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.

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 became a famous Internet meme when a scandal erupted in Chinese online media on 21 June 2011.[3] On Sina Weibo, she forged her identity by proclaiming herself a manager of the Red Cross Society of China. Her display of pictures showing a lavish lifestyle[4] driving 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 donation from the public. Shortly after, donations to the Red Cross Society of China plummeted and the organisation issued a statement distancing itself from Guo, stating there was no relation between the two. Later, Guo revealed that her wealth came from a married Shenzhen businessman named Wang Jun, who at that time ran a business that was a recognised fundraising partner of the Red Cross Society of China.

In July 2014, Guo was arrested for illegal betting on the World Cup.[5] On the 10th September 2015 Guo was sentenced to five years in jail and fined 50,000 yuan for running an illegal casino .[6]

References

  1. ↑ 郭美美23年素描：生于1991年 父母离异20岁一夜走红
  2. ↑ "郭美美真实身世曝光 随母长大自称像小公主". People's Daily. 2014-08-04. Retrieved 2014-08-04.
  3. ↑ Wong, Edward (3 July 2011). "An Online Scandal Underscores Chinese Distrust of State Charities". The New York Times. Retrieved 3 July 2014.
  4. ↑ "Red Cross scandal's Guo Meimei had 3 sugar daddies". WantChinaTimes.
  5. ↑ "China’s infamous Guo Meimei, notorious for her extravagant lifestyle, has been arrested for illegal World Cup gambling". News.com.au. July 13, 2014. Retrieved 4 August 2014.
  6. ↑ http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-34209099/
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