Zhang Ziyi
Zhang Ziyi ([ʈʂáŋ tsɹ̩̀.ǐ]; Chinese: 章子怡; born 9 February 1979) is a Chinese actress, model, and former dancer. She is regarded as one of the Four Dan Actresses of China.[1]
This article is about the Chinese actress. For the Chinese zootechnician, see Zhang Ziyi (zootechnician).
Zhang Ziyi
9 February 1979
Actress, model
1995–present
2
5 ft 5 in (165 cm)
Black
Brown
International Creative Management (ICM)
章子怡
Zhāng Zǐyí
Zhāng Zǐyí
Chang1 Tzŭ3-i2
Jēung Jí-yìh
Zoeng1 Zi2-ji4
Chiong Chú-î
Born and raised in Beijing, Zhang studied at the Beijing Dance Academy and began her six-year study of folk dance in 1990. In 1994, she won the performance award in the National Taoli Cup Dance Competition. She was admitted to the Performance Department of the Central Academy of Drama in 1996. That year, she made her acting debut in the television film Touching Starlight (1996). After her breakout role in Zhang Yimou's The Road Home (1999), which won her the Best Actress Award at the 2000 Hundred Flowers Awards, Zhang gained international recognition for her performance in the wuxia martial arts film Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000), which was nominated for 10 Academy Awards.
Zhang made her Hollywood debut in 2001 opposite Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker in the action comedy film Rush Hour 2 (2001). That year she also starred as a princess in the historical drama film Musa. She has also appeared in the critically acclaimed films Hero (2002), opposite Jet Li, and House of Flying Daggers (2004), opposite Andy Lau. For her work in 2046 (2004), she won best actress at the 2005 Hong Kong Film Awards. Her most critically acclaimed works are Memoirs of a Geisha (2005), which earned her nominations for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a 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.[2]
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.
Early life[edit]
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.[3][4] She has an older brother, Zhang Zinan, who was her manager. Zhang began studying dance when she was 8 years old; at 11, she joined the Beijing Dance Academy at her parents' suggestion.[5] 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.[4] 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.[6]
At the Beijing Dance Academy, she studied folk dance for six years. In 1994, she won the performance award in the National Taoli Cup Dance Competition. In 1996, Zhang entered the Central Academy of Drama in Beijing at the age of 17.[7][8]
Career[edit]
1996–2000: Early career[edit]
Zhang made her acting debut in the television film Touching Starlight at the age of 16.[9]
In 1998, while she was studying in Central Academy of Drama, Zhang was offered her first major role by director Zhang Yimou in his film The Road Home, which would win the Silver Bear prize at the 2000 Berlin International Film Festival.[10] 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.[11]
2000–06: Wuxia epics and international breakthrough[edit]
Zhang rose to international fame in 2000 with her role as Yu Jiaolong in Ang Lee's re-visioned wuxia martial arts film Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.[12][13] The movie's success in the US and Europe helped her break into Hollywood.[14] 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.[15][16][17]
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."[18]
Defamation cases[edit]
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.[84] Zhang also won court cases in Hong Kong against Next Media over similar false reports in Apple Daily and Next Magazine.[84]