Zhou Dongyu

Zhou Dongyu
Zhou at the Beijing International Film Festival in Beijing 2013.
Background information
Chinese name
Pinyin	Zhōu Dōngyǔ (Mandarin)
Ethnicity	Han
Born	(1992-01-31) 31 January 1992 (age 25) Shijiazhuang, Hebei, China
Occupation	Actress, Model
Years active	2010–present
Alma mater	Beijing Film Academy

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 The Love of the Hawthorn Tree. She is originally from Hebei, and had no acting experience prior to taking on the role. She is regarded 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 The Love of 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 award 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 as well as the 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 and final installment of the Gong series by Yu Zheng. She plays the determined and kind female protagonist, Chen Xiang. The film premiered at the Beijing International Film Festival. For her performance, Zhou won the Annual Breakthrough Actor award at the BQ Celebrity Score Awards, and the Annual Most Popular Film Actress award at the LeTV Awards.