KUALA LUMPUR: The Sultan of Johor Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar today received an audience from Chinese megastar Fan Bingbing.
The actress, who has a huge global following, made the courtesy call as part of her engagements at the 34th Singapore International Film Festival.
According to a post on the ruler's Facebook page, the visit was facilitated by her Johor-born international manager Jersey Chong, who wanted to introduce Bingbing to the future Yang DiPertuan Agong.
"As an Anak Johor, I am so proud that my Sultan will be the next King of Malaysia. We wrote officially to the Johor Palace to enquire if Bingbing could call on His Majesty. We were thrilled when the reply came that Tuanku Sultan has graciously agreed to meet Bingbing," said Chong to the "Royal Press Office".
The movie star was accompanied by her mother, Zhang Chuanmei, who is an entrepreneur, and her younger brother, Fan Chengcheng, who is also a famous pop singer and actor in China.
Bingbing, who has 63 million followers on Weibo (China's version of X, previously known as Twitter) and 4.1 million Instagram followers, is often touted as the face of global Chinese culture.
Her box-office appeal extends beyond just Chinese movies, having also acted in the Hollywood superhero movie – X-Men: Days of Future Past, as well in French and Korean movies.
One of the world's highest paid actresses, she runs her own artistes' management agency, a production company and Fan Beauty – a cosmetics and skincare brand that has achieved great success in China.
Additionally, she has been the face of Adidas, Louis Vuitton and Moet, selling everything from lipsticks to diamonds.
In 2017, Time magazine featured her on the cover. She was also named Time's 100 Globally Most Influential People, making her the only Asian actress selected.