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Date of
birth: February 9, 1979
Height: 1.64m
Zhang Ziyi is a famous Chinese actress.
She was born on Feb. 9, 1979, in Beijing and
raised in an urban, working-class family.
When she was a little girl, her parents
encouraged her to take up dance and gymnastics to build up her strength
because she was too frail. She entered Xuanwu District Children's Palace
to learn dancing and later was accepted to a secondary school affiliated
with Beijing Dancing College.During the years she was trained in this
school, she managed to win the Performance Prize at the 1994 Taoli Cup
National Youth Dance Competition when she was about 15 years old.
Although a career in dance seemed promising for
her, she became frustrated with the art and opted to become an actress
instead.
She therefore enrolled in the Central Academy
of Drama in Beijing, where she received her dramatic training. It was at
this time that she made her first movie -- "Touching Starlight." Soon
after, Ziyi got her big break.Ziyi auditioned for a shampoo commercial
directed by Zhang Yimou (one of China's most renowned directors). The
director of many successful films, including Raise the Red Lantern. Yimou
used the commercial as a way to audition actresses for his upcoming film
-- "The Road Home." He selected Ziyi from thousands of applicants to play
Zhao Di, a rural schoolgirl in love with a schoolteacher. The Road Home
won the Jury Grand Prix Silver Bear at the 2000 Berlin Film Festival.Ziyi
was cast in "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" after being recommended to
director Ang Lee by Yimou. This film became one of the biggest hits of
2000 and earned a roaring 130 million U.S. dollars at the box office and
four Academy Awards, among the long list of other awards it won.In 2001,
she made her first appearance in an American movie -- "Rush Hour 2."
She rejoined great director Yimou of "Hero" and
"The Road Home" to take the next step in martial arts films -- "House of
Flying Daggers." This was Ziyi's biggest action role since "Crouching
Tiger."But Ziyi is not just an action star, she has won praise for her
performance in the romantic drama "2046" and she won China's most
prestigious acting award for her role in "Jasmine Women."
She made her first major Hollywood role as a
geisha in the film "Memoirs of a Geisha" directed by Rob Marshall, which
is a love story. Though Memoirs as a film was not a critical success,
Ziyi's performance won her numerous Best Actress nominations, from the
Golden Globes, BAFTA, and Screen Actors Guild Awards, and
others.
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