Zhang Ziyi

This article is about a Chinese actress. For the Chinese zootechnician, see Zhang Ziyi (zootechnician).

In this Chinese name, the family name is Zhang (章).

Zhang Ziyi
File:Zhang Ziyi the Jury President at Opening Ceremony of the Tokyo International Film Festival 2019 (49013444988) (cropped).jpg Zhang in 2019
Native name	章子怡
Born	(1979-02-09) 9 February 1979 Beijing, China
Alma mater	Central Academy of Drama
Occupation	Actress, model
Years active	1996–present
Political party	Zhi Gong
Spouse(s)	Wang Feng (m. 2015)
Zhang Ziyi Modeling information Height 5 ft 5 in (165 cm) Hair color Black Eye color Brown Manager International Creative Management (ICM) Chinese name Chinese 章子怡 Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Zhāng Zǐyí Wade–Giles Chang1 Tzŭ3-i2 IPA [ʈʂáŋ tsɨ̀.ǐ] Yue: Cantonese Jyutping Zoeng1 Zi2-ji4 IPA [tsœːŋ˥ tsiː˧˥.jiː˩] Yale Romanization Jēung Jí-yìh Southern Min Hokkien POJ Chiong Chú-î

Zhang Ziyi ([ʈʂáŋ tsɨ̀.ǐ]; Chinese: 章子怡; born 9 February 1979) is a Chinese actress and model. She is regarded as one of the Four Dan Actresses of China. Her first major role was in The Road Home (1999). She later gained international recognition for her role in Ang Lee's Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000), which was nominated for 10 Academy Awards. Zhang has also appeared in Rush Hour 2 (2001), Hero (2002), and House of Flying Daggers (2004). Her most critically acclaimed works are Memoirs of a Geisha (2005), which earned her nominations for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama, the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role, and the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role; and The Grandmaster (2013), for which she won 12 different Best Actress awards to become the most awarded Chinese actress for a single film.

From 2004 to 2010, Zhang ranked in the Top 5 of Forbes China Celebrity 100 list every year. In 2008, she was awarded with the Outstanding Contribution to Chinese Cinema award at the 11th Shanghai International Film Festival. In 2013, she received the French Cultural Order at the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres.

Zhang most recently appeared in the films The Cloverfield Paradox (2018) and Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019).

Early life

Zhang was born and raised in Beijing, China on 9 February 1979. Her father, Zhang Yuanxiao, was an accountant and later economist, and her mother, Li Zhousheng, a kindergarten teacher. She has an older brother with whom she is very close. Zhang began studying dance when she was 8 years old; subsequently, she joined the Beijing Dance Academy at her parents' suggestion at the age of 11. While at this boarding school, she noticed how mean the other girls were to each other while competing for status amongst the teachers. Zhang disliked the attitudes of her peers and teachers so much that, on one occasion, she ran away from the school. At the age of 15, Zhang won the national youth dance championship and also appeared in a handful of TV commercials and began appearing in television commercials in Hong Kong.

In 1996, Zhang entered the prestigious Central Academy of Drama in Beijing at the age of 17.

Career

1996–2000: Early career

Zhang made her acting debut in the television film Touching Starlight at the age of 16.

In 1998, while she was studying in Central Academy of Drama, Zhang was offered her first role by director Zhang Yimou in his film The Road Home, which won the Silver Bear prize at the 2000 Berlin International Film Festival. Zhang plays a country girl in love with the town's young teacher, she won the Best Actress Award at the 2000 Hundred Flowers Awards for her performance.

Due to her success, Zhang was considered one of the Four Dan Actresses of China.

2000–06: Wuxia epics and international breakthrough

Zhang rose to international fame in 2000 with her role as Yu Jiaolong in Ang Lee's re-visioned martial arts film Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. The movie's success in the US and Europe helped her break into Hollywood. Zhang plays a young Manchu noblewoman who has secretly learned martial arts and runs off to become a wandering swordswoman rather than commit to an arranged marriage. This role won her the Most Promising Actress award at the Chicago Film Critics Association Awards and Best Supporting Actress awards from the Independent Spirit Awards, as well as Toronto Film Critics Association Awards.

Zhang then appeared in her first American film, Rush Hour 2 (2001) opposite Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker. On playing her first villain role, Zhang expressed that "the opportunity to sort of try and analyze the psyche of the character and get to know and pull out emotions I’ve never had to utilize before...was very exciting."

