Zhang Yu

Biography

Zhang Yu is a Chinese-American actress born on October 19, 1957 in Shanghai, with her ancestral roots in Shandong province. She began her acting career in 1973 after graduating from Huashan Middle School, becoming an actress at the Shanghai Film Studio. She rose to fame in 1980 with her role in "Love on Lushan Mountain," where she successfully portrayed a young woman raised abroad who harbors deep love for her homeland. In 1985, she traveled to the United States to study film and television production at California State University, Northridge, where she earned a master's degree. She returned to Taiwan to film between 1991 and 1993 before coming back to mainland China to resume her acting career. She won the Best Actress award at the Shanghai Film Studio's "Little Hundred Flowers Award" in 1982 for her role in "The Small Street," and received the Golden Phoenix Special Award from the China Film Performance Art Society in 1993. She married director Zhang Jianya in 1984 after being introduced by her colleague Guo Kaimin, but they divorced in 1989 after she traveled alone to study in America.