Puff Kuo

Puff Kuo 郭雪芙
Puff Kuo at fan meeting Oct 11, 2014
Pinyin	Guō Xuě Fú (Mandarin)
Origin	Republic of China, (Taiwan)
Born	(1988-06-30) June 30, 1988 Gongliao District, New Taipei City, Taiwan
Occupation	model, actress, singer
Instrument(s)	Vocals
Label(s)	Dorian International Entertainment Co., Ltd.
Years active	2008–present
Associated acts	Dream Girls
Education	Kang-Ning Junior College of Medical Care and Management Hsing Wu University of Science and Technology
Official website	Dream Girls' profile on Dorian Star

Puff Kuo (born 郭雪芙; pinyin: Guō Xuě Fú)^[1] is a Taiwanese model, actress, singer and the youngest member of Taiwanese girl group Dream Girls.

She made her acting debut in 2011 idol drama Inborn Pair, playing the supporting role Li Er (黎兒).^[2] In 2013, she tops the list of FHM Taiwan’s 100 Sexiest Women in the World.^[3] Kuo held on to her title when in 2014 she was once again voted FHM Taiwan’s 100 Sexiest Women.^[4] In 2015, she again topped the list of FHM Taiwan’s 100 Sexiest Women in the World.^[5]

Kuo speaks Mandarin, Taiwanese, minimal Korean and minimal English.

Biography

Early life and education

Puff Kuo was born on June 30, 1988 in Gongliao District, New Taipei City, Taiwan. Her mother died from breast cancer when she was 9, leaving her and her younger sister to be cared for by relatives while her father worked abroad in Mainland China for many years.^[6] Kuo attended Kang-Ning Junior College of Medical Care and Management, later transferring to Hsing Wu University of Science and Technology before deciding to drop-out at age 20 to concentrate on her work.^[7]

Career

Pre-debut

2008–2010: Commercials and MV's

Puff Kuo debuted as a commercial model in 2008, her first television appearance was in a McDonald's commercial that aired in Taiwan. After her commercial appearance she was then discovered by Dorian Entertainment who she signed on as her management company.^[8] During this time, she and her future group members Tia Lee and Emily Song of Dream Girls were under training before officially debuting as a group. Kuo had several appearances in variety shows such as "Guess", "100% Entertainment", and "Kangxi Lai Le" as well as appearing in other musicians music videos.

Acting

2011–2012: Acting debut

In December 2011, Kuo had her first acting role in SETTV's drama Inborn Pair playing the 2nd lead actress role as "Li Er" (黎兒), the daughter of a triad boss.^[2] Inborn Pair was a ratings success and saw the boost in popularity of its stars.

In 2012, Kuo starred in her first theatrical role as "Lan Yi Qíng" (藍苡晴) in Silent Code (BBS鄉民的正義). That same year she starred in another SETTV drama entitled Miss Rose playing the supporting role as "Vivian Jiang" (江薇安), the spoiled villainess fiancee to lead actor Roy Chiu's, "Gao Cheng Kuan" character.^[9]

2013–2014: Just You, We Got Married and Pleasantly Surprised

Kuo started 2013 in a cameo role playing herself as a member of Dream Girls in Fabulous Boys, the Taiwanese remake of the popular Korean idol drama You're Beautiful. That same year she also got her first lead role opposite Aaron Yan in SETTV's Just You, playing the plucky heroin Cheng Liang Liang who promises that she will make her cold hearted boss fall in love with her. The Kuo and Yan pairing was will received and the two won the "Best Screen Couple Award" at the 2013 Sanlih Drama Awards.^[10]

The beginning of 2014, Kuo turned down the lead role in SETTV's Fall in Love with Me which eventually went to her band mate Tia Lee, and the chance to reunite with her Just You co-star Aaron Yan to be a part of the second season of We Got Married Global Edition. Super Junior's Kim Heechul appeared as Kuo's make believe husband in the variety show that features the pretend married lives of celebrity idols from different countries. Her appearance on the variety show helped boast her popularity outside of Taiwan.

However, in April 2014 a month after turning down the lead role in Fall in Love with Me, Kuo was offered the lead role in another SETTV drama named Pleasantly Surprised, which she accepted.^[11] This move disappointed Just You fans who had hoped for a reunion between her and Yan, also surprised many since her schedule was already packed and filming of the Korean variety show and her new drama would take place at the same time. In order to accommodate filming of both the variety show and the drama, Kuo would travel back and forth between South Korea and Taiwan each week until late June 2014 when the variety show finished filming. This caused her unable to attend most of the promotional events for Pleasantly Surprised.

In Pleasantly Surprised, Kuo stars opposite popular male model and actor Jasper Liu whom she first met and previously collaborated with for a short comedy skit at the 2013 Golden Bell Awards presentation show, ironically both played a couple as leads in an romantic idol drama. For her role in Pleasantly Surprised she plays "Du Kai Qi" (杜凱琪), an aspiring French chef with a cold and calm demeanor who eventually opens up and falls in love with her handsome sunshiny co-worker played by Liu.^[12] Kuo and Liu's chemistry as a screen couple was successful and well received by critics and viewers. The two won the "Best Kiss" award at the 2014 Sanlih drama awards.^[13] Kuo also showed that her popularity was rising outside of Taiwan when she won the "China Wave Award" at the same ceremony.^[14]

Music

Dream Girls' Puff Kuo (left) during their autograph session on May 14, 2011

After Kuo's group Dream Girls signed in March 23, 2011 with Linfair Records, they debuted on April 8 with the release of their EP Dream Girls (美夢當前).^[15][16] The group's second album titled "Girl's Talk" debuted on December 7, 2012.

After starring in We Got Married Global Edition, Kuo's popularity soared in South Korea and her group "Dream Girls" was the only Taiwanese music act invited to the "2014 Asia Song Festival" held in Busan, South Korea. Kuo also served as a guest emcee at the event.^[17]

In late 2014 after Pleasantly Surprised finished filming, Kuo took a break from acting to work on "Dream Girl's" next album and a photo book which is schedule for release in December 2014.

Personal life

Kuo is extremely close to her cousins who she grew up together with. She would often post images and updates of her having meals with them, of her playing with their children at family gatherings.

When growing up Kuo lived and was raised by her father's relatives while her younger sister lived her mother's relatives. Kuo and her younger sister were estranged from each other until Kuo entered the entertainment industry and was able to provide for her sister.

Kuo is a cat lover who owns 3 cats. One of whom she rescued on a busy highway and later adopted.^[18] Friends and fans of Kuo would gift her with items that are feline related.

Television Series

Filmography

Short films/drama

Discography

• with Dream Girls

Music video appearances

Awards and Nominations

References

External links

• Puff Kuo on Facebook
• Puff Kuo on Instagram
• Puff Kuo on Weibo