Zhou Xun

For her admirable performances in these two films, Zhou received two Best Actress nominations at the 32nd Hong Kong Film Awards, becoming the first Mainland Chinese performer to be nominated for two Hong Kong Film Awards for Best Actress in the same year.

Zhou Xun (, born 18 October 1974) is a Chinese actress and singer.

She is regarded as one of the Four Dan Actresses of China.

Zhou debuted in the comedy movie The Pampered Wife (1995).

She next starred in Chen Kaige's films, Temptress Moon (1996) and The Emperor and the Assassin (1999).

She gained international fame for her roles in Suzhou River (2000) and Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress (2002).

But it was not until in 2000 that Zhou received recognition in China.

Zhou achieved breakthrough on the big screen with Lou Ye's Suzhou River (2000), which won her the Best Actress award at the 15th Festival du Film de Paris.

That year, she was named one of the Four Dan Actresses alongside Zhang Ziyi, Zhao Wei and Xu Jinglei.

Among Zhou's earlier notable works also include television series April Rhapsody (2000), Love Story in Shanghai (2001), Ripening Orange (2002) and The Legend of the Condor Heroes (2003).

She further achieved international recognition when she starred in the Franco-Chinese romance drama film Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress (2002).

A string of successful projects followed.

In her first Hong Kong film Hollywood Hong Kong directed by Fruit Chan, Zhou impressed critics with her performance.

Hollywood magazine Variety praise Zhou saying "Zhou is superb, moving with ease between her various personalities and always convincing in each".

In 2005, Zhou starred the leading role in the musical film Perhaps Love directed by Peter Chan.

For her highly praised performance in this film, she was awarded the Golden Horse Award for Best Leading Actress, in addition to Hong Kong Film Award, Golden Bauhinia Awards and Hong Kong Film Critics Society Award.

She next starred in Feng Xiaogang's wuxia film The Banquet (2006), inspired from William Shakespeare's Hamlet.

Zhou plays the girlfriend of the crown prince, equivalent to Ophelia.

This role later earned her Hong Kong Film Award for Best Supporting Actress, which made her the first mainland Chinese actress to win both Best Actress (2006) & Best Supporting Actress (2007) at the Hong Kong Film Awards in two consecutive years.

In 2007, she starred in Susie Au's film Ming Ming, which was highly praised at the 11th Pusan International Film Festival.

Zhou played dual roles – twins with absolutely different characteristics and personalities.

She then starred in Cao Baoping's romantic thriller The Equation of Love and Death (2008) as a taxicab driver on the lookout for her missing boyfriend.

Critics again praised Zhou, crediting the film's success to Zhou's performance as Li Mi. Zhou went on to receive Best Actress awards at the Asian Film Awards, Shanghai Film Critics Awards, Golden Rooster Film Festival, and Chinese Film Media Awards.

The same year she appeared in Gordon Chan's horror-adventure film Painted Skin, a remake of a classic supernatural thriller of the same title.

In 2009, she became the first Chinese actor to win the "Grand Slam", after winning the three biggest film awards, the Golden Horse Awards, the Hong Kong Film Awards and the Golden Rooster Awards.

Zhou has received Best Actress honors from Asian Film Awards, Asian Television Awards, Beijing College Student Film Festival, China Film Director's Guild Awards, China TV Golden Eagle Award, Chinese Film Media Awards, Golden Bauhinia Awards, Golden Horse Awards, Golden Rooster Awards, Hong Kong Film Awards, Hong Kong Film Critics Society Awards, Hundred Flowers Awards, Huading Awards, Shanghai Television Festival and Shanghai Film Critics Awards; as well as the French award-giving body Festival du Film de Paris.

Zhou was born to a middle-class family in Quzhou, Zhejiang.

Her father, Zhou Tianning (周天宁), was a local film projectionist, and her mother, Chen Yiqin (陈以琴), was a salesperson at a department store.

She had her schooling in Quzhou No.1 Middle School.

After she graduated, Zhou enrolled at the Zhejiang Art School to further her interest in dramatic arts, against the wishes of her parents, who wanted her to pursue a practical degree.

She was handpicked for a role in the film Strange Tales Amongst Old and Desolate Tombs during her teenage years in school.

Next came spy thriller The Message (2009), about Japanese invaders in China who try to ferret out a spy among their Chinese collaborators.

In 2009, Zhou was named the Star of the Year at CineAsia exhibition and distribution convention in Hong Kong.

Asia-Pacific Producers Network (APN) also honored her as the Asian Star of the Year for her exemplary box office achievements.

In an interview with CNN, Zhou was named Asia's 25 greatest actors of all time.

She filmed the wuxia film Flying Swords of Dragon Gate (2011) directed by Tsui Hark.

In 2011, Zhou made her directorial debut with the short film Five Demon Traps, which stars Tony Leung Chiu-wai as a demon killer.

In 2012, she then had a reunion with Tony Leung Chiu-wai in two consecutive films, The Great Magician and The Silent War.

Zhou made her Hollywood debut in the science fiction film Cloud Atlas (2012), playing multiple roles in the film.

With her role as young Princess Taiping in historical drama Palace of Desire, Zhou received the Audience's Choice for Actress and Best Supporting Actress awards at the 18th China TV Golden Eagle Award.