun Asia and Fun Taiwan Challenge. She has been nominated four times for the Taiwanese Golden Bell Awards as Best Host of a Travel Program, and once for Best Host of a Variety Program.^[2][3]

Personal life

Family

Hsieh was born and raised in Houston, Texas.^[4] Her father hails from Kaohsiung and her mother is from Taipei. She has one sister. Hsieh married George Young in January 2015.^[5]

Education and training

Hsieh is a 2001 graduate, with a double major in Biology and Spanish, of Massachusetts Institute of Technology.^[6] During her time at MIT, she was a member of the Alpha Chi Omega women's fraternity and served on the university's Ring Committee, the group responsible for designing the MIT class ring.^[7] She also ran the Boston Marathon during this time.^[3]

She also studied at the Universidad de Buenos Aires in Argentina, as well as at UCLA and UCSB in California.

Hsieh holds a black belt in Taekwondo^[6] and is a trained sushi chef^[8] and circus performer.^[8][9] She is fluent in English, Spanish, French, Mandarin, and Taiwanese.^[1][8]

Career

Volunteer and EMT

After graduating from college, Hsieh spent time in India as a community outreach volunteer.^[7] She also received certification as an EMT from Boston EMS/MIT, and in September 2001 went to Taiwan for a medical residential internship,^[9] where she completed a six-month stint at Taipei Veterans General Hospital in Tienmu.^[7]

Modeling

In 2002, at the end of her medical internship, Hsieh met Jeff Huang of the Taiwanese rap group L.A. Boyz, as well as rising star Vanness Wu outside the popular Taipei nightclub, Room 18. On recommendations from Huang and Wu, Hsieh auditioned for being taller than other women, eventually landing an underwear commercial.^[10]

Television

In 2005, Hsieh auditioned for a new Discovery Travel and Living television series exploring the island of Taiwan, entitled Fun Taiwan.^[1][9] Since landing the role, she has been nominated four times for Best Host in a Travel Program at the Golden Bell Awards, achieving a win in 2011.^[11]

Music

Hsieh learned to play the violin at age five and was part of the Texas Young Virtuosos, who played at the White House for President George Bush and in Europe.^[8][12] In Taiwan, she has performed three concerts at the National Concert Hall, twice in 2011 and again in 2013.^[7][12][13] She also played as one of 4,645 participants at Changhua Stadium in 2011, joining Changhua County youth to set a Guinness World Record for "Largest Violin Ensemble."^[14]

Author

Hsieh published her first Chinese-language travel book, Traveling with 100 Toothbrushes,^[15][16] in 2010. She has since published two additional travel-related titles, Backpack to the Future^[17] and Au for You^[18], as well as two English learning books, Janet's Funtastic English'^[19] and j@net.com^[20].

Filmography

Television

Hsieh has served as the host of numerous programs on Discovery Travel and Living, including Fun Taiwan,^[1] as well as programs on local Taiwanese television networks.^[10]

Film

• Frozen, as Anna (Taiwanese Mandarin voiceover)^[21]
• Traversal 101, as Xiao Na ^[22]
• Big Brother Ohaev, as Jenny^[23]

Music videos

• Sneezing by Yen-j (2012)^[24]
• 3 Idiots by Mayday (2011)^[25]
• What's Wrong with Rock?! by Leehom Wang (2008)^[26]
• Setting You Free by Nicky Lee (2005)^[27]

References

External links

• Official website
• Janet Hsieh's channel on YouTube
• Janet Hsieh on Facebook
• Janet Hsieh on Twitter
• Janet Hsieh at the Internet Movie Database
• Khvat, Yin (21 August 2013). "Janet Hsieh: Up close and personal". Taipei Times. Retrieved 2 February 2015.