A Chinese-Brazilian actress is enjoying success on the big screen in Brazil.

Thirty-year-old Lian Tai moved to Rio de Janeiro from Brazil’s central city of Goiania to pursue her dream of writing and becoming an actress. She has a doctorate in communications and writes for a travel blog in between her career as an actress and model.

Her modeling portfolio reveals an exotic beauty that makes her one-of-a-kind in Brazil. She has worked in eight movies, including her most recent “The Woman and the River.”

Lian got the part in her latest film not for her Asian roots, but because her features resemble Brazil’s indigenous people.

Her first appearance on the big screen was in 2012 in “Destiny,” a Chinese- Brazilian co-production. She admitted it has been hard to avoid being stereotyped.

While she awaits her next role, Lian works on her blog, studies film directing and enjoys Rio’s sun, the force she said that blended her into a true Chinese-Brazilian mix.