Yong Mei
Yong Mei at the69th Berlin International Film Festival
Born	(1970-02-14)14 February 1970 (age 55) Hohhot,Inner Mongolia, China
Alma mater	University of International Business and Economics
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1997–present
Awards	Silver Bear for Best Actress (2019)
Chinese name
Chinese	咏梅
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Yǒng Méi

Yong Mei (Chinese:咏梅; born 14 February 1970) is a Chinese actress. In 2019, she won theSilver Bear for Best Actress at the69th Berlin International Film Festival for her performance in the filmSo Long, My Son directed byWang Xiaoshuai.

An ethnicMongol, Yong Mei was born on 14 February 1970 inHohhot, the capital of China'sInner Mongolia Autonomous Region.^[1][2] Her original name in Mongolian isSunjidma (Mongolian:ᠰᠦᠨᠵᠢᠳᠮ ᠠ,Сүнжидмаа,Sünžidmaa,Mongolian pronunciation:[suntʃitmaː],Chinese:森吉德玛;pinyin:Sēnjídémǎ), meaning "fairy", which has given rise to her nickname "Sister Fairy" (Chinese:仙姐儿;pinyin:xiānjiěr).^[1] She studied business administration at theUniversity of International Business and Economics inBeijing,^[1] where she was active in performing arts.^[3]

After graduation from university, she initially worked in foreign trade, and later in the studio of the influential television hostessXu Gehui (许戈辉).^[2] On the recommendation of Xu, Yong Mei starred in the 1997television dramaThe Man Who Herds the Clouds (牧云的男人) and began her acting career.^[3] She had her breakout role in the 2004 television dramaA Chinese-style Divorce (中国式离婚), which made her wildly popular.^[1] She was also praised for her performances in the TV seriesCell Phone (手机),Ocean Paradise (海洋天堂),You Are My Lover (你是我爱人), andCliff (悬崖, 2012).^[3]

In 2015, Yong Mei appeared inHou Hsiao-hsien's filmThe Assassin (orAssassin Nie Yinniang), in which she plays the mother of the title character, Nie Yinniang. The production lasted from 2012 to 2014; she thoroughly enjoyed the experience and held the film in high regard. She did not accept a major role for the next few years for lack of a suitable script that met her standard for quality.^[1]

The next major film she appeared in wasSo Long, My Son, directed byWang Xiaoshuai, in which she portrays a mother who has lost her only son.^[1] To prepare for the role, she interviewed a real-life mother who had lost her only child. She originally scheduled two hours for the interview, but it was eventually extended to seven hours and gave her deep insight into a mother's sorrow.^[1] The film premiered at the69th Berlin International Film Festival on 14 February 2019,^[4][5] Yong Mei's 49th birthday.^[1] For their performance, Yong Mei andWang Jingchun, who plays her husband in the film, were awarded theSilver Bear for Best Actress andBest Actor, respectively.^[5][6] She was the first actress from mainland China to win the award.^[2]

Yong Mei is married to Luan Shu, the former lead singer of the Beijing rock bandBlack Panther. She became a fan of the band after being introduced to its music by a friend, and starred in the music video for its song "Don't Break My Heart".^[1]

• Yong Mei atIMDb
• Yong Mei onDouban(in Chinese)

• 1970 births
• Living people
• 21st-century Chinese actresses
• Actresses from Inner Mongolia
• Chinese people of Mongolian descent
• People from Hohhot
• Beijing University of International Business and Economics alumni
• Silver Bear for Best Actress winners

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