Zhou Dongyu | |||||||||
Native Name Lang: | zh | ||||||||
Birth Place: | Shijiazhuang, Hebei, China | ||||||||
Nationality: | Chinese | ||||||||
Alma Mater: | Beijing Film Academy | ||||||||
Occupation: | Actress | ||||||||
Years Active: | 2010–present | ||||||||
Agent: | Zhou Dongyu Studio | ||||||||
Notable Works: | Better Days Under the Light My People, My Country | ||||||||
Awards: | Hong Kong Film Award for Best Actress - Better Days (2020) Golden Rooster Award for Best Leading Actress - Soul Mate (2016 film) | ||||||||
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Zhou Dongyu is a Chinese actress, who gained recognition after appearing in Zhang Yimou's film Under the Hawthorn Tree. She was also chosen by Southern Metropolis Daily as one of the "Four Dan actresses of the post-90s Generation", along with Zheng Shuang, Guan Xiaotong and Yang Zi.[1] In 2016, she won the Golden Horse Award for Best Leading Actress with her performance in Soul Mate.[2] In 2020, she won the Hong Kong Film Award for Best Actress and Golden Rooster Award for Best Actress with her performance in Better Days.
Zhou ranked 71st on Forbes China Celebrity 100 list in 2017, 7th in 2019, and 3rd in 2020.
Zhou was born in Shijiazhuang, Hebei to an ordinary working family. When she was in the third grade of primary school, her father died in a car accident, and her mother later remarried. She practiced gymnastics as a child and joined the Shijiazhuang gymnastics team at the age of 12.[3] In middle school, she studied in Shijiazhuang No. 27 Middle School Class 9 in 2004 and Shijiazhuang No. 12 Middle School in Class 2007.
In 2010, Zhou was picked by Zhang Yimou to star in his film Under the Hawthorn Tree, despite having no acting experience prior to taking on the role.[4] She rose to fame for her appearance in the film and won several awards, including the Best Actress at the 56th Valladolid International Film Spain Festival, Outstanding New Actress at the 14th Huabiao Award and Best New Performer at the 20th Shanghai Film Critics Awards.[5] [6] [7]
In 2011, she starred in Barbara Wong's romance film The Allure of Tears; and also featured in war film The Road Of Exploring, playing Yang Kaihui, the wife of political leader Mao Zedong.[8] [9]
In 2013, she starred in historical romance film The Palace, the fourth installment of the Gong series by Yu Zheng.[10] Variety praised her performance saying, "Zhou holds the screen very well, turning an initially daft personality into an angsty but stoical heroine".[11]
In 2014, she starred alongside Lin Gengxin in youth romance film My Old Classmate.[12] The film topped China's box office and Zhou was praised for her "acting breakthrough".[13] [14] The same year, she featured in comedy Breakup Buddies. Opposite to her usual pure and fresh image, Zhou challenged the role of a "Smart"[15] in the film.[16] Breakup Buddies became one of the highest-grossing films of all time in China.[17]
In 2015, she starred opposite Ethan Juan in suspense film The Unbearable Lightness of Inspector Fan and youth drama The Ark of Mr. Chow alongside Sun Honglei.[18] [19] [20]
Zhou achieved breakthrough with her performance in the film Soul Mate, based on the novel of the same name by Anni Baobei.[21] Zhou received the Best Actress award at the 53rd Golden Horse Awards together with her Soul Mate co-star Sandra Ma,[22] and also won Best Actress at the 28th Hong Kong Film Critics Society Award.[23] The same year, she won the Best Actress award at the 8th Macau International Movie Festival for her performance in the South Korean-Chinese romance film Never Said Goodbye. Zhou also starred in her first television series, spy war drama Sparrow. The series was commercially successful, and became the highest rated war drama to date with a peak rating of 2.46 and 11 billion online views. Zhou was praised by both the audience and director for successfully tackling a challenging role.[24] [25] [26]
In 2017, Zhou starred alongside Takeshi Kaneshiro in the romantic comedy This Is Not What I Expected.[27] The film grossed over 100 million yuan and received an 8.9 out of 10 score on Maoyan. Along with the success of Soul Mate, Zhou was coined the representative of Chinese chick flicks.[28] The same year, she starred in the coming-of-age romance drama Shall I Compare You to a Spring Day alongside Zhang Yishan;[29] and featured in science fiction wuxia film The Thousand Faces of Dunjia directed by Tsui Hark.[30]
In 2018, Zhou starred in Rene Liu's romance film Us and Them alongside Jing Boran.[31] It was a hit in China, earning $191 million over its first two weekends.[32]
In 2019, Zhou starred in the youth film Better Days helmed by Soul Mate director Derek Tsang, that tackles school bullying.[33] The film topped box office and received positive reviews.[34] Zhou won the Best Actress at the 39th Hong Kong Film Awards for her performance. The same year, she featured in the drama film On The Balcony which she serves as one of the co-producers.[35] Zhou ranked seventh on Forbes China Celebrity 100 list in 2019, the highest for female celebrities.[36]
In 2021, Zhou starred alongside Xu Kai in the series Ancient Love Poetry.
