Hannah Quinlivan was born to Taiwanese-Korean mother Violet Wu and Australian-Dutch-Danish father Patrick Quinlivan in Wanhua District, Taipei, Taiwan, on 12 August 1993. Her grandmother is from Xi’an, Shaanxi. She has an older half sister from her maternal side and a younger half brother from her paternal side. She graduated from Juang Jing Vocational High School. She took an eight-week short course in film production and acting at New York Film Academy.

Quinlivan began her career by appearing in Blackie’s Teenage Club in 2008. She became a guest host of I Love The Man in December 2011.

She made her acting debut in Ti Amo Chocolate in 2012, playing Peng Kaili.

In 2014, she appeared in Moon River, playing Lucy. She made a cameo appearance in the television series The Lying Game. She was cast in the lead role of Ren Yuhong in Heart Of Steel. She was cast in the film Twa-Tiu-Tiann, playing the former girlfriend of Chris Wang’s character. In 2017, just three days after she gave birth to her second child, Quinlivan auditioned for her role in the action thriller film Skyscraper, which was released in 2018.

In November 2014, Quinlivan confirmed her relationship with singer and actor Jay Chou. The couple had been dating since 2011. In December 2014, Chou announced that he would marry Quinlivan on his 36th birthday. Quinlivan holds dual Taiwanese and Australian citizenship.

Sarah Haywood planned their wedding in England. It took place in Selby Abbey, North Yorkshire on 17 January 2015, one day before Chou’s birthday. A private wedding ceremony open to friends and family occurred on 9 February in Taipei. A third reception, this time in Australia, was held in March. According to Chou’s official Facebook page, the couple has been registered for marriage since July 2014. The couple have two children: daughter Hathaway (born July 2015) and son Romeo (born June 2017).