[1] Wu was born in Ningbo to an intellectual family with her father a chemical engineer and mother a gynaecologist.

[2] When she was 15 or 16, to work around her parents' disapproval, she began performing under the stage name, Qian Yin (錢茵), on the weekends for a Shanghai radio station singing children's songs.

[5] At the age of 24, she participated in a singing competition at Ciro's (仙樂斯) nightclub, performing a song by Bai Hong, and won the crown.

Among her best known songs are "Spring's Return to Earth" (大地回春), "Heartbreak" (斷腸紅), "I Had a Love" (我有一段情), "The Bright Moon Sends My Love Across a Thousand Miles" (明月千里寄相思), "Fine Spring Night" (好春宵), and "Chance Meeting of Strangers" (萍水相逢).

She performed extensively in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, the United States, and Canada well into her later years.