Lu Yuxiao (Chinese: 卢昱晓; pinyin: Lú Yùxiǎo, born September 27, 1999), or Irene Lu, is a Chinese actress. She gained popularity for playing the role of Shangguan Qian in My Journey to You (2023), after which she was awarded Expected Actor of the Year at the Weibo Awards 2023. She received further recognition for playing the roles of Ming Yi in Love in the Clouds (2025) and Hu Xiu in Love Between Lines (2026).
Early life and education
Lu Yuxiao, or Irene Lu, was born on September 27, 1999, in Shanghai, China. Her mother is a dentist, whilst her father is a doctor, and the Vice President of Shanghai Bo'ai Hospital. An only child, Lu was raised in Shanghai. Growing up, she initially wanted to become a forensic pathologist. She began learning dance at the Little Star Dance School, where she would attend weekly classes. At the age of 14, Lu moved to the United Kingdom, to study at Bootham School, where she completed her secondary education, taking A-levels in Economics, Maths, Art, and Chinese. She later, enrolled at the University of Leeds, for a degree related to fashion design.
Career
2019–2023: Debut and career beginnings
Interested in performing, Lu would post videos of herself on social media enacting short scenes, alongside photos. In 2019, these caught the attention of an agent, leading Lu to sign with Star Times Agency. Whilst her family initially worried about her choice to pursue acting, fearing she lacked connections in the industry, they supported her. In November 2019, Lu made her first onscreen appearance, as a contestant on the survival variety show Real Actor, which aired on Youku. The program focused on participants' performance skills, and development as actors, marking her official entry into the entertainment industry. Lu later secured her first television drama role as Qimu Yiluo in seasons 1 and 2 of the iQIYI series No Boundary, which premiered in March 2021. The same year, she had a guest role as Kui Er in the series Good and Evil.
In April 2022, Lu portrayed Lian Ge Yao, a tv anchor, in the romance series See You Tomorrow, which aired on iQIYI. In October of that year, she played the ill-fated Wu Miao, in Tencent Video's contemporary urban drama My Deepest Dream. In November 2022, upon the nomination of cinematographer Yang Zhenyu, Lu was selected for the Starry Oceans Young Actor Programme, a CCTV6 initiative to promote emerging talent. She next starred as Lin Xi, opposite Wu Junting, in the youth campus drama Time and Him Are Just Right, an adaptation of the novel of the same name by Jiang Mutong, which premiered on December 25, 2022. Her portrayal of the "fox-like" girl garnered attention for her natural and lively performance, with media outlets praising her beauty.
In May 2023, Lu co-starred with Zhu Zhengting in the urban romance drama To Ship Someone, in which she played the optimistic Song Yangqi, a film and television producer. She then played Bai Xueying, the eldest daughter of the Bai Clan, in the xianxia series The Longest Promise, which aired in July 2023. That same month, Lu took part in the acting-focused variety show Hit It Off, which later aired on Youku. In August 2023, she played Jin Luo in iQIYI's fantasy drama Love You Seven Times.
2023–present: Breakthrough and rising popularity
In September 2023, the wuxia drama My Journey to You began airing on iQIYI, in which Lu played the scheming assassin Shangguan Qian, regarded her breakout role, for which she gained greater recognition. During this period, Lu's Weibo followers increased tenfold from 300,000 to 3 million. She had been selected for the role following her audition, in which she stood out from over two hundred competitors. The director, Guo Jingming, praised Lu for her "extremely strong sense of conviction". Later that same year, the dramas Parallel World and Battle Through the Heaven aired, in which she played supporting roles. On December 31st 2023, Lu participated in Hunan TV and Mango TV's New Year's Eve Gala. She was awarded Expected Actor of the Year at the 2023 Weibo Awards, which took place in 2024.
On January 19, 2024, Lu began filming the historical costume drama Perfect Match, directed by Yu Zheng, in which she starred as Kangning, the witty third daughter of the Li family. Filming concluded on April 18 that year. On March 15, 2024, she was announced as the female lead in the xianxia drama Love in the Clouds, starring opposite Hou Minghao. Filming commenced on August 31, 2024, and was completed on January 10, 2025. She additionally played Shao Yao in the costume drama Blossoms in Adversity, and Li Jia in the drama Romance in the Alley, which aired in 2024 on Youku and Hunan TV respectively. For her work, she won Promising Actor of the Year at the 2024 Weibo Awards, which took place on January 11, 2025.
On January 25, 2025, Perfect Match premiered globally on Netflix. Lu also appeared in its accompanying variety show, Perfect Match: Friendship Sharing. She was next confirmed to star alongside Chen Xingxu in the urban romance drama Love Between Lines, which began filming on February 24. On April 25, 2025, the historical drama Serendipity premiered on WeTV, in which Lu portrayed Mingshu, a wealthy heiress, and sole survivor of a family massacre. On May 4, 2025, she participated in the 2025 May Fourth Youth Day New Media Special Program - Ode to Youth, in which she sang "Landscape Painting Scroll". In August 2025, Lu was announced to star opposite Lin Yi in the modern romance drama When I Meet the Moon, based on the novel of the same name by Zhu Yi.
On October 8, 2025, Love in the Clouds premiered on Youku, where it had gained 2 million pre-registrations before release. This led to wider recognition for Lu, who played the role of Ming Yi, a cold-blooded female warrior who disguises herself as a dancer, and engages in a battle of wits with her rival. Within two weeks, the show achieved over 400 million effective views on Maoyan, a 15.5% market share on Yunhe Data, and 6.14 billion views on Douyin's main hashtag. It surpassed a heat index of 10,000 on Youku, and topped 21 third-party charts across the internet, including the overall effective viewership chart for historical series on Maoyan that month. As of November 28, the show had accumulated 1.332 billion views. On December 31, 2025, Lu participated in both Dream Comes True in the East: 2026 Dragon TV New Year's Eve Gala and Sailing 2026 - CCTV New Year's Eve Gala, performing the song "Peach Blossom Smile" in the latter, alongside Zhang Hanyun.
On January 9, 2026, Love Between Lines premiered on iQIYI and DragonTV. The show ranked 1st on iQIYI's weekly chart for average effective views per episode, and reached a market share of 12.8% on Yunhe Data during its run. Lu played the role of Hu Xiu, a hardworking, aspiring architect whose life becomes intertwined with the male protagonist after meeting in a virtual reality murder mystery game. She received praise and gained further recognition for her portrayal of the self-reliant, and courageous female lead, who achieved a character popularity exceeding 100 million on iQIYI.
On January 25, 2026, it was announced that Lu had been cast as Nanyi in the historical spy drama Dancing with the Tide, based on the novel of the same name by Xianyu Ke. Filming for the drama began that day. On February 5, 2026, Lu was awarded the Notable Actor of the Year Award at the 2025 Weibo Awards. On March 9 2026, Lu was awarded Annual Quality and Influential Drama Star at the Dragon TV Drama Quality Ceremony, for her "delicate, restrained, and highly empathetic" portrayal of Hu Xiu. Filming for Dancing with the Tide concluded on 16th June 2026. On July 16th that year, Lu began filming her first movie role, as Lin Yu'an in The Last Confession, starring opposite Li Xiaoqian. Filming was completed on August 30th. On September 12 2026, she was announced as the female lead, Su Luowei, in historical drama Revenge, which commenced filming that…