Yaya Han is one of the world’s foremost cosplayers. A model and costume designer, she is forever in demand as a judge at cosplay competitions and conventions. She has also appeared many times on TBS’ Kings of the Nerds reality show as a guest judge and was featured in the Syfy Channel’s reality show Heroes of Cosplay and a cosplay documentary called Crafting a Secret Identity. Her online following is incredible, with more than 3 million followers across all major social media platforms. Her first book, Yaya Han’s World of Cosplay: A Guide to Fandom Costume Culture, was published in 2020.
Han was born in China in April 1980. Today, she is based in Atlanta, Georgia, and has American citizenship. She first discovered cosplay in her late teens when she attended an anime convention. Inspired, she began making her own costumes on a cheap sewing machine, teaching herself using a sewing manual found in a thrift store. Today, she has made more than 400 cosplay outfits and has even developed a signature line of cosplay accessories and branded merchandise. She has been invited to be a guest, host, panellist, and judge at more than 200 conventions all over the world.
Cosplay has become a multi-billion dollar industry in recent years, and Han, through sheer hard work, has become of its best-loved and most fun figures.