In 2023, Zhou starred in the film The Breaking Ice by Singaporean director Anthony Chen, which premiered at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival and competed as part of the Un Certain Regard.
Zhou was born in Shijiazhuang, Hebei. She graduated from the Beijing Film Academy.[37] [38]
At the 2010 Hawaii International Film Festival, she apologized in Mandarin that she spoke no English (unlike her co-star Shawn Dou who interpreted for her).[39] At the 2019 Cannes Film Festival, however, she was able to talk in fluent English.[40]
In March 2021, Zhou terminated her contract with Burberry as brand ambassador after the company announced that they would discontinue cotton purchases from the Chinese autonomous region of Xinjiang amidst allegations of forced labor, human rights violations and persecution of the Uyghur ethnic minority population in China by the US State Department. Widely seen as a pro-nationalist move, her actions were mimicked by other Chinese celebrities.[41] [42]
Year | English title | Chinese title | Role | Notes | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2010 | Under the Hawthorn Tree | Chinese: 山楂树之恋 | Jing Qiu | |||
2011 | The Road of Exploring | Chinese: 湘江北去 | Yang Kaihui | Guest appearance | ||
The Allure of Tears | Chinese: 倾城之泪 | Geilimei | ||||
2013 | The Palace | Chinese: 宫锁沉香 | Chen Xiang | |||
2014 | My Old Classmate | Chinese: 同桌的妳 | Zhou Xiaozhi | |||
Breakup Buddies | Chinese: 心花路放 | Zhou Lijuan | ||||
2015 | The Unbearable Lightness of Inspector Fan | Chinese: 暴走神探 | Hui Lan | |||
The Ark of Mr. Chow | Chinese: 少年班 | Zhou Lan | ||||
2016 | Everybody's Fine | Chinese: 一切都好 | Girl stopping the bus | Cameo | [43] | |
The New Year's Eve of Old Lee | Chinese: 过年好 | Doa Yazi | Cameo | [44] | ||
Run for Love | Chinese: 奔爱 | Bai Qiezi | Segment: "Stolen Heart" | [45] | ||
Lost in White | Chinese: 冰河追凶 | Zhou Xinyi | [46] | |||
Never Said Goodbye | Chinese: 謊言西西里 | Gu Xiaoyou | [47] | |||
Soul Mate | Chinese: 七月与安生 | Li Ansheng | ||||
2017 | A Nail Clipper Romance | Chinese: 指甲刀人魔 | Emily | [48] | ||
This Is Not What I Expected | Chinese: 喜欢你 | Gu Shengnan | ||||
The Founding of an Army | Chinese: 建军大业 | Fan Guixia | Cameo | [49] | ||
City of Rock | Chinese: 缝纫机乐队 | Lili | Guest appearance | [50] | ||
The Thousand Faces of Dunjia | Chinese: 奇门遁甲 | Xiao Yuan | ||||
2018 | Us and Them | Chinese: 后来的我们 | Xiao Xiao | |||
Animal World | Chinese: 动物世界 | Liu Qing | Special appearance | [51] | ||
Goddesses in the Flames of War | Chinese: 那些女人 | Xiao Yu | Cameo | [52] | ||
Kung Fu Monster | Chinese: 武林怪兽 | Xiong Jiaojiao | Special appearance | [53] | ||
2019 | On The Balcony | Chinese: 阳台上 | Lu Shanshan | Special appearance; also producer | ||
My People, My Country | Chinese: 我和我的祖国 | Nurse | Segment: "Passing by" | [54] | ||
