Guo Meimei (Internet celebrity)

Guo Meimei (Chinese: 郭美美; pinyin: Guō Měiměi; born 15 June 1991), born as Guo Meiling (Chinese: 郭美玲), is a Chinese Internet celebrity who was involved in some scandals and crimes.

For the Singaporean pop singer, see Jocie Kok.
In this Chinese name, the family name is Guo.

Biography

Guo was born in Yiyang, Hunan in 1991, living with her mother in Yiyang and Shenzhen when she was a child.[1] She went to Beijing Film Academy in 2008.[2]

Guo's mother, Guo Dengfeng, is a millionaire and owned two properties in Shenzhen. She had made her wealth from successful stock market investments. Guo's parents divorced when she was young and her mother raised her alone. In order to compensate for Guo's childhood as a single parent's child, Guo Dengfeng attempted to make up for the mental anguish by providing Guo with a luxurious life.[3]

Guo frequently showed her luxurious lifestyle by posting on her Sina Weibo page where she posted photos of her collection of Hermes bags and her Maserati car.[3] During a Chinese Business News television program, Larry Lang Live, Guo claimed that she used to be a thrifty and "honest girl at heart" who turned to a luxurious lifestyle after interacting with rich people at her time at Beijing Film Academy.[3]

Due to her wealth, she was given the nickname Queen of the Fuerdais (second-generation rich Chinese).[4]

Incidents

Relationship with the Red Cross Society of China

Guo Meimei was originally verified as an actor on Sina Weibo. Later she filed an application to change her title to the general manager of Red Cross Commerce, which Sina Weibo didn't check carefully, according to Weibo's statement. Her display of pictures showing a lavish lifestyle,[5] driving a Mercedes, and owning a big mansion drew skepticism from people who questioned if her wealth came from the Red Cross Society of China and if the charity had misused its donations from the public.

Guo said Wang told her about his planned investment in a company related to the Red Cross Society of China and he could get her a manager's position there. After her status was being questioned by netizens, Wang supposedly withdrew his investment from China Red Cross Bo'an Asset Management Co.[3] Guo apologise for the incident and said she had never spent any money from the Red Cross Society of China. She also responded on her microblog saying she had no relationship with the Red Cross.[3] She also said she wasn't the daughter of the organization's president or the granddaughter of Guo Moruo, a late Chinese scholar.[3]

Illegal casino

In July 2014, Guo was arrested in Beijing for illegal betting on the World Cup.[6] Prosecutors said Guo had rented an apartment in Beijing and subsequently organized poker sessions there in March, June and July 2013. Guo would take a cut of between three and five percent on each game played. During her trial, Guo denied running a casino but only gambled in the apartment.

On September 10, 2015, Guo was sentenced for 5 years in prison and fined 50,000 yuan for running an illegal casino.[7] On July 13, 2019, Guo was released from prison in Hunan after serving her 5 years sentence.

Prostitution

A CCTV program aired in August 2014 claimed that Guo had engaged in prostitution, charging hundreds of thousands of yuan each time, to fund her lifestyle.[8] Guo had confessed to prostitution.[8]

Banned drug trafficking

On March 18, 2021, Guo was arrested in Shanghai for selling diet products contain Sibutramine, a drug which has been withdrawn from the market in China since 2010.[9]

On October 18, 2021, Guo was sentenced for 2 years and 6 months in prison and fined 200,000 yuan for selling banned drugs.[10]

References
  1. "郭美美23年素描：生于1991年 父母离异20岁一夜走红". ent.ifeng.com.
  2. "郭美美真实身世曝光 随母长大自称像小公主". People's Daily. 4 August 2014. Retrieved 4 August 2014.
  3. "Guo Meimei 'deeply sorry'". china.org.cn. Retrieved 3 July 2012.
  4. "China's 1%: The Rich Chinese Kids of Instagram". Retrieved 27 August 2018.
  5. "Red Cross scandal's Guo Meimei had 3 sugar daddies". WantChinaTimes. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014.
  6. "China's infamous Guo Meimei, notorious for her extravagant lifestyle, has been arrested for illegal World Cup gambling". News.com.au. 13 July 2014. Retrieved 4 August 2014.
  7. "China online star jailed over casino". BBC News. 10 September 2015.
  8. "'Guo Meimei Baby' sent to jail for running a casino". shanghaidaily.com. Retrieved 3 July 2016.
  9. "网红郭美美，被上海警方刑拘". 新京报. 18 March 2021. Retrieved 18 March 2021.
  10. 江跃中, 黄诗原, 陶韬 (18 October 2021). "郭美美再入狱！销售有毒有害食品获刑2年6个月". 新民网. Retrieved 18 October 2021.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
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