Zhou Dongyu

Biography

Zhou Dongyu was born on January 31, 1992, in Shijiazhuang, Hebei, into a working-class family. Her father died in a car accident when she was in the third grade, and her mother later remarried. She practiced gymnastics as a child and joined the Shijiazhuang gymnastics team at age 12. In 2010, while taking art entrance examinations in Nanjing, she was discovered by director Zhang Yimou and cast in the lead role of "Under the Hawthorn Tree," making her a new-generation "Mou Girl" and signing with Beijing New Picture Film Co. The film broke domestic art-house box office records, and she won nearly 20 awards, including Best New Actress at the 14th China Huabiao Film Awards and Best Actress at the Valladolid International Film Festival. She was admitted to the Beijing Film Academy with Zhang Yimou's support. In 2016, she won Best Actress at the 53rd Golden Horse Awards for "Soul Mate." In 2019, she ranked 7th on the Forbes China Celebrity list. In 2020, she made history by winning Best Actress at the Hong Kong Film Awards, the Golden Rooster Awards, and the Hundred Flowers Awards for "Better Days," becoming the youngest actress to win all three major Chinese-language film awards.