Yue-Sai Kan is an Emmy-winning television host and producer, successful entrepreneur, fashion icon, bestselling author and humanitarian. People magazine called her “the most famous woman in China” and Time magazine proclaimed her “the Queen of the Middle Kingdom.”
In 1972, Yue-Sai created the weekly television series “Looking East”, the first of its kind to introduce Asian cultures and customs to American audience. The series garnered critical acclaim and won dozens of awards. In 1984, PBS invited Yue-Sai to host the first live broadcast of a television program from China on the occasion of the 35th Anniversary of the People’s Republic of China. Two years later the television series “One World” produced and hosted by Yue-Sai aired on China’s national television network CCTV, with a weekly viewership of 400 million. It was then the first time a non-Chinese citizen hosted a TV series in China and made her a household name. With her broadcast in both China and the United States, she was then the most watched woman in the world!
In 1992, Yue-Sai created the Yue Sai Cosmetics brand which grew into China’s leading Cosmetics Company, selling products in more than 800 outlets through 23 regional companies in China’s major markets. More than 90% of the Chinese population today recognizes the brand, which was purchased by L’Oreal in 2004. Additionally, she has written 10 best-selling books, and in 2000, became the first and only living American featured on a Chinese government-issued postage stamp.
Throughout her life, Yue-Sai has been deeply involved in charity work. She served and is still serving on the boards of a number of prominent charitable organizations in China and the United States, including the Shanghai Soong Qing Ling Foundation, Citymeals on Wheels, the Ellis Island Honors Society and Prince Albert of Monaco’s Philanthropy Round Table, etc. For years, Yue-Sai was chairing the Miss Universe China Final Pageant which she turned into the most glamorous charity ball in Shanghai. Annually it raised millions to support orphanages, cleft lip and palate correction surgeries and scholarships for students in China’s best music, TV and film schools.
Yue-Sai is also the Chairwoman of China Institute, a 97-year-old organization whose mission is to advance a deeper understanding of China through programs in Chinese language, culture, art, culinary art, and business. Her own charitable foundation Yue-Sai Kan China Beauty Charity Fund has been providing scholarships for Chinese students at the Fashion Institute of Technology and established sustainable fashion educational programs for executives and professionals at Chinese fashion companies. She is a member of the Committee of 100 and was ordained a Dame of Malta in 2022. In 2022, the Schlesinger Library at Harvard University acquired her entire life archival material to further scholarship and the understanding of the history of women in America. In 2023, Yue-Sai Kan China Beauty Charity Fund evolved into Yue-Sai Kan One World Foundation committed to prompt respect, tolerance and cultural inclusivity among individuals, societies and cultures around the world through television, books and new media.
靳羽西是一位跨越多个领域的杰出女性，她不仅是艾美奖获得者、电视主持人和制片人，还是成功的企业家、时尚偶像、畅销书作者和热心的慈善家。《人物》杂志称她为“中国最著名的女性”， 《时代》杂志将她称为“中国化妆品王国的皇后”。
靳羽西的开创性工作始于1972年，她制作并主持了电视系列节目《看东方》，这是第一个向美国观众介绍亚洲文化和习俗的节目，获得了广泛的好评和众多奖项。1984年，美国(PBS)公众电视网邀请羽西在美国主持中华人民共和国成立35周年庆典阅兵游行的实况转播。这是当时中美电视史上前所未有的合作。两年后，她在中国中央电视台（CCTV）制作并主持的《One World》系列节目每周观众高达4亿，成为第一个在中国主持电视节目的非中国公民，以及当时世界上观众人数最多的女性主持人。
1992年，靳羽西进军商业界，创立了羽西化妆品品牌，迅速成为中国领先的化妆品公司，这一壮举改变了整个行业的面貌。福布斯杂志形容她：“用一支口红改变了中国人的形象。”她的品牌不仅在中国被超过90%的人所认识，更在2004年被全球化妆品巨头欧莱雅集团收购。
同时，羽西还是10本畅销书的作者；并在2000年成为首位也是唯一一位出现在中国政府邮票上的在世美国人。
在慈善领域，靳羽西的影响力同样深远。她曾并仍在为多家中美知名慈善机构担任董事，包括上海宋庆龄基金会、美国埃利斯岛荣誉协会，以及摩纳哥阿尔贝二世亲王慈善圆桌会等。她还成功将中国环球小姐总决赛转变为上海最具魅力的慈善晚会，为孤儿院和唇腭裂患者筹集了数百万美元。她在多家高校设立奖学金，不仅帮助了优秀的学生实现了他们的学术梦想，还助力他们将来能够对社会作出更大的贡献。她坚信，教育是推动社会发展和文化进步的关键力量。
目前，她担任美国华美协进社（China Institute in America）的联合主席，该机构近百年来一直致力于通过语言、文化、艺术、烹饪和商业项目，传播中国文化与文明，加深中美两国的民间友谊同交流。同时，靳羽西个人的中国美慈善基金会为时尚界人士开拓了可持续时尚教育项目，并为中国时尚公司的高管和专业人士提供奖学金。
靳羽西是百人会成员，并于2022年被授予马耳他骑士团称号。2022年哈佛大学施莱辛格图书馆(Schlesinger Library)收录了羽西中英文档案材料，以进一步加深对美国女性历史的研究和理解。
2023年，她的中国美慈善基金会转型为靳羽西同一世界基金会，致力于通过电视、书籍和新媒体互动体验促进全球范围内多样化的个人、社会和文化间的理解、尊重和包容。
国际化的背景、独特的创造力、敏锐的商业眼光、不凡的品位修养、宽厚的人道主义情怀成就了靳羽西，她将源源不断给中国，乃至全世界带来美与惊喜！