[1] Her accolades include being the first recipient of the Shorty Award for best in fashion on social media and being the youngest (at 22) to be featured on Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia list for the arts.
[7][8] Li was born in Bangkok, Thailand to a Taiwanese businesswoman and former singer mother and a Filipino-Chinese businessman and engineer father.
As a child, she attended the Southville International School and Colleges in the Philippines until the age of 14 where she decided she wanted to be homeschooled and pursue figure skating.
[10] One of the things that caught viewers' attention during Li's run on the show was her friendship with James Reid.
She and Reid have a very devoted fanbase called the JamLi Poppers,[11] who would throw lavish parties in their idols' honor.
In 2010, James Reid's first interview on The Buzz, he was asked by Boy Abunda, Kris Aquino and KC Conception who he wanted to be paired with for his future projects.
[17] She also starred in 2 episodes of Maynila, a Filipino drama anthology that has been broadcast on Philippine television since 1999 in GMA Network.
"Maynila: Bored to Love" where she played the role of Jenna, a college student who was never contented with her boyfriend's efforts.
On July 24, 2011, Li together with Fretzie Bercede were featured in James Reid and Bret Jackson's original song "Can't Dance" released under Star Records.
One of the tasks that the housemates were given was to deconstruct Von Dutch's ready-to-wear collection where Li did all the styling and directed the runway show that was aired on ABS-CBN, where their team (Teenternationals) were given 2 extra slots for the Big Night instead of having only 4 winners, their season had 6.
The same year, she walked for the Jelly Bean show in Philippines Fashion Week and started her clothing line called DNA.
Previous Candie's girls included Fergie of The Black Eyed Peas, Hilary Duff, and Britney Spears.
The latest Candie's collection showcased an exciting confection of looks and styles of a contemporary princess – from poetic bohemian, midnight rebels, prima ballerinas, to romantic daydreamers.
During Li's weekends, she helped the crew style the celebrity guests for the variety show ASAP.
She was also a finalist for TeenVogue's Rouge Coco Shine Hydrating Sheer Lipshine video competition for Chanel.
In 2013, Li was chosen and photographed by Leslie Kee for his 15th Anniversary photo book called "Super Love" as one of the 500 well-known artists, dancers, creators, actors, models and other personalities dressed in a single scarf, drawn from the exclusive "Comme des Carrés" collaborative collection jointly produced by Hermès and Comme des Garçons' Rei Kawakubo.
[26] She also worked for Roberto Cavalli, Imane Ayisi and Emanual Ungaro as an intern during Paris Fashion Week while on other days she'd be seen on front rows at shows like Elie Saab, Ralph and Russo, and Issey Miyake.
Li took home the award for fashion, presented by Aasif Mandvi, emerging as the winner with the most votes out of 1,861 nominees, which include One Direction member, Harry Styles, Demi Lovato, Selena Gomez, Taylor Swift and other Hollywood celebrities.
It is quoted on the blog that Li won because she has her own style with an aura of a princess and most of her outfits and dresses are unique in her own ways.