Tang Wei overtakes a downtrodden Zhang Ziyi
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Yahoo! Singapore - Found Mar. 20, 2010 ... situation of Chinese actresses Zhang Ziyi and Tang Wei. After Zhang's unfortunate nipple slip incident at the beach last year, Zhang has been... China star Zhang takes blame in 'Donationgate' - Yahoo! Singapore Zhang Ziyi offers mea culpa in 'Donationgate' - Asiaone Zhang Ziyi responds to accusations of charity fraud - Asiaone Global face of stinging taste - CHINAdaily Explore All |
CHINAdaily |
Global Times, China World, South Beauty and Zhang Ziyi
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Danwei - Media, Advertising, and Urban Life in China - Found Mar. 18, 2010 Links and Sources Global Times : Zhang Ziyi's downward spiral ? her hidden secret life may reveal all Danwei: Zhang Ziyi crying over... |
Zhang Ziyi crying over award dropout or Sophie's Revenge?
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Danwei - Media, Advertising, and Urban Life in China - Found Mar. 18, 2010 Oriental Morning Post , March 18, 2010 Zhang Ziyi is on the front page of today's Oriental Morning Post , crying and holding a tissue up to her ... |
LIAONING: Zhang Ziyi denies charity fraud
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Asia News Network - Found Mar. 17, 2010 Zhang Ziyi has vehemently denied accusations that she committed fraud in the name of charity, but admitted to inexperience when organising a donation ... |
World Briefing | Asia: China: Film Star Responds to Accusations on ...
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New York Times - Found Mar. 16, 2010 Zhang Ziyi, a star of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, and the best-known Chinese actress internationally, has denied accusations that she committed |
Zhang Ziyi Denies Charity Fraud
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People's Daily Online - Found Mar. 15, 2010 Zhang Ziyi admits she lacked experience in handling charity donations. [Photo: Niall Phelan/China Daily] Zhang Ziyi has vehemently denied... China star Zhang takes blame in 'Donationgate' - Yahoo! Asia China star Zhang takes blame in 'Donationgate' - AFP via Yahoo! Actress denies charity fraud - People's Daily Online Exclusive: Zhang Ziyi denies charity fraud - CHINAdaily Explore All |
CHINAdaily |
The strange ways of celebrity portraiture
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Times Online - Found Mar. 13, 2010 Why, its the small and curvy Scarlett Johansson, managing somehow to squeeze her Barbara Windsor outline into a Zhang Ziyi silhouette. |
Troubled Zhang Ziyi locks lead role in Gu Changwei film
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People's Daily Online - Found Mar. 11, 2010 Zhang Ziyi held a fund raising event for the Wenchuan earthquake relief in Cannes, May 20, 2008. Scandal-plagued actress Zhang Ziyi will get a chance ... |
Troubled Zhang Ziyi locks lead role in Gu Changwei film
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People's Daily Online - Found Mar. 11, 2010 Zhang Ziyi held a fund raising event for the Wenchuan earthquake relief in Cannes, May 20, 2008. Scandal-plagued actress Zhang Ziyi will get a chance ... |
Mazda Mines Phelps?s Chinese Gold as Carmakers Seek Loyalty
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BusinessWeek - Found Mar. 9, 2010 ... deal was announced in January 2009. Other celebrity endorsers include movie stars Jackie Chan and Zhang Ziyi, and Olympic champion Liu Xiang. |
Zhang Ziyi Biography
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Zhang Ziyi
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This article contains Chinese text. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Chinese characters. |
- This is a Chinese name; the family name is Zhang.
| Ziyi Zhang | ||||||||||||||||||
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| Zhang at the 2006 BAFTAs | ||||||||||||||||||
| Chinese name | 章子怡 | |||||||||||||||||
| Pinyin | Zhāng Zǐyí (Mandarin) | |||||||||||||||||
| Origin | People's Republic of China | |||||||||||||||||
| Born | February 9, 1979 |
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| Occupation | Actress | |||||||||||||||||
| Years active | 1996–present | |||||||||||||||||
| Official Website | www.helloziyi.com | |||||||||||||||||
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Ziyi Zhang (Chinese: 章子怡; pinyin: Zhāng Zǐyí; Wade-Giles: Chang Tzu-i; born February 9, 1979) is a Chinese film actress. Zhang is coined by the media as one of the Four Young Dan actresses (四大花旦) in the Film Industry in China, along with Zhao Wei, Xu Jinglei, and Zhou Xun.1 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, Chen Kaige, Tsui Hark, Lou Ye, Seijun Suzuki, Feng Xiaogang and Rob Marshall.
Contents |
Early life
Zhang Ziyi was born and raised in Beijing, China. Her parents are Zhang Yuanxiao, an accountant, and Li Zhousheng, a kindergarten teacher.23 She has an older brother, Zhang Zinan (born 1973). Zhang joined the Beijing Dance Academy at the age of 11. When Zhang's parents suggested she attend the school, she was skeptical. While at this boarding school, she noticed how catty the other girls were while competing for status amongst the teachers. Zhang disliked the attitudes of peers and teachers so much that, on one occasion, she ran away from the school.3
In 1996, Zhang entered China's prestigious Central Academy of Drama (regarded as the top acting college in China) at the age of 17.
