Ma Tian Yu, also known as Ray Ma, is a Chinese mando-pop singer and actor. He is of the Muslim Hui ethnic minority in China and graduated from the Beijing Film Academy. Ma lost his mother when he was five years old after which his father left the family due to incurred debts. He and his elder sisters were raised by their grandfather, and Ma went to work at the age of 16 to help out the family. He made his debut as a singer in 2006 after placing 6th in the final round of the My Hero Competition. In 2007, he released his first album Beautiful Light. The album was well-received and topped the Asia Music Chart for Chinese albums. Ma won two newcomer awards at the China Billboard Award Ceremony and the Most Popular Singer awards at the 5th Southeast Music Chart Awards and 11th Tencent Star Award Ceremony. He then started his acting career in the film "Evening of Roses" and first gained attention in 2011 when he starred in the wuxia drama "The Vigilantes in Masks" and won the Breakthrough Actor award at the 2011 Youku Television Index Awards. In 2013, he starred in the comedy film, The Cosplayers, and was chosen as the Most Promising Film Actor. Ma gained an increase in popularity after starring in the wuxia drama Young Sherlock. His portrayal of the elegant and dandy Wang Yuanfang was praised and he continued his success streak with dual roles in Swords of Legends, which was a huge commercial success. The same year he released a single titled "Narcissus" which received positive reviews from both the media and fans and topped various music charts in China. (Source: MyDramaList, Wikipedia)

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