Zhou Xun

Zhou Xun
Zhou at the MTV Movie Awards in Beijing 2002.
Background information
Chinese name	周迅
Pinyin	Zhōu Xùn (Mandarin)
Jyutping	Zau1 Seon3 (Cantonese)
Born	(1974-10-18) October 18, 1974 Quzhou, Zhejiang
Other name(s)	Zhou Gongzi (周公子, "Young Gentleman Zhou")[1]
Occupation	Actress, singer, model
Voice type(s)	Lyric Contralto
Years active	1991–present
Spouse(s)	Archie Kao (m. 2014)
Parents	Zhou Tianning (father) Chen Yiqin (mother)
Awards Hong Kong Film Awards Best Actress 2006 Perhaps Love Best Supporting Actress 2007 The Banquet Golden Bauhinia Awards Best Actress 2006 Perhaps Love Best Supporting Actress 2007 The Banquet Hong Kong Film Critics Society Awards Best Actress 2005 Perhaps Love Golden Horse Awards Best Actress 2005 Perhaps Love Golden Rooster Awards Best Actress 2009 The Equation of Love and Death Hundred Flowers Awards Best Actress 2002 A Pinwheel Without Wind

Zhou Xun (born October 18, 1974) is a Chinese actress and singer. She gained international fame for her earlier roles in Suzhou River (2000) and Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress (2002).

Zhou is widely considered to be the most critically acclaimed Chinese film actress, and has received critical acclaim for her many works; She has won Best Actress honors from Asian Film Awards, Beijing College Student Film Festival, Chinese Director's Association Awards, Chinese Film Media Awards, Golden Bauhinia Awards, Golden Horse Awards, Golden Rooster Awards, Hong Kong Film Awards, Hong Kong Film Critics Society Awards, Hundred Flowers Awards and Shanghai Film Critics Awards; as well as the French award-giving body Festival du Film de Paris. She is regarded as one of the Four Dan Actresses of China.

Early life

Zhou was born to a middle-class family in Quzhou, Zhejiang. Her father, Zhou Tianning (周天宁), was a local film projectionist, and her mother, Chen Yiqin (陈以琴), was a salesperson at a department store. She had her schooling in Quzhou No.1 Middle School. After she graduated,Zhou enrolled at the Zhejiang Arts Institute to further her interest in dramatic arts, against the wishes of her parents, who wanted her to graduate from a university. She was handpicked for a role in the film Strange Tales Amongst Old and Desolate Tombs during her teenage years in school.

Acting career

1995 - 2004

Zhou debuted in the comedy movie The Pampered Wife. The same year, she auditioned for a minor role in Chen Kaige's Temptress Moon and was praised for her acting skills. Chen Kaige then invited her to star in his film The Emperor and the Assassin, where she played a blind girl.

In 2000, Zhou starred in historical drama Palace of Desire as the young Princess Taiping, and won the Most Popular Actress award at the 18th China TV Golden Eagle Award.

Zhou's rise to fame came in 2000, when she starred in Lou Ye's Suzhou River. In the film, she plays two different women, and won the Best Actress award at the 15th Festival du Film de Paris. She was named as one of the Four Dan Actresses alongside Zhang Ziyi, Zhao Wei and Xu Jinglei.

In 2001, Zhou starred in Hollywood Hong Kong, where she performed all her lines in Cantonese. She was nominated at the Hong Kong Film Awards and Golden Horse Awards for Best Actress.

She then starred in Zhao Ningjing's directorial debut A Pinwheel Without Wind, which won her the Hundred Flowers Awards for Best Actress.

Following Suzhou River in 2000, Zhou once again achieved international recognition when she starred in the Franco-Chinese romance drama film Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress (2002). The same year, Zhou starred in the popular series Ju Zi Hong Le, and was named as one of the Top 10 Actors of the year.

In 2003, Zhou starred as Huang Rong in the 2003 television series The Legend of the Condor Heroes, reuniting her with Kaixin Jiuhao television co-star Li Yapeng, who played Guo Jing. The series was one of the most watched ones in mainland China in that year. The series was also broadcast in Japan, where it became very popular.

From 2004 to 2005, Zhou starred in a couple of films, namely Baobei in Love, Beauty Remains and A West Lake Moment. She won the Chinese Director's Association Awards for Best Actress with her performance in Baobei in Love.

2005 - 2010

Zhou made her foray into the Hong Kong film industry in 2005, starring in Peter Chan's musical film Perhaps Love, which represented Hong Kong at the 2006 Academy Awards and entered the Top 5. Zhou was awarded Best Actress honors at numerous prestigious award ceremonies for her performance, including the Hong Kong Film Awards, Hong Kong Film Critic's Society Awards, Golden Bauhinia Awards, Golden Horse Awards, Beijing Student Film Festival and Hangzhou Student Film Festival for her performance. Zhou also sang the theme song of the movie with Takeshi Kaneshiro, titled "Shi Zi Jie Tou"; it was named as the "Best Original Film Song" at the 43rd Golden Horse Awards.

In 2006, Zhou signed on with Huayi Brothers. She then starred in Feng Xiaogang's wuxia film The Banquet. She won the Golden Bauhinia Awards and Hong Kong Film Awards for Best Supporting Actress.

