LayarHijau ā Chinese actress Xiao Yanni has returned to the set after nearly five years of recovery following a cardiac arrest that left her unconscious for three months. After waking up, she was left with paralysis on the left side of her body and underwent intensive rehabilitation as she worked toward returning to the acting career she had once put on hold.
A graduate of the Beijing Film Academy, Xiao Yanni also has a background in ballet. She began acting at a young age and has appeared in several films and television dramas, including Your Highness, The Class Monitor (ēéæāę®æäøā) and Double World (å¾é).
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Before her health crisis, Xiao Yanni maintained an intense filming schedule. She has said that she sometimes worked from morning until the early hours of the following day and slept for only two to three hours a night. She relied on coffee to stay awake while working.
In September 2021, after returning home from filming, Xiao Yanni suddenly suffered cardiac arrest. Emergency treatment saved her life, but she developed hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy, a form of brain damage that occurs when the brain does not receive enough oxygen and blood flow. She subsequently remained in a vegetative state.
After about three months without regaining consciousness, Xiao Yanni eventually woke up. However, she found that she could no longer control her body as she had before.
The left side of her body was paralyzed. She also experienced difficulties with speech and struggled to control her facial expressions and intonation when delivering lines.
Over the following years, Xiao Yanni underwent extensive rehabilitation to regain her physical abilities. By April 2025, she was able to walk independently again. By the end of that year, she had also regained the ability to handle basic daily activities on her own.
Determined to Return to Acting
For Xiao Yanni, rehabilitation was not simply about learning to move normally again. She was determined to return to acting.
āI have to get back to filming,ā was a sentiment she repeatedly expressed in interviews.
In early 2026, Xiao Yanni appeared in an interactive performance at Changchun Zoological and Botanical Park, where she played the Queen of the Princess Kingdom alongside actor Yan Dong.
She also returned to dancing on stage. Although movement on the left side of her body remained limited, she continued to draw on her background as a professional ballet dancer.
In June, Xiao Yanni appeared on stage again in a white dress and danced using the parts of her body she could still move.
āI used to be a professional ballet dancer. Now Iām sick, but Iām still trying to dance. My dancing used to show beauty and strength. Now it shows the strength of my spirit and my refusal to give up,ā she said.
Back in Hengdian for Auditions
In July, Xiao Yanni left Changchun and moved to Beijing. A few days later, she traveled to Hengdian to audition for acting roles again.
This time, she had to look for work without a manager. She joined audition groups and was able to attend as many as eight auditions in a single day.
Her physical condition, however, made the process far more difficult than it had been before her illness. She still hoped to land leading roles and focused on auditions for short-form dramas.
After spending about a week in Hengdian, she had yet to secure a role. She tried out for several villainous characters but realized that her acting abilities had not fully returned to the level they were at before her illness.
Xiao Yanni said that before her health crisis, she could immediately perform her lines after receiving a script. Now, difficulties with speech, facial expressions and concentration have made the process considerably harder.
At one point, she even practiced an audition scene until 2 a.m. at a karaoke venue, but still felt that her performance was not good enough.
Despite the setbacks, her return to Hengdian showed several people in the industry that she was still determined to act. One longtime friend later contacted her about developing a short-form drama based on her life, while another offered her a role in a short-form drama they were producing.
Finally Back on Set
By mid-September, Xiao Yanni finally returned to a film set. In behind-the-scenes footage she shared, she could be seen wearing a long gold-colored gown while taking part in the production.
Her return came nearly five years after the cardiac arrest that left her unconscious for three months. During that period, she underwent years of rehabilitation to regain control of her body and readjust to everyday life.
Now back in front of the camera, Xiao Yanni has not fully recovered physically. But after years of rehabilitation and the challenges she faced while trying to find work again, she has finally returned to the profession she has been determined to pursue.
