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Zhang Ziyi - Biography |
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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 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.
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 (Yč Yŕn 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.
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.
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.
Hong Kong and Taiwanese media have often pushed at ties between Zhang Ziyi
and co-star Jackie Chan. 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. 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."
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. |
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Zhang Ziyi - Personal Quotes |
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"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."
After Crouching Tiger (Wo hu cang long (2000)), there was a big
change for me, with all the attention thrust upon me. I got lot of
work: my first Hollywood film, Rush Hour 2 (2001), and a lot of
advertisements in Asia. I think for me it's a very good part of my
life. I've been lucky, because I've had great characters to play.
Now I really want to work with good directors.
You know, I never think I can become an actress. But it happened.
Not because I dreamed it, but because it happened.
It's my first time in a lead and I have to speak English! In a
Japanese accent! [on Memoirs of a Geisha (2005)].
It was so hard working for him, but I like the challenge. We don't
learn the script, every day we had to, erm ... improvise. [on
working with Wong Kar-wai in '2046']
"For Western women, it's much easier to be yourself. If you want to
do something, you just go and do it. In an Asian context, women are
still much more modest and conservative. I want, through my roles,
to express the parts in the hearts of Chinese women that they feel
unable to let out."
Chinese women are much more modest than American women when it comes
to clothes. We tend to show less flesh.
I've discovered that I value simplicity above all in dressing. I
don't like anything I wear to be too complicated or fussy.
"Even though I've done Hollywood films, I still don't think of
myself as a Hollywood actress."
"I always think it's really hard if you are Asian or Chinese to be
really in Hollywood. There are not so many really great characters
for you. I always think you are lucky to get offered [something
like] 'Memoirs of a Geisha', but I don't think it will happen all
the time."
"But I enjoy being an actress a lot, because I can feel different
women's lives. I have the chance to feel like a geisha one day, and
on another day maybe a scientist. That's the interesting part for
me. My profession has helped me to grow up."
"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."
"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." |
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Zhang Ziyi - Filmography |
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The Horsemen (2008) ....
Kristen
Mei Lanfang (2008) .... Meng Xiaodong
TMNT (2007) (voice) .... Karai
... aka Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (USA: long title)
Ye yan (2006) (as Zhang Ziyi) .... Empress Wan
... aka The Banquet (International: English title)
Memoirs of a Geisha (2005) .... Chiyo / Sayuri
Operetta tanuki goten (2005) .... Tanukihime
... aka Princess Raccoon (Hong Kong: English title) (International:
English title) (UK)
Mo li hua kai (2004) .... Young Mo/young Li/young Hua
... aka Blossoming Jasmine (literal English title)
... aka Jasmine Flower (International: English title)
... aka Jasmine Women (International: English title)
2046 (2004) .... Bai Ling
... aka 2046 - Der ultimative Liebesfilm (Germany)
Shi mian mai fu (2004) (as Zhang Ziyi) .... Xiao Mei
... aka House of Flying Daggers (Hong Kong: English title)
(International: English title) (Singapore: English title) (USA)
... aka Attack from Ten Directions (International: English title:
literal title)
Jopog manura 2: Dolaon jeonseol (2003) (as Zhang Ziyi) .... The
Triad Boss
... aka My Wife Is a Gangster 2 (International: English title)
Zi hudie (2003) (as Zhang Ziyi) .... Cynthia/Ding Hui
... aka Purple Butterfly (International: English title)
Ying xiong (2002) (as Zhang Ziyi) .... Moon
... aka Hero (USA)
... aka Jet Li's Hero (USA)
... aka Quentin Tarantino Presents Hero (USA: promotional title)
Musa (2001) (as Zhang Ziyi) .... Princess Bu-yong
... aka Musa the Warrior (Canada: English title)
... aka The Warriors (informal English title)
... aka Wu shi (China: Mandarin title)
Shu shan zheng zhuan (2001) (as Zhang Ziyi) .... Joy
... aka The Legend of Zu (Hong Kong: English title)
... aka Zu Warriors (USA)
Rush Hour 2 (2001) (as Zhang Ziyi) .... Hu Li
Wo hu cang long (2000) (as Zhang Ziyi) .... Jen Yu (Mandarin
version) / Jiao Long (English dubbed version)
... aka Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (International: English
title) (UK) (USA)
... aka Ngo foo chong lung (Hong Kong: Cantonese title)
... aka Wo hu cang long (China: Mandarin title)
Wo de fu qin mu qin (1999) (as Zhang Ziyi) .... Zhao Di, Young
... aka The Road Home (International: English title) (USA: DVD
title)
... aka My Father and Mother (literal English title)
Xing xing dian deng (1996) (TV) (as Zhang Ziyi) .... Chen Wei |
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Zhang Ziyi - Related Links |
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Wikipedia: Zhang Ziyi
YouTube: Zhang Ziyi
Zhang Ziyi at Babemania.com
Top Celebrities Sites:
The Celebrity
Cafe |
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