ZHANG ZIYI
Name: Zhang Ziyi
Born: 9 February 1979 Beijing, China
Zhang Ziyi (born February 9, 1979 in Beijing)
is one of the best-known Chinese film actresses working today, with a string of
Chinese and international hits to her name. She has worked with renowned
directors such as Zhang Yimou, Ang Lee, Wong Kar-Wai, Seijun Suzuki and Rob
Marshall.
Born in Beijing, China, Zhang Ziyi joined the Beijing Dance Academy at the age
of 11, and at 15 she entered China's prestigious Central Academy of Drama (regarded
as the top acting college in China).
When her parents suggested she go to the dance academy, she was skeptical. While
at the boarding school, she noticed how catty the other girls were while
competing for status amongst the teachers. She would cry each night and morning,
and on one occasion ran away from the school.
At the age of 19, she was offered her first role in world renowned director
Zhang Yimou's The Road Home, which won the Silver Bear award in the 2000 Berlin
Film Festival. Zhang further rose to fame due to her role as the headstrong Jen
in the phenomenally successful Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, for which she won
the Independent Spirit's Best Supporting Actress Award and the Toronto Film
Critics' Best Supporting Actress Award.
Her first appearance in an American movie was in Rush Hour 2, but because she
didn't speak English at the time, Jackie Chan had to translate everything the
director said to her. In the movie, her character's name, "Hu Li," is translated
from Mandarin Chinese to "Fox".
After this she went on to make Hero with her early mentor Zhang Yimou, which was
a huge success in the English-speaking world and an Oscar and a Golden Globe
contender. Her next film was the avant-garde drama Purple Butterfly by Lou Ye
which competed at the 2003 Cannes Film Festival. She went back to the martial
arts genre with House of Flying Daggers, which earned her a Best Actress
nomination from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts.
For her next drama 2046, directed by Wong Kar-wai, starring many of the best-known
Chinese actresses (from mainland, Hong Kong, and Taiwan), Zhang was the female
lead and won the Hong Kong Film Critics' Best Actress Award and the Hong Kong
Film Academy's Best Actress Award.
Showing her whimsical musical tap-dancing side, Zhang starred in Princess
Raccoon directed by 82-year-old Japanese legend Seijun Suzuki who was honored at
the 2005 Cannes Film Festival.
In 2005, she landed the lead role of Sayuri in the film adaptation of the
international bestseller Memoirs of a Geisha. For the film, she reunited with
her 2046 co-star Gong Li and with her Crouching Tiger co-star Michelle Yeoh. For
the role, she received a 2006 Golden Globe Award nomination, a Screen Actors
Guild Award nomination and a BAFTA nomination.
Zhang has also been known to sing, and was featured on the House of Flying
Daggers soundtrack with her own musical rendition of the ancient Chinese poem
Jia Ren Qu (The Beauty Song). The song was also featured in two scenes in
the film.
On June 27, 2005, it was announced that Zhang had accepted an invitation to join
the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), placing her among the
ranks of those able to vote on the Academy Awards.
In May 2006, Zhang became the youngest member to sit on the jury of the Cannes
Film Festival.
In the fall of 2006, Zhang's most recent film was released, a new drama set in
the Tang Dynasty of China called The Banquet.
Most recently she provided the voice of Karai in the TMNT movie that was
released on March 23, 2007. She has recently finished filming a movie called
Horsemen with Dennis Quaid. Zhang is now working on a new movie called Mei
Lanfang.
Name: Zhang Ziyi
Born: 9 February 1979 Beijing, China
Zhang Ziyi (born February 9, 1979 in Beijing)
is one of the best-known Chinese film actresses working today, with a string of
Chinese and international hits to her name. She has worked with renowned
directors such as Zhang Yimou, Ang Lee, Wong Kar-Wai, Seijun Suzuki and Rob
Marshall.
Born in Beijing, China, Zhang Ziyi joined the Beijing Dance Academy at the age
of 11, and at 15 she entered China's prestigious Central Academy of Drama (regarded
as the top acting college in China).
When her parents suggested she go to the dance academy, she was skeptical. While
at the boarding school, she noticed how catty the other girls were while
competing for status amongst the teachers. She would cry each night and morning,
and on one occasion ran away from the school.
At the age of 19, she was offered her first role in world renowned director
Zhang Yimou's The Road Home, which won the Silver Bear award in the 2000 Berlin
Film Festival. Zhang further rose to fame due to her role as the headstrong Jen
in the phenomenally successful Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, for which she won
the Independent Spirit's Best Supporting Actress Award and the Toronto Film
Critics' Best Supporting Actress Award.
Her first appearance in an American movie was in Rush Hour 2, but because she
didn't speak English at the time, Jackie Chan had to translate everything the
director said to her. In the movie, her character's name, "Hu Li," is translated
from Mandarin Chinese to "Fox".
After this she went on to make Hero with her early mentor Zhang Yimou, which was
a huge success in the English-speaking world and an Oscar and a Golden Globe
contender. Her next film was the avant-garde drama Purple Butterfly by Lou Ye
which competed at the 2003 Cannes Film Festival. She went back to the martial
arts genre with House of Flying Daggers, which earned her a Best Actress
nomination from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts.
For her next drama 2046, directed by Wong Kar-wai, starring many of the best-known
Chinese actresses (from mainland, Hong Kong, and Taiwan), Zhang was the female
lead and won the Hong Kong Film Critics' Best Actress Award and the Hong Kong
Film Academy's Best Actress Award.
Showing her whimsical musical tap-dancing side, Zhang starred in Princess
Raccoon directed by 82-year-old Japanese legend Seijun Suzuki who was honored at
the 2005 Cannes Film Festival.
In 2005, she landed the lead role of Sayuri in the film adaptation of the
international bestseller Memoirs of a Geisha. For the film, she reunited with
her 2046 co-star Gong Li and with her Crouching Tiger co-star Michelle Yeoh. For
the role, she received a 2006 Golden Globe Award nomination, a Screen Actors
Guild Award nomination and a BAFTA nomination.
Zhang has also been known to sing, and was featured on the House of Flying
Daggers soundtrack with her own musical rendition of the ancient Chinese poem
Jia Ren Qu (The Beauty Song). The song was also featured in two scenes in
the film.
On June 27, 2005, it was announced that Zhang had accepted an invitation to join
the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), placing her among the
ranks of those able to vote on the Academy Awards.
In May 2006, Zhang became the youngest member to sit on the jury of the Cannes
Film Festival.
In the fall of 2006, Zhang's most recent film was released, a new drama set in
the Tang Dynasty of China called The Banquet.
Most recently she provided the voice of Karai in the TMNT movie that was
released on March 23, 2007. She has recently finished filming a movie called
Horsemen with Dennis Quaid. Zhang is now working on a new movie called Mei
Lanfang.