Wild, wealthy and glamorous! Kelly Mi Li has starred on the reality series Bling Empire for two seasons, letting cameras follow her every move — and now she’s letting Us Weekly come along for the ride, too.
As one of the only four self-made moguls on the Netflix hit, Mi Li, 36, doesn’t always have time to attend every lavish get-together her Bling Empire friends put together. For her, it’s primarily been about focusing on her career goals.
“I can’t go to lunch five days a week with them,” she told Bustle in January 2021. “I’m like, ‘Sorry, I have to work.’ I work very hard. Success didn’t come easy. Being an entrepreneur is not a nine to five. You’re on it 24/7.”
While Mi Li told Us in June that filming with her costars is “always fun” and that she “loves getting to work with such wonderful people” on the show, her work ethic as a media and production company executive is her biggest passion.
A great deal of that dedication revolves around finding ways to represent diversity onscreen. “I moved [to the U.S.] from China when I was 9, 10 years old, and growing up I didn’t really have people who looked like me on TV,” she told Bustle, adding that she’s interested in portraying both the pride and hardships her culture faces.
Recently, however, Mi Li is trying to figure out how to take time away from her job so she can focus more on her own self-care. “For me right now, the highest level of success is happiness and being able to live a work-life balance,” she revealed during an interview with Refinery 29 in May, adding that it’s about “setting down a boundary and giving yourself the time to turn your brain off.”
When it comes to her time on Bling Empire, where she also serves as an executive producer, Mi Li recognizes the job but mostly hopes viewers tune in for the emotional stories. “Money is great; it gives you the options and the fun,” she explained to Bustle. “But at the end of the day, you’re not gonna die with your money. What really matters is life and the human connection, being there for one another.”
Bling Empire season 2 is now streaming on Netflix.
Keep scrolling to see a glimpse of a day in Kelly Mi Li’s life:
