Zhang Ziyi

Zhang Ziyi ([ʈʂáŋ tsɹ̩̀.ǐ]; Chinese: 章子怡; born 9 February 1979), sometimes credited Ziyi Zhang, is a Chinese actress, model, and former dancer. Known for playing independent and strong-willed characters, she is the recipient of various accolades. Born and raised in Beijing, Zhang was admitted to the Central Academy of Drama in 1996. That year, she made her acting debut in the television film Touching Starlight (1996). After her breakout role in Zhang Yimou's The Road Home (1999), which won her the Best Actress Award at the 2000 Hundred Flowers Awards, she gained international recognition for her performance in the wuxia martial arts film Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000).

Zhang made her Hollywood debut in 2001 opposite Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker in the action comedy film Rush Hour 2. That year she also starred as a princess in the South Korean historical drama film Musa. She reunited with Yimou in the critically acclaimed films Hero (2002) and House of Flying Daggers (2004). For her work in 2046 (2004), she won best actress at the 2005 Hong Kong Film Awards. Her most critically acclaimed works are Memoirs of a Geisha (2005), which earned her nominations for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture Drama, the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role, and the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role; and The Grandmaster (2013), for which she won 12 different Best Actress awards to become the most awarded Chinese actress for a single film.

One of the most bankable Chinese actresses, Zhang is regarded as one of the Four Dan actresses, along with Zhao Wei, Xu Jinglei and Zhou Xun. From 2004 to 2010, she ranked in the Top 5 of Forbes China Celebrity 100 list every year. In 2008, she was awarded with the Outstanding Contribution to Chinese Cinema award at the 11th Shanghai International Film Festival. One of the most recognisable Asian actresses in the Western world, Time called her "China's gift to Hollywood" in 2005. The same year, Time named her one of the 100 Most Influential People. In 2013, she received the French Cultural Order at the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres.