Zhang Ziyi

Zhang Ziyi ({{zh-cp|c=???|p=Zh?ng Z?yí}}) (born February 9, 1979) is a Chinese actress. The characters of her name can be literally translated as Zh?ng (a surname, not to be confused with the more common Zh?ng ?), Z? (child), and Yí (happiness).

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February 9 - 1979 - Chinese - Actress

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Born in Beijing in the People's Republic of China, Zhang joined the Beijing Dance Academy at the age of 11, and at 15 she entered China's prestigious Central Academy of Drama. 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.

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Beijing - People's Republic of China - Beijing Dance Academy - Central Academy of Drama - Zhang Yimou - The Road Home - 2000 - Berlin Film Festival

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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. 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 movie 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.

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Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon - Hero - English - Purple Butterfly - Cannes Film Festival - House of Flying Daggers - British Academy of Film and Television Arts

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For her next modern-day drama 2046, directed by Wong Kar-wai, starring many of Asia's best-known actresses, Zhang won the Hong Kong Film Critics' Best Actress Award and the Hong Kong Film Academy's Best Actress Award.

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2046 - Wong Kar-wai

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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.

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Princess Raccoon - Seijun Suzuki - 2005 Cannes Film Festival

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She plays the leading role of Sayuri in the adaptation of the international bestseller Memoirs Of A Geisha, with Michelle Yeoh, Gong Li, and Ken Watanabe, produced by Steven Spielberg and directed by Rob Marshall. The movie is planned for release in December 2005.

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Memoirs Of A Geisha - Michelle Yeoh - Gong Li - Ken Watanabe - Steven Spielberg - Rob Marshall

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