Zhang Ziyi (born 1979) is a Chinese actress, mostly famous outside of her home country for her roles in Wuxia movies.
Born in Beijing, she started studying dance at age 8, joined the Beijing Dance Academy aged 11, won the national youth dance championship aged 15, and from that point started appearing in TV commercials in Hong Kong. She then enlisted at the Central Academy of Drama, and got her cinematic break playing the main character of Zhang Yimou's The Road Home at age 19.
She earned international fame the following year by playing Jen in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. She has since then played in such films as Hero, Rush Hour 2, 2046, House of Flying Daggers, Memoirs of a Geisha and The Banquet. She will play the title character in a forthcoming live-action adaptation of Mulan.
Tropes associated with Zhang Ziyi:[]
- Action Girl: Most of her film roles.
- Brother-Sister Team: It's a relatively unknown fact, but her older brother (and only sibling) has helped her a great deal with her acting career from its humble beginnings, and now he's actually her manager.
- Hot Chick with a Sword: Again, most of her film roles.
- Lady of War
- She Fu
- Supernatural Martial Arts
- Waif Fu