File:ZhangZiyi Amfar.jpg

Ziyi in 2011 at the amfAR 25th Anniversary Gala Celebration

In 2002, Zhang co-starred in Hero alongside Jet Li, Maggie Cheung and Tony Leung, directed by her early mentor Zhang Yimou. The film was a huge success in the English-speaking world and was nominated for an Oscar and a Golden Globe award in the category of Best Foreign Language Film. She then signed on to film an avant-garde drama film Purple Butterfly (2003), which competed in the 2003 Cannes Film Festival.

Zhang went back to the martial arts genre in House of Flying Daggers (2004), again by Zhang Yimou, where she starred along Takeshi Kaneshiro and Andy Lau. She plays the blind dancing girl Mei, who despite the lack of eyesight, is a skilled fighter. In preparation for the part, Zhang spent two months living with an actual blind girl. Her performance earned her a Best Actress nomination at the BAFTA Awards. She also featured on the House of Flying Daggers soundtrack with her own musical rendition of the ancient Chinese poem Jia Rén Qu (佳人曲, The Beauty Song).

Zhang next starred in Wong Kar-wai's romantic drama film 2046 (2004), which featured many top Chinese actors and actresses. Critics praise Zhang for her "expressive" body language that was combined with her "reserved and complex emotions" in performance as a struggling prostitute. Zhang won Best Actress awards at the Hong Kong Film Critics' Award and Hong Kong Film Academy Award.

In 2005, Zhang featured in the critically acclaimed film Jasmine Women, adapted from Su Tong's novel titled Women's Lives. She won Best Actress at the Golden Rooster Awards for her performance. Next came Princess Raccoon (2005), directed by Japan's Seijun Suzuki, which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival. For her role, Zhang took two weeks of singing and dancing lessons in Japan.

Zhang played the lead role of Sayuri in the American film adaptation based on the international bestseller Memoirs of a Geisha. Controversy arose in China about having a Chinese woman portray a prominent Japanese geisha in a film set during the height of Japanese imperialist aggression against China in World War II. Nonetheless, the film was a box office hit in the West. For the role, Zhang was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama, the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role, and the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role.

On 27 June 2005, Zhang accepted an invitation to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), placing her among the ranks of those who are able to vote on the Academy Awards. In May 2006, Zhang was chosen as a jury member of Feature Films at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival.

Zhang returned to China in 2006 for the Chinese wuxia film The Banquet, directed by Feng Xiaogang. The film is a loose adaptation of William Shakespeare's Hamlet.

2007–12: Hollywood and China

In 2007, Zhang performed the voice of Karai in the American animated film TMNT (2007). In the same year, Zhang starred alongside Liu Ye and Ge You in the first-ever opening short for the Chinese academy awards (Golden Rooster Awards) where director Dayyan Eng got top stars to spoof the action-movie genre in a humorous send-up on national TV in China.

In Forever Enthralled (2008), which tells the story of legendary Peking opera actor Mei Lanfang, Zhang appears in the second act as Mei's lover Meng Xiaodong. The Hollywood Reporter praised her performance as "confident and passion", giving the romance a sparkle.

Her next American film was The Horsemen (2009), where she starred opposite Dennis Quaid. Back in China, she played the titular character in romantic comedy Sophie's Revenge (2009); a comic book artist seeking to punish her unfaithful boyfriend. She then starred alongside Aaron Kwok in the AIDS-themed film Love for Life (2011).

In 2012, Zhang starred next to Cecilia Cheung and Jang Dong-gun in the Chinese-Korean co-production Dangerous Liaisons, an adaptation of the French novel Les Liaisons dangereuses, narrating Shanghai of the 1930s. Zhang was reportedly paid 20 million RMB (approximately $3.5 million) for the role. The same year, she was cast in the coming-of-age film Forever Young directed and written by Li Fangfang. The film premiered in January 2018.

Zhang and Tony Leung at the premiere of The Grandmaster at the 2013 Berlin International Film Festival

2013–17: Return to stardom

In 2013, Zhang received the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres for her significant contributions to the film industry.

Zhang reunited with Wong Kar-wai and Tony Leung for The Grandmaster (2013), which also marks her return to the martial arts genre after 7 years since The Banquet (2006). The film was China's submission to the Academy Awards for Best Foreign-Language Picture. Critics praise Zhang's portrayal of Gong'Er as the "best performance she's ever delivered in the history of her career." which led to her winning several "Best Actress" trophies across Asia. The same year, she reprised her role as Sophie in My Lucky Star, a sequel to Sophie's Revenge. Described as Zhang's "breakthrough comedy role", the film topped Chinese box office on the week of its release.

In 2014, Zhang starred in John Woo's romantic epic The Crossing, based on the true story of the Taiping steamer collision and follows six characters and their intertwining love stories in Taiwan and Shanghai during the 1930s. Zhang plays a poor illiterate woman waiting for her soldier lover in 1930's Shanghai.

In 2015, Zhang produced her third film Oh My God, which stars Zhang Yixing and Li Xiaolu. She made a cameo appearance in the film. Zhang next starred in romance anthology film Run for Love and crime epic The Wasted Times.

2018–present: Hollywood epics and small-screen debut

In 2016, Zhang was cast in J. J. Abrams's science fiction thriller The Cloverfield Paradox, which premiered in 2018.

In 2017, Zhang was cast in the monster film Godzilla: King of the Monsters, playing a prominent character.

In 2018, Zhang was cast in her first television series, Rebel Princess.

In 2019, Zhang starred in the adventure drama film The Climbers.

Ambassadorship and representation

• Spokesperson for "Care for Children"
• Global Ambassador for China's Special Olympics
• Image Ambassador for first Beijing International Film Festival
• Ambassador for the ScreenSingapore 2011 film festival
• Friendship Ambassador for the Chinese Film Days in the Romania
• Image Ambassador for the Macao Film Festival
• Global Ambassador for the Children of China Pediatrics Foundation (CCPF)
• Ambassador for Clé de Peau Beauté

Endorsements

Zhang was the first Chinese woman to be appointed as an Emporio Armani ambassador, which she served from 2009 to 2010. She also served as regional ambassadors for Mercedes-Benz, Garnier, Precious Platinum; and global ambassadors for Maybelline, Visa, TAG Heuer, Omega SA and Clé de Peau Beauté. Zhang was featured on the "BoF 500" list. Since 2019, she became the global ambassador for Chopard.

Defamation cases

In 2012, an overseas Chinese website Boxun falsely reported that Zhang Ziyi was paid $100 million to sleep with top Chinese officials. Zhang sued Boxun in a US court for defamation. In December 2013, Boxun settled the case after agreeing to pay an undisclosed amount to Zhang and issue a front-page apology. Zhang also won court cases in Hong Kong against Next Media over similar false reports in Apple Daily and Next Magazine.

Personal life

In the July 2006 issue of Interview magazine, Zhang spoke of her movies' contents and being careful about the roles she takes on, especially in Hollywood:

Yes. Otherwise I could have done a lot of Hollywood movies. After Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon I got a lot of offers, but I turned them down because they were all victim roles—poor girls sold to America to be a wife or whatever. I know I have the ability to go deeper, to take on more original roles than that. That's why I really appreciated Geisha, because it allowed us to show the world what kind of actors we are and what kind of characters we can play—not just action, kick-ass parts.

Zhang obtained Hong Kong residency in 2007 through the Quality Migrant Admission Scheme for her contribution to the local film industry. She is an admirer and collector of the works of the Chinese contemporary artist Shen Jingdong. Politically, she is a member of the China Zhi Gong Party.

Zhang was engaged to Israeli American venture capitalist Aviv Nevo until the couple separated in 2010. Zhang married Chinese rock musician Wang Feng in May 2015. On 27 December 2015, Zhang gave birth to their daughter, Wang Xingxing. In January 2020, Zhang gave birth to their son.