Better Days | Chinese: 少年的你 | Chen Nian | ||||
Youthful China in the Headlines | Chinese: 头条里的青春中国 | Reporter | Short film | [55] | ||
2021 | A Fangirl's Romance | Chinese: 迷妹罗曼史 | Gao Bei | Cameo | [56] | |
The Year of the Everlasting Storm | Chinese: 永恒风暴之年 | Segment: "The Break Away" | ||||
Embrace Again | Chinese: 穿过寒冬拥抱你 | Xia Xiao | Cameo | |||
2022 | Ode to the Spring | Chinese: 你是我的春天 | Shang Xiaoyu | [57] | ||
2023 | Tale of the Night | Chinese: 长沙夜生活 | Lanzhou girl | Cameo | [58] | |
Born to Fly | Chinese: 长空之王 | Shen Tianran | [59] | |||
My Youth and I | Chinese: 中国青年:我和我的青春 | Zhou Xiaoyu | Online movie | [60] | ||
The Breaking Ice | Chinese: 燃冬 | Nana | [61] | |||
Under the Light | Chinese: 坚如磐石 | Li Huilin | [62] | |||
Tainted Love | Chinese: 鹦鹉杀 | Zhou Ran | [63] | |||
Trending Topic | Chinese: 热搜 | Chen Miao | [64] | |||
2024 | Strangers When We Meet | Chinese: 朝云暮雨 | Chang Juan | [65] | ||
Moses on the Plains | Chinese: 平原上的火焰 | Li Fei | [66] |
Year | English title | Chinese title | Role | Notes | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2016 | Sparrow | Chinese: 麻雀 | Xu Bicheng | ||||
2017 | Love & Life & Lie | Chinese: 遇见爱情的利先生 | Liu Xintong | [67] | |||
Mo Du Feng Yun | Chinese: 魔都风云 | Xiao Yao | [68] | ||||
Shall I Compare You to a Spring Day | Chinese: 春风十里,不如你 | Xiao Hong | Also co-producer | ||||
2019 | Behind The Scenes | Chinese: 幕后之王 | Bu Xiaogu | [69] | |||
2020 | New World | Chinese: 新世界 | Jia Xiaoduo | Cameo | [70] | ||
2021 | Ancient Love Poetry | 千古玦尘 | Shang Gu / Hou Chi | [71] |
Year | English title | Chinese title | Role | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2016 | We Are In Love | Chinese: 我们相爱吧 | Cast member | with Shawn Yue[72] | |
2017 | Chinese Restaurant | Chinese: 中餐厅 | [73] | ||
2018 | I Actor | Chinese: 演员的品格 | Mentor | [74] | |
2019 | The Protectors | 小小的追球 | Cast member | [75] |
Year | English title | Chinese title | Album | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2016 | "Little Windchime" | Chinese: 小风铃 | Mr. Nian OST | ||
"Imperfect Girl" | Chinese: 不完美女孩 | Promotional song for We Are In Love | |||
2017 | "If I Love You" | Chinese: 如果我爱你 | Shall I Compare You to a Spring Day OST | with Zhang Yishan | |
2018 | "Strong Country Generation I Am Here" | Chinese: 强国一代有我在 | Promotional song for CCYL[76] | ||
2019 | "China Happy Events" | 中国喜事 | Performance for CCTV Spring Gala with Phoenix Legend, Wallace Chung, Dilraba Dilmurat, & Lay Zhang[77] | ||
"My Motherland and I" | Chinese: 我和我的祖国 | For People's Republic of China's 70th anniversary with Wei Daxun, Ma Tianyu, Guan Xiaotong, Xu Weizhou & Ju Jingyi[78] | |||
"My Motherland and I" | Chinese: 我和我的祖国 | My People My Country OST | with Chen Feiyu, Liu Haoran, Ou Hao & Zhu Yilong[79] | ||
