Zhang Ziyi was born to a working-class family on February 9, 1979, in Beijing, China.
Early on Zhang pursued interests in dance and gymnastics. At age 11, she was accepted into a secondary school affiliated with the prestigious Beijing Dancing College. While she picked up some awards, she became frustrated with the pressures.
At 15, Zhang opted to become an actress instead and enrolled in Beijing’s acclaimed Central Drama Academy. Four years later, she auditioned for a shampoo commercial by China’s renowned director Zhang Yimou, who used the advertisement as a way to screen actresses for his upcoming film, The Road Home. The veteran director cast her for the lead, the role of a young, rural schoolgirl in love with a schoolteacher.
In 2000, Zhang landed a high-profile part as the headstrong Jen Yu in Ang Lee’s phenomenally successful Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. The role earned Zhang the Independent Spirit’s Best Supporting Actress Award and the Toronto Film Critics’… read more
Zhang Ziyi was born to a working-class family on February 9, 1979, in Beijing, China.
Early on Zhang pursued interests in dance and gymnastics. At age 11, she was accepted into a secondary school affiliated with the prestigious Beijing Dancing College. While she picked up some awards, she became frustrated with the pressures.
At 15, Zhang opted to become an actress instead and enrolled in Beijing’s acclaimed Central Drama Academy. Four years later, she auditioned for a shampoo commercial by China’s renowned director Zhang Yimou, who used the advertisement as a way to screen actresses for his upcoming film, The Road Home. The veteran director cast her for the lead, the role of a young, rural schoolgirl in love with a schoolteacher.
In 2000, Zhang landed a high-profile part as the headstrong Jen Yu in Ang Lee’s phenomenally successful Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. The role earned Zhang 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 2001’s Rush Hour 2, appearing opposite the comedy duo Chris Tucker and martial arts master Jackie Chan. Because she didn’t speak English at the time, Chan had to translate everything the director said to her.
Zhang said she learned English by watching TV commercials and listening to rapper Eminem.
“I don’t always know what (Eminem) is talking about, so I write down the lyrics and repeat them,” she said. "Later, I understood how rude they were.”
Since then, the roles have been pouring in, most notably in hits like 2004’s House of Flying Daggers. In 2005, Zhang and her Crouching Tiger co-star Michelle Yeoh reunited for the Hollywood film Memoirs of a Geisha.
Zhang recently finished filming a remake of the 1971’s Horsemen with Dennis Quaid.
Zhang has been romantically linked to several men, but does not like to talk in public about her private life. —bio.
