:''This is a Chinese name; the family name is '''Zhang'''.''
'''Zhang Ziyi''' (章子怡; pinyin: Zhāng Zǐyí) (born February 9, 1979 in Beijing, China), is a Chinese actress.
Zhang Ziyi is one of the most well-known Chinese actresses working today, with a string of international hits to her name. She has worked with renowned directors such as Zhang Yimou, Ang Lee, Wong Kar-Wai and Rob Marshall.
Of the characters making up her name, Zhāng (章) is her surname (not to be confused with the more common Zhāng 张 which is a homonym but written with a different character), and can be literally translated as an essay or a chapter of a book, Zǐ (子) means child or esteemed person, and Yí (怡) means joy or happiness. Her name is sometimes represented in the Western order ('''Ziyi Zhang''').
Biography
Early life
Born in Beijing, China, Zhang joined the Beijing Dance Academy at the age of 11, and at 15 she entered China's prestigious Central Academy of Drama.
Career
thumb|260px|right|Zhang Ziyi from the film ''Hero (film)|Hero''
At the age of 19, she was offered her first role in world renowned director Zhang Yimou's ''
The Road Home'', which won the Silver Bear award in the 2000 Berlin Film Festival. Zhang further rose to fame due to her role in the phenomenally successful ''
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon'', for which she won the Independent Spirit's Best Supporting Actress Award and the Toronto Film Critics' Best Supporting Actress Award. She went on to make ''
Hero'' which was a huge success in the English-speaking world and an Oscar and a Golden Globe contender. Her next film was the ''avant-garde'' drama ''
Purple Butterfly'' which competed at the 2003 Cannes Film Festival. She went back to the martial arts genre with ''
House of Flying Daggers'', which earned her a Best Actress nomination from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (she was in nearly every shot of that film).
For her next drama ''
2046'', directed by Wong Kar-wai, starring many of East Asia's best-known actresses, Zhang won the Hong Kong Film Critics' Best Actress Award and the Hong Kong Film Academy's Best Actress Award.
Showing her whimsical musical tap-dancing side, Zhang starred in ''
Princess Raccoon'' directed by 82-year-old Japanese legend Seijun Suzuki who was honored at the 2005 Cannes Film Festival.
thumb|250px|left|Zhang Ziyi from the film ''Memoirs of a Geisha (film)|Memoirs of a Geisha''
She plays the leading role of Sayuri in the adaptation of the international bestseller ''
Memoirs of a Geisha'', with her
