Zhang Ziyi

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This is a Chinese name; the family name is Zhang.
Zhang Ziyi
章子怡

Zhang Ziyi
Birth name 章子怡 Zhang Ziyi
Born February 9, 1979 (age 28)
Flag of People's Republic of China Beijing, China
Years active 1996-present
Notable roles Jen in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
Mei in House of Flying Daggers
Hu Li in Rush Hour 2
Sayuri in Memoirs of a Geisha
Golden Globe Awards
Nominated: Best Actress - Motion Picture Drama
2006 Memoirs of a Geisha
BAFTA Awards
Nominated: Best Supporting Actress
2001 Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
Nominated: Best Actress
2005 House of Flying Daggers
2006 Memoirs of a Geisha

Zhang Ziyi (章子怡; pinyin: Zhāng Zǐyí) (born February 9, 1979 in Beijing, China) is one of the most well-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, and Rob Marshall.

Contents

[edit] Biography

Born in Beijing, China, Zhang 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).

[edit] Career

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 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 as she didn't speak English, Jackie Chan had to translate everything the director said to her. In that movie, her character's name, "Hu Li" translated from Mandarin Chinese is "Fox".

After this she went on to make Hero 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 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 Hong Kong, Taiwan and the mainland), Zhang 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. She plays the leading role of Sayuri in the adaptation of the international bestseller Memoirs of a Geisha, with her Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon co-star Michelle Yeoh, as well as Gong Li and Ken Watanabe. The movie was produced by Steven Spielberg, directed by Rob Marshall, and released in December 2005. Zhang has received a Best Actress - Drama Golden Globe nomination for her role.

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 Rén Qu (佳人曲, The Beauty Song). The song was also featured in a scene in the film.

On 27 June, 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' most recent film was released, a new drama set in the Tang Dynasty of China called The Banquet (Yè Yàn 夜宴).

Zhang Ziyi can be seen endorsing Maybelline, GARNIER, and Asience (Japanese shampoo brand). She is also a Global Ambassador for the Special Olympics.

Most recently she provided the voice of Karai in the TMNT movie that was released on March 23, 2007.

She is now currently filming a movie called "Horsemen" with Dennis Quaid.

[edit] Filmography

[edit] Trivia

Of the characters making up her name, Zhāng (章) is her surname (not to be confused with the more common Zhāng 张 which is a homonym but written with a different character), and can be literally translated as an essay or a chapter of a book, Zǐ (子) means child or esteemed person, and Yí (怡) means joy or happiness. Her name is sometimes represented in the Western order (Ziyi Zhang).

[edit] Awards and nominations

[edit] Awards won

Hundred Flowers Awards

Chicago Film Critics Association Awards

  • 2001 - Most Promising Actress

Golden Bauhinia Awards

Golden Rooster Awards

  • 2004 - Best Actress for Mo li hua kai

Hong Kong Film Awards

Hong Kong Film Critics Society Awards

Independent Spirit Awards

MTV Movie Awards

Toronto Film Critics Association Awards

Young Artist Awards

[edit] Magazine Awards Won

  • Was ranked 2nd of the 100 Sexiest Women by FHM Taiwan (2001).
  • Was named one of the 25 Hottest Stars Under 25 by Teen People Magazine (2001).
  • Was named one of the 25 Hottest Stars Under 25 by Teen People Magazine (2002).
  • Ranked #91 in Stuff magazine's "102 Sexiest Women In The World" (2002)
  • Voted in at #100 in FHM's Sexiest 100 Girls of 2002, UK edition. [June 2002]
  • Forbes magazine's China edition recently ranked her the second most popular celebrity after NBA player 'Yao Ming' . [August 2004]
  • Named by Entertainment Weekly in their 'The Must List' 2005. Listed 38th out of the 122 people and things the magazine "loves" this year, Ziyi was the only Chinese to be included.
  • Selected by Southern People Weekly magazine as 'Chinese Top Ten Leaders Of The Younger Generation' in 2005.
  • Listed in People's '50 Most Beautiful People' List in 2005.
  • Was listed in TIME's World's 100 Most Influential People. They called her "China's Gift to Hollywood".
  • Was ranked one of the '100 Most Beautiful Women in the World' in the July 2005 issue of Harpers & Queen magazine. It was her first time on the list. She was ranked number 15.
  • Was included in People's 100 Most Beautiful People in the World the second year in a row in 2006. This is now her third appearance on the list.
  • Was voted in at #86 in FHM's sexiest women in the world in 2006. She had not appeared in the list since 2002.[1]

[edit] Awards nominated

Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films, USA

BAFTA Awards

Chicago Film Critics Association Awards

Golden Globes

Golden Horse Film Festival

Hong Kong Film Awards

Image Awards

Kids' Choice Awards

MTV Movie Awards

Online Film Critics Society Awards

Satellite Awards

Screen Actors Guild Awards

Teen Choice Awards

  • 2001 - Film - Choice Breakout Performance

[edit] See also

[edit] References

[edit] External links

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