Vancouver native Yvonne Chapman began her acting career a little unconventionally. Her past life consists of a professional career in Finance after graduating from the University of Calgary. She worked in corporate development and strategy which involved the analysis of potential merger and acquisition opportunities. Chapman was able to move around in her career and cherished the fact the job was dynamic. She submerged herself in acting classes as a stress relief to the job but soon found acting could be more than just a little breather here and there.

Chapman relocated to Vancouver from Calgary noting that her family had a few reservations, but offered her all the support they could give. She began working on a number of projects from The 100 to Street Legal to Family Law growing a comfort for being in front of the camera.

Chapman soon welcomed the role of Zhilan on The CW’s hit series Kung Fu. The show depicts a Chinese-American woman, Nicky Shen, who is dealing with a life crisis who travels to an isolated island in China to getaway. She then returns to San Francisco and finds that the city is now overrun with crime. Shen is on a hunt for the assassin who murdered her mentor and who is now after her. Chapman plays Zhilan, Pei-Ling’s evil sister with sinister intentions who assassins Pei-Ling, Shen’s mentor. Zhilan is introduced in the show in a violent way and continues to develop as a villain throughout the series.

On auditioning for Zhilan, “My audition for Zhilan started as a self-tape request. Because of Covid, I couldn’t audition in person so my callback was also a self-tape. For that, I had received notes from production and then re-taped them with those notes in mind. Then shortly after, I got a call from my agent and manager telling me that I landed the role. I was so thrilled because, from the moment I read the audition sides, I was in love with Zhilan. I’m so grateful that this show and role came my way.”

Kung Fu is equipped with fierce martial arts scenes requiring Chapman to undergo extensive training. Some stunts take longer than others to nail for filming. Some fights will require weeks of training for one scene whereas another takes only a few days before filming. When Chapman doesn’t partake in a stunt, her stunt double Aliya Iskakova-Chang steps in. She says, “I absolutely love Aliya! She is a beauty of a human, inside and out and she makes me look so badass! I’m so lucky to have her as my stunt double. She trains remarkably hard, is a great coach, wonderfully talented. She also takes such good care of me and my well-being, always making sure I’m safe and comfortable while performing any stunt work.”

Chapman also stars as Danielle in Global TV’s Family Law created by Canadian award-winning author Susin Nielsen and produced by SEVEN24 and Lark Productions. Family Law follows Abigail Bianchi settling into her new life with her family.

Chapman’s passion also comes out in different ways. She is a voice for the Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders community and stresses the importance of representation in the media for all. She uses her platform to spread the love over hate. She adds that nobody is born to hate and by using her platform to spread love and goodness, empowerment of others can occur.

Watch Kung Fu’s next episode on CW on June 23rd, 2021.

brianna-6481 (1).jpeg — Meet the Author

Brianna Vacca is a Philadelphia-based writer. She has an unhealthy addiction to true crime documentaries, celebrity gossip, and writes overly dramatic sad songs

Yvonne Chapman: From Finance Mogul to Cherished Actress

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