/ Christine Chiu on Bling Empire and family life with Dr Gabriel Chiu and Baby G: the Netflix producer was inspired by Crazy Rich Asians, but also shares journeys of infertility and loss – interview

Dec 20 , 2022

STYLE speaks explosively to Christine Chiu, one of the breakout stars from Netflix’s Bling Empire. Photo: Handout

XXIV 2022

Chiu became an overnight celebrity after joining the cast of Bling Empire, the smash Netflix reality show that aimed to normalise Asian faces, stories and voices in American showbiz

She wanted to showcase wealth and flashiness, while delivering personal struggles – but while filming the next two seasons, for her, the cast’s priorities shifted

Christine Chiu will never forget the day she and her plastic surgeon husband Gabriel Chiu were approached to help develop an all Asian and Asian-American ensemble cast for a planned Netflix docu-series. “It was poised to be the first of its kind in American mainstream media, and we could not refuse,” Chiu says.

The show, of course, became the monster reality TV smash Bling Empire, and Chiu became an overnight celebrity. “Although I had previously declined opportunities for reality television, I believed in the magic of this project and resonated with its vision to normalise Asian faces, stories and voices in entertainment arts.”

Dorothy Wang, Christine Chiu, Leah Qin, Mimi Morris, Kelly Mi Li, Jaime Xie, Anna Shay, Kim Lee, (L-R front) Dr. Gabriel Chiu, Kevin Kreider, Kane Lim, Guy Tang, Almar Guevarra and Yu Tsai attend Bling Empire season two’s Netflix event on May 12, at a private residence in Los Angeles, California. Photo: Getty Images

Chiu’s goal as producer in the first season was to leverage the buzz generated from the box office record-shattering success of romcom Crazy Rich Asians. “We would utilise wealth and flashiness as a Trojan horse, to deliver more heartfelt and authentic personal stories, hoping to destigmatise more serious topics like infertility, adoption, loss, as well as showcase cultural nuances in a fun fashion,” declares the Taiwanese-born talent.

The first eight episodes did just that – the cast came together and gave it their all. “We served the greater purpose of advancing diversity in television,” she says.

But Bling’s immense success brought several issues. “While filming seasons two and three, I could start to see the collective vision of the cast splintering. For better or for worse, egos, personal agendas, politics came into play,” she admits. “Filming was less enjoyable for me unfortunately, because cast priorities grew complicated.”

Christine Chiu with her husband Gabriel Chiu and son Gabriel, who goes by the name Baby G on the show. Photo: @innovative_pr/Instagram

Nevertheless, what Chiu does love and appreciate is the massive global reach the show has, and the platform offered to each of the cast members. “I am grateful that my personal journeys with infertility and loss touched others, encouraging many to have difficult conversations with loved ones and or empowering couples to not lose hope.”

The variety of opportunities that have materialised since the show’s premiere have been “beyond imagination”, so much so that Chiu has to continually decide which direction to take. “I have noticed that I am mostly a ‘yes’ person and enthusiastically jump at the next amazing opportunity that comes my way,” she admits.