Filmography

Film

Year	English title	Original title	Director	Role
1996	Touching Starlight	星星點燈	Sun Wenxue	Chen Wei
1999	The Road Home	我的父親母親	Zhang Yimou	Zhao Di
2000	Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon	臥虎藏龍	Ang Lee	Jen Yu
2001	Rush Hour 2	高峰時間 2	Brett Ratner	Hu Li
	The Legend of Zu	蜀山傳	Tsui Hark	Joy (Special appearance)
	Musa	무사	Kim Sung-su	Princess Bu-yong
2002	Hero	英雄	Zhang Yimou	Moon
2003	Purple Butterfly	紫蝴蝶	Lou Ye	Cynthia
	My Wife is a Gangster 2	조폭 마누라 2 – 돌아온 전설	Jeong Heung Sun	Gangster boss (Cameo)
2004	2046	2046	Wong Kar Wai	Bai Ling
	House of Flying Daggers	十面埋伏	Zhang Yimou	Mei
	Jasmine Women	茉莉花開	Hou Yong	Mo/ Li/ Hua
2005	Princess Raccoon	オペレッタ狸御殿	Seijun Suzuki	Princess Tanuki
	Memoirs of a Geisha	N/A	Rob Marshall	Chiyo Sakamoto/Sayuri Nitta
2006	The Banquet	夜宴	Feng Xiaogang	Wan
2007	TMNT	N/A	Kevin Munroe	Karai (Voice)
2008	Forever Enthralled	梅蘭芳	Chen Kaige	Meng Xiaodong
2009	Horsemen	N/A	Jonas Åkerlund	Kristen
	Sophie's Revenge	非常完美	Eva Jin	Sophie
	The Founding of a Republic	建国大业	Huang Jianxin	Gong Peng (Cameo)
2011	Love for Life	最爱	Gu Changwei	Qinqin
2012	Dangerous Liaisons	危险关系	Hur Jin-ho	Du Fenyu
2013	The Grandmaster	一代宗師	Wong Kar Wai	Gong Er
	Better and Better	越来越好之村晚	Zhang Yibai	Herself (Cameo)
	My Lucky Star	非常幸运	Dennie Gordon	Sophie
2014	The Crossing Part 1	太平轮	John Woo	Yu Zhen
2015	The Crossing Part 2	太平轮·彼岸
	Where's the Dragon?	龙在哪里?	Foo Sing-choong	Phoenix (Voice)
	Oh My God	从天儿降	Wei Nan, Wei Min	Auntie (Cameo)
2016	Run for Love	奔爱	Zhang Yibai	Su Leqi (Segment: So Long, My Love)
	The Wasted Times	罗曼蒂克消亡史	Cheng Er	Xiao Liu
2018	Forever Young	无问西东	Li Fangfang	Wang Minjia
	The Cloverfield Paradox	N/A	Julius Onah	Tam
2019	Godzilla: King of the Monsters	N/A	Michael Dougherty	Dr. Ilene Chen and Dr. Ling Chen
	The Climbers	攀登者	Daniel Lee	Xu Ying (Meteorologist)
2021	My Country, My Parents	我和我的父辈	Zhang Ziyi	Mother (Segment: Poem)

Television series

Year	English title	Original title	Role
2021	The Rebel Princess	江山故人 (帝凰业/帝王业)/ 上阳赋	Wang Xuan

Reality show

Year	English title	Original title	Role
2009	Zhang Ziyi's Oman	跟著章子怡去旅遊: 阿曼
2013	The X Factor: Zhongguo Zui Qiang Yin	中国最强音	Judge
2017	Birth of an Actor	演员的诞生	Mentor
2018	I Am an Actor	我就是演员	Mentor
2019	Viva La Romance	妻子的浪漫旅行

Music video

Year	Song Title	Artist
1996	"Cherish (珍惜)"	Xie Xiaodong
2008	"You Understand My Love (你懂我的爱)"	Leon Lai & Zhang Ziyi
2014	"Magic"	Coldplay
2015	"Nowhere to Belong (无处安放)"	Wang Feng

Discography

Year	English title	Original title	Notes
2004	The Beauty Song	佳人曲	Soundtrack of House of Flying Daggers
2008		天女散花
2008	You Understand My Love	你懂我的爱	Soundtrack of Forever Enthralled with Leon Lai
2011	Always Here	一直都在	Soundtrack of Love for Life with Aaron Kwok
2013	Love a Little	爱一点	Soundtrack of My Lucky Star with Wang Leehom
2013	Dreams Grow Up	梦想长大了

Awards and nominations

Main article: List of awards and nominations received by Zhang Ziyi

Other honors

In 2005, Zhang was listed in TIME's World's 100 Most Influential People. They called her "China's Gift to Hollywood".

In 2008, she was awarded with the "Outstanding Contribution to Chinese Cinema" at the 11th Shanghai International Film Festival.

In 2010, she was named "Actress of the Decade" by CineAsia. She previously won "Star of Tomorrow prize" back in 1999.

In 2013, Zhang received the Order of Arts and Letter at the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres Awards.

Forbes China Celebrity 100

Year	Rank	Ref.
2004	2nd
2005	2nd
2006	3rd
2007	4th
2008	5th
2009	2nd
2010	5th
2011	7th
2012	14th
2013	5th
2014	5th
2015	21st
2019	54th
2020	78th

External links

• Zhang Ziyi at the Internet Movie Database

1. REDIRECT Template:Golden Horse Award for Best Actress

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1. REDIRECT Template:Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Female