Zhou Dongyu

Zhou Dongyu (Chinese: 周冬雨; pinyin: Zhōu Dōngyǔ; born 31 January 1992) is a Chinese actress, who gained recognition after appearing in Zhang Yimou's film Under the Hawthorn Tree. She is originally from Hebei, and had no acting experience prior to taking on the role. She was also chosen by Southern Metropolis Daily 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.

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

In 2010, Zhou was picked by Zhang Yimou to star in his film Under the Hawthorn Tree. 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.

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.

In 2013, she starred in The Palace, the fourth installment of the Gong series by Yu Zheng. Variety praised her performance with "Zhou holds the screen very well, turning an initially daft personality into an angsty but stoical heroine".

In 2014, she starred alongside Lin Gengxin in My Old Classmate. The film topped China's box office and Zhou received critical acclaim for her performance. The same year, she featured in comedy Breakup Buddies. Opposite to her usual pure and fresh image, Zhou challenged the role of a "Smart" in the film.

In 2015, she starred opposite Ethan Juan in the suspense film The Unbearable Lightness of Inspector Fan and youth drama The Ark of Mr. Chow alongside Sun Honglei.

In 2016, Zhou co-starred with Tong Liya as lesbian lovers in Run for Love. She joined the second season of We Are in Love, the Chinese version of We Got Married, pairing up with actor Shawn Yue. She then starred in mystery thriller Lost in White, and romance film Never Said Goodbye. The same year, she starred in acclaimed espionage series Sparrow, which became the highest rated war drama to date with a peak rating of 2.46.

Zhou achieved another breakthrough with the film Soul Mate, based on the novel of the same name by Anni Baobei. Zhou received the Best Actress award at the 53rd Golden Horse Awards together with her Soul Mate co-star Sandra Ma.

In 2017, Zhou starred in romance drama Love Is Life & Lies. She will feature in upcoming films A Nail Clippers Romance and This Is Not What I Expected.

Film

Television