Song Zu'er

Song Zu'er (born May 23, 1998), born Sun Fanqing, also known as Lareina Song, is a Chinese actress and singer. She made her debut as a child actress in the television series The Sea and Sky Boundless (2005). She gained attention with reality show Divas Hit the Road (Season 3) in 2017, followed by TV dramas such as Novoland: Eagle Flag (2019), Guardians of the Ancient Oath (2020), The Bond (2021), To Fly with You (2021), Cupid's Kitchen (2022), and Legally Romance (2022).

Career
Song Zu'er was born in Tianjin, China. After completing the first grade of elementary school in Tianjin, she moved to Beijing with her mother to continue her education. At elementary school, Song began her acting career as a child actor with a supporting role in TV drama The Sea and Sky Boundless (2005). She appeared in a song and dance show in the 2007 CCTV New Year's Gala and gained recognition for playing Nezha in television series Prelude of Lotus Lantern (2009).

Song graduated from junior high school in Beijing in 2013. Struggling academically, particularly in mathematics, and influenced by American pop culture, she left her senior high school in Tianjin for a church school near Chicago, USA, in 2014. After completing high school, she returned to China to pursue an acting career.

In 2016, Song returned to acting in the comedy film Papa, where she acted opposite Xia Yu. Her appearance in the reality show Divas Hit the Road (Season 3) in 2017 gained her significant attention, leading to roles in a series of TV dramas, films, and variety shows. She was admitted to the Beijing Film Academy in 2018. The same year she played lead roles in the fantasy historical drama The Dark Lord, as well as the comedy web series Gossip High. In 2019, Song starred in the fantasy epic drama Novoland: Eagle Flag. The same year, she was cast in the romance comedy drama Cupid's Kitchen. Forbes China listed Song under their 30 Under 30 Asia 2019 list, which consisted of 30 influential people under 30 years old who have had a substantial effect in their fields.

Song appeared in the 2020 CCTV New Year's Gala, acting in a comedy sketch. She then starred in a series of TV dramas, such as Guardians of the Ancient Oath (2020), The Bond (2021), To Fly with You (2021), Cupid's Kitchen (2022), and Legally Romance (2022), until her career was derailed by the tax evasion scandal in 2023.

Poster plagiarism
In March, 2021, Song's team posted on Weibo a collage of photos of her holding a bouquet of lilies against a background that looks like the bottom page of a magazine with a corner ripped out to reveal a price sticker. The poster, however, was pointed out to have plagiarized from South Korean idol Byun Baek-hyun's 2019 EP City Lights. Song's photographer issued an apology, acknowledging the plagiarism, after which Song's team issued a follow-up apology and removed the plagiarized poster.

Tax evasion allegations
On August 31, 2023, Song was reportedly accused by a former employee at her agency of evading up to 45 million yuan in taxes (6.5 million US dollars). The same day the State Administration of Taxation stated that tax investigation will be carried out, and details will be shared on its official website. Following the allegation, China's major TV stations removed Song's mention in their social media.