Career
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 further rose to fame due to her role as the headstrong Jen (Chinese version: Yu Jiao Long) in the phenomenally successful Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, for which she won several awards in the West, such as Chicago Film Critics Association Awards, Toronto Film Critics Association Awards and Independent Spirit Awards. Zhang'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 then appeared in Hero, with her early mentor Zhang Yimou, which was a huge success in the English-speaking world and nominated for an Oscar and a Golden Globe award. Her next film was the avant-garde drama Purple Butterfly by Lou Ye, which competed at the 2003 Cannes Film Festival. Zhang 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 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 Japanese legend Seijun Suzuki, who was honored at the 2005 Cannes Film Festival.
In 2005, Zhang landed the lead role of Sayuri in the film adaptation of the international bestseller Memoirs of a Geisha. There was a slight controversy in Japan about a Chinese woman portraying a Japanese 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 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 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.4
In May 2006, Zhang became the youngest member to sit on the jury of the Cannes Film Festival. In the fall of 2006, Zhang played Empress Wan in The Banquet (Yè Yàn 夜宴), a film set in the Tang Dynasty.
Zhang provided the voice of Karai in the TMNT movie that was released on March 23, 2007. She later starred in Forever Enthralled (Mei Lanfang) (2008) and appeared in The Horsemen (2009) with Dennis Quaid.
Zhang announced plans to produce a film adaptation of Snow Flower and the Secret Fan. However, in January 2010, it was announced she had quit the project. It is unknown if this is a temporary or permanent move.5
Ambassadorship
Zhang 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 "Save the Children," a foster-home program in China.
Personal life
Soon after Zhang's debut in Zhang Yimou's The Road Home, rumors arose regarding a possible affair between the actress and the older director. Zhang Yimou was previously involved in an extramarital affair with actress Gong Li, whom he similarly debuted and with whom Zhang Ziyi was quickly compared. However, no relationship between the two has been confirmed.6
Hong Kong and Taiwanese media have often pushed at ties between Zhang and co-star Jackie Chan.7 This was fueled in part by photos that emerged of the pair during celebrations of Chan's birthday on the set of Rush Hour 2.
Zhang for a while was publicly linked with Fok Kai-shan, grandson of Hong Kong business tycoon Henry Fok.
In the July 2006 issue of Interview Magazine, Zhang Ziyi spoke of her movies' contents and being careful about the roles she takes on, especially in Hollywood.
| “ | Yes. Otherwise I could have done a lot of Hollywood movies. After Crouching Tiger I got a lot of offers, but I turned them down because they were all victim roles--poor girls sold to America to be a wife or whatever. I know I have the ability to go deeper, to take on more original roles than that. That's why I really appreciated Geisha, because it allowed us to show the world what kind of actors we are and what kind of characters we can play--not just action, kick-ass parts.8 | ” |
She stated in an early interview that if she had not become an actress, she would have liked to have been a kindergarten teacher, as she "...love[s] children!"
In January 2007, Zhang was spotted holding hands and kissing her new boyfriend at a New York basketball game. The man was identified as Israeli multi-millionaire and 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 is purported to have a multi-film deal. Zhang Ziyi and Nevo are currently engaged.910 Zhang has also obtained Hong Kong residentship through the Quality Migrant Admission Scheme for her contribution to the local film industry.11
Other information
- 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 homophone 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.
Filmography
Awards and nominations
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
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 (Jasmine Women)
- 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 recognition
- Ranked 2nd of the 100 Sexiest Women by FHM Taiwan (2001).
- Named one of the 25 Hottest Stars Under 25 by Teen People Magazine (2001).
- 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 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.
- Listed in TIME's World's 100 Most Influential People. They called her "China's Gift to Hollywood".
- 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.
- 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.
- 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)12
- Voted #1 in E!'s Sexiest Action Stars list in summer 2007.
- Ranked #3 in Japanese magazine CLASSY's 'Super Perfect Head-to-Body Size Ratio List' in January 2009.
See also
References
- ^ Four Promising ActressFour Young Chinese Stars
- ^ In the mood for oriental siren Zhang Ziyi
- ^ a b "She Makes Magic" TIMEasia.com December 11, 2000. Retrieved February 13, 2009.
- ^ "Academy Invites 112 to Membership" 'Oscars'. June 24, 2005. Retrieved February 13, 2009.
- ^ "Zhang Ziyi quits "Snow Flower and the Secret Fan". Channel News Asia. January 25, 2010. Retrieved February 1, 2010.
- ^ "Zhang Ziyi: Rising Movie Star" china.org. February 9, 2004. Retrieved February 13, 2009.
- ^ 'Zhang Ziyi is China's best export' The Straits Times. July 2001. Retrieved February 13, 2009.
- ^ "Ziyi" Interview. July 2006. Retrieved February 13, 2009.
- ^ "The Power 50" men.style.com. Retrieved February 13, 2009.
- ^ "Zhang Ziyi Indentured to Weinsteins?" Cinematic. June 5, 2006. Retrieved February 13, 2009.
- ^ Report: Zhang Ziyi now Hong Kong resident
- ^ "Ziyi poses for Playboy" China Daily. March 10, 2006. Retrieved February 13, 2009.
External links
| Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Zhang Ziyi |
| Awards and achievements | ||
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| Preceded by Cecilia Cheung for Running on Karma |
Hong Kong Film Critics Society Awards for Best Actress 2004 for 2046 |
Succeeded by Zhou Xun for Perhaps Love |
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