With an ordinary - and poor - background, Jerry Yan and his sister were raised by a single mother. At a young age he had to work in menial jobs to help his mother with their day-to-day necessities.
It was not until he won a modeling competition for UNO Magazine that things began to pick up for him. Appearing in various MVs, TV shows and print ads, his biggest break came when he was cast for the lead male role of "Dao Ming Si" in the wildly popular and successful TV series Meteor Garden (based on the Japanese anime/manga Hana Yori Dango).
This was followed by the four-part serial Meteor Rain, and the sequel Meteor Garden II. Together with his three other male co-stars in Meteor Garden (Ken Zhu, Vic Zhou, and Vanness Wu) Jerry formed the boyband F4 which became so popular in Asia.
They were touted as the Most Popular Singing Group in the greater part of the continent and caused mass hysteria everywhere they went. Together with the band, Jerry spawned two biggest-selling albums (Meteor Rain and Fantasy 4ever), concert videos, and photo books. (His solo effort Amphibian was a hit.)
Jerry also managed to work on a few other projects with and without F4. They became the primary endorsers of companies such as PEPSI, YAMAHA, Lupiao, S & K, among others. As a solo stint, Jerry became the official endorser of the I-Series apparel of the Bench company, one of Philippines' premiere garments company.
He was also able to work with the likes of Hong Kong superstars Karen Mok and Jackie Cheung (made-for-TV movie Love Scar), Andy Lau and Sammi Cheng (his debut Magic Kitchen) Prior to that he has also appeared in other TV series such as Come To My Place and Girls Marching On.
He is rumored to be engaged with top model Lin Zhi Ling.