Woman seeks fame as face of Chairman Mao
‘Chen Yan waves at a crowd of onlookers bemused at seeing China’s late helmsman, Mao Zedong, brought back to life by a middle-aged woman.
Chen, 51, from Mianyang, in China’s southwestern province of Sichuan, has been dressing up as Mao since she was discovered on a local TV show in 2005 impersonating another actor who had played Mao in movies.
“I was impersonating (the actor) when the beautician saw some similarities between me and Mao,” Chen said, as make-up artists fussed over her in a Mianyang hair salon.
The beautician saw a dollar to be made in Chen’s prominent cheekbones and imperious demeanor, and invited her for a make-over, she said.’
