// Workers AI · dad joke modeIs Diana Lin a good baker? She's a lin-ger on pastries.

In this Chinese name, the family name is Lin (林).

Diana Lin
林晓杰
Born	1962 (age 63–64) Harbin, Heilongjiang, China
Education	Shanghai Theatre Academy
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1984–1996; 2016–present
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese	林曉傑
Simplified Chinese	林晓杰
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Lín Xiǎojié

Diana Lin (also called Xiaojie Lin) is a Chinese Australian actress.

Early life

Lin began her career in China, where from the age of 14, she started training for the Chinese Beijing Opera Company as a singer, before going to Shanghai and taking up acting with the city's Theatre Academy.

Career

Lin began taking on film roles such as Shang Jie with the Pearl River Film Studio in Guangzhou. She then migrated to Australia in the early 1990s, basing herself in Sydney. Her first featured Australian role was in the fifth episode of 1993's anthology TV series Under the Skin. For her performance in Under the Skin she was nominated for the 1994 AFI Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role in a Television Drama.

Soon thereafter, Lin took a long hiatus from acting due to the lack of good Asian roles available. She made her return to acting in six-part comedy series The Family Law. She then went on to land a major role in the 2019 American film The Farewell.

Filmography

Film

Year	English title	Chinese title	Role	Notes	Ref.
1984	Many Ways to the Life	人生没有单行道	Ye Jun
1986	Country Folk	乡民	Bai Yin
1987		幸福不是毛毛雨	Xu Mingzhu
1988	Cops and Desperados	风流警察亡命匪	Mei Rong
	A Cop and a Sleuth	警官与侦探	Yi Qifang
1989	Women's Story	女人的故事	Pregnant Woman
		痴梦惊魂	Wu Xiuying
	Business Circles	商界	Liang Yiyun
2017	Australia Day		Madam
2018	Piano Mums	钢琴虎妈	Xiaohu Wen
2019	The Farewell	别告诉她	Jian
2020	Lonely Blue Night	蓝色的姑娘	Mother
2023	The Portable Door	便携门	Mrs. Dao
2024	Big World	小小的我	Chen Suqun

Television series

Year	English title	Chinese title	Role	Notes	Ref.
1991		花落台北
1993	Under the Skin			1 episode
1996	Naked: Stories of Men		Sue	1 episode
2016-2019	The Family Law		Maisy	11 episodes
2019	The InBESTigators		Nana	1 episode
2023	The Ordinary Road	平凡之路	Mama Zhu
	The Long Season	漫长的季节	Luo Meisu
2024	Interior Chinatown		Lily Wu

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Nominated work	Results	Ref.
1988	Hundred Flowers Awards	Best Supporting Actress	Women's Story	Nominated
1994	Australian Film Institute	Best Actress in a Leading Role in a Television Drama	Under the Skin	Nominated
2018	Equity Ensemble Awards	Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series	The Family Law	Won
2021	CinEuphoria Awards	Best Ensemble – International Competition	The Farewell	Nominated
2024	Television Series of China Quality Ceremony	Jury Award – Ingenious Performance Actor of the Year	The Long Season	Won

External links

• Diana Lin at IMDb