My Take
Lay Zhang is one of those artists who quietly outgrew every box people tried to put him in. He came up through EXO as the lone Chinese member holding it down in a Korean group, and he did it with this understated grace that made you root for him without him ever really asking you to. Then he left for solo activities in China and — instead of fading into the background — built an entire entertainment empire: writing his own music, producing, acting in big-budget Chinese dramas and films, all while running his own studio. The guy from Changsha who started on a Chinese talent show at fourteen somehow became one of the more complete artists to come out of the idol world, and I think that deserves more credit than he usually gets outside Asia.
Overview
Zhang Yixing (born Zhang Jiashuai; (1991-10-07)October 7, 1991), known professionally as Lay Zhang or simply Lay, is a Chinese rapper, singer and actor. After participating in the Chinese talent show Star Academy in 2005, he became a member of the South Korean-Chinese boy band Exo and its Chinese sub-unit Exo-M under SM Entertainment in 2012. In 2015, Zhang founded a studio under SM for his solo activities in China.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Lay
- Name (Japanese)
- レイ
- Reading
- れい
- Born
- October 7, 1991 (age 34)
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Libra / Goat
- Origin
- Changsha, People's Republic of China
- Blood type
- Private
- Height
- Private
- Agency
- Private
- Occupation
- rapper / songwriter / actor / dancer / singer
2. Background
- Elementary school
- Private
- Junior high
- Private
- High school
- Private
- University
- Private
3. Relationships
- Spouse
- Private
- Children
- Private
- Parents
- Private
- Siblings
- Private
4. Personality
Motto
Private
6. Links
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-02
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public items are marked "Private / Unknown". English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.