Zhou's next project was Susie Au's film Ming Ming (2007), which won high praise at the 2006 Pusan International Film Festival held in South Korea. At the premiere of the film, she released her new music video, featuring the theme song of Ming Ming.^[2][3]

In 2008, Zhou starred in Cao Baoping's romantic thriller The Equation of Love and Death as a taxicab driver on the lookout for her missing boyfriend.^[4][5] Despite achieving lackluster results, Zhou was highly praised. Reviews by Western critics cite Zhou's performance as Li Mi as the redeeming point of the movie and that "...the film ultimately belonged to Zhou Xun." Zhou went on to receive 5 different Best Actress awards at the Asian Film Awards, Golden Rooster Awards, Chinese Film Media Awards, Shanghai Film Critics Awards and Beijing Student Film Festival.

She then appeared in Gordon Chan's horror-adventure film Painted Skin, a remake of a classic supernatural thriller of the same title. Zhou played a fox spirit who disguises herself as a human, in order to seduce a man that she fell in love with The film was a box office and critic success.

In 2009, Zhou starred in critically acclaimed espionage spy thriller The Message. The same year, she was named the Star of the Year at the GSCA Asian Film Expo. Asia-Pacific Producers Network (APN) also honored her as the Asian Star of the Year for her exemplary box office achievements, with her films Pained Skin and The Message achieving commercial success. Zhou also represented Asia to become the cover model for French magazine Le Point, and received an interview from CNN who named her as one of the "Top 25 Actors" of the World.

In 2010, Zhou was cast in the 3D wuxia film Flying Swords of Dragon Gate. The film was released in 2011 and became the second highest grossing local production of the year.

As part of the 60th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, Zhou starred in biographic drama film Confucius (2010) and The Founding of a Party (2011), a patriotic tribute detailing the process of establishing the People's Republic in 1949.

2012 - Present

In 2012, Zhou made her Hollywood debut in the science fiction film Cloud Atlas, playing multiple roles in the film.^[6]

Zhou then starred in Painted Skin: The Resurrection, the sequel to the 2008 film Painted Skin, reprising her role as Xiao Wei. The film grossed over 700 million yuan to become the highest grossing Chinese film of all-time, before being beaten by Lost in Thailand. Zhou received critical acclaim for her performance, and she was nominated at the Chinese Director's Association Awards for Best Actress.

The same year, Zhou starred in two Hong Kong films; the action-fantasy comedy The Great Magician and thriller The Silent War alongside Tony Leung Chiu-wai. She was nominated at the Hong Kong Film Award for Best Actress for both films, but did not win any awards.

In 2014, Zhou starred in two films Overheard 3 and Women Who Flirt, both of which are solid mid-level hits. She received the French Cultural Order at the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres Awards.

In October 2014, Zhou made her highly anticipated return to television after 10 years in Red Sorghum, based on Nobel prize laureate Mo Yan's 1986/1987 novel of the same name. The series was broadcast on 4 major broadcasting channels - CCTV, SDTV, Zhejiang TV and SMG; and achieved first place in ratings. Online views of the show exceeded 2.5 billion views in 3 weeks. Zhou won the Best Actress Award at Asian Television Award and Shanghai TV Festival for her performance.^[7]

In 2016, Zhou began filming for award-winning director Ann Hui's new film The Great Escape, in which she would star together with Wallace Huo as a couple who has to give up their romance due to war. She is then cast in legal suspense film Remain Silent alongside Francis Ng and Zu Feng.

In August 2016, Zhou began filming for the historical costume drama Ruyi's Royal Love in the Palace, the sequel to the 2012 hit drama The Legend of Zhen Huan. She would star as the titular character Ruyi.

Singing career

Apart from her acting career, Zhou has also participated in the soundtracks of films, such as Perhaps Love, Ming Ming and Baobei In Love. She has also released two solo albums, Summer (2003) and Come Across (2005).

Environmental advocate

Zhou at the Shanghai International Film Festival in 2007

Zhou Xun is the 2010 Laureate of United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)'s Champions of the Earth (Inspiration & Action). She was the first entertainer in the world to receive this honour.

Zhou Xun and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) jointly runs a campaign 'Our Part', which promotes ‘tips for green living’.

She was named a UNDP Goodwill Ambassador for China in 2008 with a special focus of promoting environmental sustainability.

She was also the Green Ambassador for the 2010 World Expo in Shanghai.^[8]

Fashion

Since 2011, Zhou was formally announced as a new ambassador for Chanel. Chanel chief designer Karl Lagerfeld noted Zhou Xun for her strong fashion sense, describing the actress as "a synthesis of young Coco Chanel and Ballet Troupe Zizi Jeanmaire."^[9]

Personal life

Zhou Xun married American actor Archie Kao on July 16, 2014 on stage after a charity event in Hangzhou, China.^[10]

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Zhou Xun.

• Xun Zhou at the Internet Movie Database
• Official website (Chinese)
• Zhou Xun on Sina Weibo (Chinese)
• Official blog (Chinese)
• Zhou Xun on Sina.com (Chinese)
• Zhou Xun on Baidu Baike (Chinese)