| Zhang Ziyi | ||||||||||||||||||
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 Ziyi at the 2006 BAFTAs |
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| Chinese name | 章子怡 (Traditional) | |||||||||||||||||
| Chinese name | 章子怡 (Simplified) | |||||||||||||||||
| Born | February 9 1979 Beijing, China |
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| Years active | 1999 - present | |||||||||||||||||
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Zhang Ziyi (Chinese: 章子怡; pinyin: Zhāng Zǐyí; 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.
Contents |
Biography
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.
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 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 as she didn't speak English at the time, 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 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 Zhe 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 as the female lead 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. 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 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.[1] 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). 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.
Ambassadorship
Zhang Ziyi is the face of Maybelline, Garnier and Shangri-la Hotel and Resort Group. She is also a Global Ambassador for the Special Olympics and a spokesperson for Care for Children, a foster-home program in China.
Personal life
Soon after her debut in Zhang Yimou's The Road Home, rumours arose regarding a possible affair between the actress and the older director. Zhang Yimou was previously involved in an extra-marital affair with actress Gong Li, whom he similarly debuted and with whom Zhang Ziyi was quickly compared. However, a relationship between the two remains unconfirmed.[2] Hong Kong and Taiwanese media have often pushed at ties between Zhang Ziyi and co-star Jackie Chan.[3] This was fuelled in part by photos that emerged of the pair during celebrations of Chan's birthday on the set of Rush Hour 2. Zhang Ziyi for a while was publicly linked with Fok Kai-shan, grandson of Hong Kong business tycoon Henry Fok. Although Zhang Ziyi does not like to talk in public about her private life, in 2006 she stated in an interview that she had found love but did not offer a name.[4] When quizzed in early 2007 if she was happy by Phoenix TV, she stated in the interview: "Yes, very much so ... I'm doing the things I enjoy." [5] In January 2007, Zhang Ziyi was spotted holding hands and kissing with her new partner at a New York basketball game. The man was identified as 41-year-old, Israeli multi-millionaire, venture capitalist Vivi Nevo. The two were again seen together at an Oscar party in Los Angeles. Nevo, who has previously been tied to model Kate Moss, is a major shareholder in Time Warner and an early backer of The Weinstein Company with whom Zhang Ziyi is purported to have a multi-film deal.[6][7]
Filmography
| Year | English Title | Chinese Title | Role | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Touching Starlight | 星星点灯 | Chen Wei | Sun Wenxue |
| 1999 | The Road Home | 我的父親母親 | Young Zhao Di | Zhang Yimou |
| 2000 | Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon | 卧虎藏龙 | Jen Yu | Ang Lee |
| 2001 | Rush Hour 2 | 尖峰时刻2 | Hu Li | Brett Ratner |
| The Legend of Zu | 蜀山传 | Joy | Tsui Hark | |
| Musa | 武士 | Princess Bu-yong | Kim Sung-su | |
| 2002 | Hero | 英雄 | Moon | Zhang Yimou |
| 2003 | Purple Butterfly | 紫蝴蝶 | Cynthia/Ding Hui | Lou Ye |
| My Wife is a Gangster 2 | 我老婆是大佬2 | Gangster boss | Jeong Heung-sun | |
| 2004 | 2046 | 2046 | Bai Ling | Wong Kar-wai |
| House of Flying Daggers | 十面埋伏 | Mei | Zhang Yimou | |
| Jasmine Women | 茉莉花开 | Young Mo/Young Li/Young Hua | Hou Yong | |
| 2005 | Princess Raccoon | 狸御殿 | Princess Tanuki | Seijun Suzuki |
| Memoirs of a Geisha | 艺伎回忆录 | Sayuri Nitta/Chiyo Sakamoto | Rob Marshall | |
| 2006 | The Banquet | 夜宴 | Wan | Feng Xiaogang |
| 2007 | TMNT | 忍者神龟 | Karai | Kevin Munroe |
| The Horsemen | 沙漠战士 | Kristen | Jonas Åkerlund | |
| 2008 | Mei Lanfang | 夜宴 | Meng Xiaodong | Chen Kaige |
Trivia
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Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines. The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones. |
- 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), Zǐ (子) means child or esteemed person, and Yí (怡) means joy or happiness. She has appeared in English language films under the name Ziyi Zhang. In an interview, she stated that the name change was her publicist's idea of a way to appeal to Western audiences.
- Zhang says that one of her methods of learning the English language was listening to Eminem, which apparently led to some embarrassing situations. She said "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." [8]
Awards and nominations
Awards won
Hundred Flowers Awards
- 2000 - Best Actress for The Road Home
Chicago Film Critics Association Awards
- 2001 - Most Promising Actress
- 2001 - Best Supporting Actress for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
- 2004 - Best Actress for Mo li hua kai
- 2005 - Best Actress for 2046
Hong Kong Film Critics Society Awards
- 2005 - Best Actress for 2046
- 2001 - Best Supporting Female for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
- 2001 - Best Fight for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon *(Versus entire bar)
Toronto Film Critics Association Awards
- 2000 - Best Supporting Performance, Female for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
- 2001 - Best Young Actress in an International Film for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
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.
- Topped Japanese Playboy's "100 Sexiest Women in Asia" list and was featured on the cover. (April 2006)[9]
Awards nominated
Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films, USA
- 2001 - Best Supporting Actress for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
- 2005 - Best Actress for House of Flying Daggers
- 2001 - Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
- 2005 - Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role for House of Flying Daggers
- 2006 - Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role for Memoirs of a Geisha
Chicago Film Critics Association Awards
- 2001 - Best Supporting Actress for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
- 2006 - Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama for Memoirs of a Geisha
- 2000 - Best Actress for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
- 2004 - Best Actress for 2046
- 2001 - Best Actress for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
- 2003 - Best Supporting Actress for Hero
- 2006 - Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture for Memoirs of a Geisha
- 2002 - Favorite Female Action Hero for Rush Hour 2
- 2001 - Breakthrough Female Performance for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
- 2002 - Best Villain for Rush Hour 2
- 2005 - Best Fight for House of Flying Daggers *(For Zhang Ziyi vs. The Emperor's guards)
- 2006 - Sexiest Performance for Memoirs of a Geisha
Online Film Critics Society Awards
- 2001 - Best Supporting Actress for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
- 2005 - Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture, Drama for Memoirs of a Geisha
- 2006 - Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role for Memoirs of a Geisha
- 2001 - Film - Choice Breakout Performance
See also
References
- ^ http://www.oscars.org/press/pressreleases/2005/05.06.24.html
- ^ http://www.china.org.cn/english/features/film/86606.htm
- ^ http://helloziyi.us/Articles/Ziyi_Chinas_Best.htm
- ^ http://www.starpulse.com/news/index.php/2006/10/03/zhang_ziyi_is_in_love_would_love_to_get_
- ^ http://itv.phoenixtv.com/play.aspx?id=e57b15b8-1bf3-47b9-84ee-f03e79070259
- ^ http://men.style.com/details/features/full?id=content_4990&pageNum=8
- ^ http://www.cinematical.com/2006/06/05/zhang-ziyi-indentured-to-weinsteins/
- ^ http://www.contactmusic.com/new/xmlfeed.nsf/mndwebpages/ziyi%20eminem%20was%20my%20english%20teacher
- ^ http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2006-03/10/content_531239.htm
