China’s first female Chairman Mao impersonator may be a hit with her fans but not with her husband who is refusing to have sex with her because he is put off by her likeness to the late communist leader. Chen Yan, 51, gave up her job as a shopkeeper and is now being paid a fortune by department stores and property developers to dress up as Mao and pose for pictures. But her whirlwind success had taken its toll on her marriage to the point her husband is now said to be ‘disgusted’ by her. She told the Global People magazine that he could no longer stand the feeling that ‘he is sleeping with [the] Chairman and that their sex life had been destroyed.’ Mrs Chen, from Mianyang in Sichuan province, was mocked as a child for having an uncanny resemblance to Mao. She decided to begin a career as an impersonator after appearing on a television talent show where ordinary people impersonate celebrities. Although she didn’t win, she returned home to discover she had become something of a local celebrity. She decided to throw herself into a new career as an impersonator and set about studying Mao’s mannerisms and habits even down to how he held his chopsticks. Her make up, which include’s a Mao-style mole on the chin and his signature hairstyle takes hours to prepare at a cost of £200 a time. According to Zhang Bingjian, an artist and filmmaker who made a documentary about Mao impersonators, Mr and Mrs Chen are now fighting to rescue their marriage.