"Starry Sea" | Chinese: 星辰大海 | For China Movie Channel Young Actors Project with 31 other actors[80] | |||
2020 | "Hello 2020" | 你好2020 | Performance for CCTV Spring Gala with Li Xian, Li Qin, Ma Sichun & Zhu Yilong[81] |
Year | Awards | Category | Nominated work | Result | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2011 | 23rd Harbin Ice and Snow Film Festival | Most Commercially Valuable Newcomer | Under the Hawthorn Tree | [82] | |
[83] | |||||
Best Newcomer | |||||
Best Actress | |||||
2015 | 6th China Film Director's Guild Awards | My Old Classmate | [84] | ||
Most Anticipated Actress | [85] | ||||
2016 | 8th Macau International Movie Festival | Best Actress | Never Say Goodbye | [86] | |
53rd Golden Horse Awards | Best Actress (with Ma Sichun) | Soul Mate | |||
2017 | 23rd Hong Kong Film Critics Society Award | Best Actress | |||
1st Malaysia International Film Festival | [87] | ||||
24th Beijing College Student Film Festival | |||||
8th China Film Director's Guild Awards | [88] | ||||
2nd Brics Film Festival | [89] | ||||
[90] | |||||
2nd Golden Screen Awards | [91] | ||||
36th Hong Kong Film Awards | Best Actress | [92] | |||
22nd Huading Awards | Best Actress (Revolutionary-Era Drama) | Sparrow | [93] | ||
Best Actress | Shall I Compare You to a Spring Day | [94] | |||
14th Guangzhou Student Film Festival | Most Popular Actress | This Is Not What I Expected | [95] | ||
2018 | [96] | ||||
9th China Film Director's Guild Awards | Best Actress | [97] | |||
34th Hundred Flowers Awards | Best Actress | Soul Mate | [98] | ||
Most Popular Actress | Us and Them | [99] | |||
12th Tencent Video Star Awards | Most Popular Film Actress | [100] | |||
2019 | 10th China Film Director's Guild Awards | Best Actress | [101] | ||
32nd Golden Rooster Awards | Best Actress | [102] | |||
6th The Actors of China Award Ceremony | Best Actress (Emerald Category) | Behind The Scenes | [103] | ||
Golden Bud - The Fourth Network Film And Television Festival | Best Actress | [104] | |||
Cosmo Glam Night | Person of The Year (Dream) | [105] | |||
4th Macao Film Festival Awards | Best Actress | Better Days | [106] | ||
Tencent Entertainment White Paper | Film Actress of the Year | [107] | |||
Jinri Toutiao Awards Ceremony | Brand Value Star of the Year | [108] | |||
2020 | Weibo Awards Ceremony | Influential Actor of the Year | [109] | ||
26th Hong Kong Film Critics Society Awards | Best Actress | Better Days | [110] | ||
[111] | |||||
39th Hong Kong Film Awards | Best Actress | [112] | |||
11th China Film Director's Guild Awards | Actress of the Year | [113] | |||
27th Huading Awards | Best Actress | [114] | |||
35th Hundred Flowers Awards | [115] | ||||
14th Asian Film Awards | [116] | ||||
Year | Rank | Ref. | |
---|---|---|---|
2017 | 71st | [117] | |
2019 | 7th | ||
2020 | 3rd | [118] |