Zhang Ziyi Wallpapers

» Biography
» Links

.

Zhang Ziyi Biography

Zhang Ziyi (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, Seijun Suzuki and Rob Marshall.

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).

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 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 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 (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).

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.

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.

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.

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. She has recently finished filming a movie called "Horsemen" with Dennis Quaid.

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors, This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Zhang Ziyi".