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 also be called as one of the four most promising young film
actresses in China, along with Zhao Wei, Xu Jinglei, and Zhou
Xun. She has worked with renowned directors such as Zhang Yimou, Ang
Lee, Wong Kar-Wai, Chen Kaige, Seijun Suzuki and Rob Marshall.
Born in Beijing, China, Zhang joined the Beijing Dance Academy at
the age of 11. When Zhang's 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. Zhang disliked the attitude so much that, on one occasion,
she ran away from the school.
Zhang Ziyi entered China's prestigious Central Academy of Drama - regarded as the top acting college in China - at the age of 15.
At the age of 19, Zhang was offered her first role in Zhang Yimou's
The Road Home, which won the Silver Bear award in the 2000 Berlin Film
Festival.
Zhang Ziyi in "The Road Home", directed by Zhang Yimou (1999).
In the fall of 2006, Zhang Ziyi played Empress Wan in The Banquet (Yè Yàn), a film set in the Tang Dynasty. Zhang Ziyi provided the voice of Karai in the TMNT movie that was
released on March 23, 2007. She later starred in The Horsemen (2008)
with Dennis Quaid and in Forever Enthralled (Mei Lanfang 2008), which has been released this month.
Zhang Ziyi further rose to fame due to her role as the headstrong Jen
(Chinese version: Xia Long) 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. Zhang Ziyi's 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 interpret everything the director said to her. In the
movie, her character's name, "Hu Li," is translated from Mandarin
Chinese to "Fox".
Zhang Ziyi then appeared in Hero, directed by Zhang Yimou, which was
a huge success in the English-speaking world and an Oscar and a Golden
Globe contender.
Zhang Ziyi in "Hero", directed by Zhang Yimou (2002).
Her next film was the avant-garde drama Purple
Butterfly by Lou Ye, which competed at the 2003 Cannes Film Festival.
Zhang Ziyi went back to the martial arts genre with House of Flying Daggers
(十面埋伏), which earned her a Best Actress nomination from the British
Academy of Film and Television Arts.
In 2046, directed by Wong Kar-wai, starring many of the best-known
Chinese actors and actresses, Zhang Ziyi 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 Ziyi starred in
Princess Raccoon, directed by Japanese legend Seijun Suzuki, who was
honored at the 2005 Cannes Film Festival.
In 2005, Zhang Ziyi 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, Zhang Ziyi received a 2006 Golden Globe
Award nomination, a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination and a BAFTA
nomination.
On June 27, 2005, it was announced that Zhang Ziyi 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.
Trivia
Height 165 cm (5' 5")
Name is pronounced Jang (rhymes with 'young') DziYee.
Even though she has been in many kung-fu movies, she is not actually a
trained martial artist, so in fact she uses many dance moves in her
fight sequences.
Engaged to Israeli venture capitalist Vivi Nevo.
Zhang says that one of her methods of learning the English language was listening to Eminem,
which apparently led to some embarrassing situations. "I don't
always know what he is talking about, so I write down the lyrics and
repeat them. Later, I understood how rude they were.
Personal quotations
"I don't like kick-ass stereotypical roles. I already turn a lot down,
even when they promise me a lot of money. I really want to do something
in Europe. With a small movie, it can be an interesting challenge. But
I have to get the right project. I don't think it's so important to go
to Hollywood. All that trash that comes out of there! I don't want to
do that."
"In China, we don't consider someone truly beautiful until we have
known them for a long time, and we know what's underneath the skin."
"Working in Hollywood, it's clear the more money you have, the more
technology you can get. So you can build a whole Japanese set. Only in
Hollywood! I couldn't believe the first day I walked on the set. Rob
Marshall walked me like a tourist round the set. It took 40 minutes, so
how big was that? Today it can be winter, and tomorrow summer.
Everything's unbelievable."
"Chinese women are much more modest than American women when it comes to clothes. We tend to show less flesh."
Sources:IMDb & Wikipedia
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