Zhou Dongyu

Zhou Dongyu
Zhou at the Beijing International Film Festival in Beijing 2013.
Background information
Born	(1992-01-31) 31 January 1992 Shijiazhuang, Hebei, China
Occupation	Actress, Model
Years active	2010–present

Zhou Dongyu (Chinese: 周冬雨; pinyin: Zhōu Dōngyǔ; born 1992) is a Chinese actress, who gained recognition after appearing in Zhang Yimou's film The Love of the Hawthorn Tree. She is originally from Hebei, and had no acting experience prior to taking on the role.^[1] She is regarded as one of the "Four Dan actresses of the post-90s Generation" (Chinese: 90后四小花旦), along with Zheng Shuang, Guan Xiaotong and Yang Zi.

Early life

Zhou Dongyu was born in Shijiazhuang on 31 Jan 1992, and graduated from the Beijing Film Academy in 2015.

Acting career

In 2010, Zhou was picked by Zhang Yimou to star in his film The Love of the Hawthorn Tree. She rose to fame for her appearance in the film, and won several awards, inluding the Best Actress at the 56th Valladolid International Film Spain Festival, Outstanding New Actress award at the 14th Huabiao Award and Best New Performer at the 20th Shanghai Film Critics Awards.

In 2011, she starred in Barbara Wong's romance film, The Allure of Tears as well as the war film The Road Of Exploring, playing Yang Kaihui, the wife of political leader Mao Zedong.

In 2013, she starred in The Palace, the fourth and final installment of the Gong series by Yu Zheng. She plays the determined and kind female protagonist, Chen Xiang. The film premiered at the Beijing International Film Festival. For her performance, Zhou won the Annual Breakthrough Actor award at the BQ Celebrity Score Awards, and the Annual Most Popular Film Actress award at the LeTV Awards.

In 2014, she starred alongside Lin Gengxin in My Old Classmate. The film was a box office hit, and Zhou received critical acclaim for her performance, winning the Most Anticipated Actress award at the 50th Chinese Film Media Awards. The same year, she starred in the comedy road film Breakup Buddies. Opposite to her usual pure and fresh image, Zhou challenged a "Sha Ma Te" (杀马特) character in Breakup Buddies, and received approval from the director. The film grossed over US$195 million to become one of the highest-grossing films in China. Zhou was also cast in her first television series, Love Is Life & Lies, alongside her The Palace co-star Chen Xiao.

In 2015, she starred opposite Ethan Juan in the suspense film The Unbearable Lightness of Inspector Fan as well as The Ark of Mr. Chow alongside Sun Honglei. Zhou was also cast in the television series Mo Du Feng Yun, as well as the suspense thriller drama Sparrow.

In January 2016, Zhou was awarded the "Annual New Energy Actress award" at the Sina’s Weibo Awards Night. In February, she starred alongside Tong Liya in Run for Love. In March, she joined the second season of We Are in Love, the Chinese version of We Got Married. Zhou was paired up with Shawn Yue as a virtual couple. The same month, she was cast in the film Miracle's Fighter. In April, she starred alongside Tony Leung and Tong Dawei in mystery thriller Lost in White.

In August, Zhou collaborated with Lee Joon-gi in her first Korean-Chinese collaboration Never Said Goodbye. In September, she was cast in the Peter Chan's You Look Very Delicious alongside Takeshi Kaneshiro. On September 5, 2016, Sparrow premiered on Hunan TV. The drama garnered high ratings throughout its run, with the final episode reaching a peak of 2.486.

On September 14, Zhou starred in Soul Mate, based on the novel of the same name by Anni Baobei. The film was chosen as the opening film for the Asian Pacific Film Festival, and Zhou received the Best Actress award at the 53rd Golden Horse Awards together with her Soul Mate co-star Ma Sichun. In October, Zhou began filming for the television series 10 Years of Spring Wind Can’t Compare to You with Zhang Yishan.

Filmography

Film

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Television

Awards and Nominations

Ambassadors and Endorsements

• 2012 MEDIA Home Appliances (with co-star, Shawn Dou)
• 2011 Casio Electronic Dictionary
• 2011 Three Ice Mints
• 2011 Honey Citron Tea
• 2010 Cheap Herbal
• 2010 U.S Home appliances

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Zhou Dongyu.