Zhang Yuqi
张雨绮
Zhang in 2008
Born	Zhang Shuang (1987-08-08)8 August 1987 (age 37)[1] Dezhou,Shandong,China
Other names	Kitty Zhang
Occupation	Actress
Years active	2007–present
Agent	Zhang Yuqi Studio (Easy Entertainment)
Spouses	Wang Quan'an ​ ​ (m. 2011; div. 2015)​ Yuan Bayuan ​ ​ (m. 2016; div. 2018)​
Children	2
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese	張雨綺
Simplified Chinese	张雨绮
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Zhāng Yǔqǐ
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese	張爽
Simplified Chinese	张爽
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Zhāng Shuǎng

Zhang Yuqi (Chinese:张雨绮; born 8 August 1987), also known asKitty Zhang, is aChinese actress best known for her roles inStephen Chow's filmsCJ7 (2008) andThe Mermaid (2016).

Zhang was born inDezhou,Shandong province. She left Shandong at the age of 15 to attend the Affiliated Chinese Opera School of Shanghai Theatre Academy, a vocational school for Chinese opera talents.

Zhang appeared in a minor, uncredited role in the 2007 filmThe Longest Night in Shanghai.Stephen Chow first noticed her in an advertisement forKentucky Fried Chicken, and recruited her into his agency. She soon had her breakout role in the science fiction filmCJ7, playing a young teacher opposite Chow. The film brought her major media attention as a "Sing girl".

AfterCJ7, Zhang appeared in theJapanese filmShaolin Girl (which was also produced by Chow).^[2] Chow considered casting her inDragonball Evolution,^[3] but the role was ultimately given to another actress.^[4] Zhang then starred in the romantic comedyAll About Women playing a headstrong business woman.^[5][6] In 2009, she played a country girl with a passion for hip-hop music inJump, a musical comedy directed byStephen Fung and penned by Stephen Chow.^[7]

Zhang ventured next to the horror genre in theCurse of the Deserted, where she played a college student scoping out a haunted house.^[8] She then starred in the kungfu comedyThe Butcher, the Chef and the Swordsman, playing a dance hostess.^[9]

In 2012, Zhang was cast in the role ofQian Xuesen's wife,Jiang Ying in the biopic of the author.^[10] She then starred in thefilm adaptation of the Chinese literary classicWhite Deer Plain written byChen Zhongshi.^[11] She plays Tian Xiao'e, a sensual, illiterate woman who follows her instincts. The role posed a challenge to Zhang, as it involved intimate scenes. Many other actresses rejected the role.^[12] Zhang won her first "Best Actress" trophy at theChinese American Film Festival.^[13] She was also voted the Most Popular Actress at theBeijing College Student Film Festival for her performance.^[14]

In 2014, Zhang played a supporting role inPeter Chan's filmDearest, receiving acclaim for performance as a mother who lost a child.^[15]

In 2015, Zhang was cast alongsideBrandon Routh inLost in the Pacific, a sci-fi action adventure film directed byVincent Zhou.^[16]

Zhang reunited with mentor Stephen Chow in his 2016 filmThe Mermaid, where she played the film's antagonist.Variety praised Zhang for "letting herself go, with her bitchiness and predatory sex appeal".^[17]The Mermaid broke the Chinese box office record and revived Zhang's waning film career.^[18]

In 2017, Zhang starred in the fantasy comedy filmThe Golden Monk directed byWong Jing.^[19] The same year, she starred inChen Kaige's fantasy mystery filmLegend of the Demon Cat,^[20] for which she won the Best Supporting Actress award at theAsian Film Awards.^[21]

Zhang andWang Quan'an had a whirlwind romance in 2011, and they married on 18 April in that year. Zhang announced they were divorced on 2 July 2015.^[22]

Zhang married businessman Yuan Bayuan in October 2016.^[23] On 27 September 2018, they issued a statement that they had agreed to divorce.^[24]

• Zhang Yuqi atIMDb

• 1987 births
• Living people
• Actresses from Shandong
• 21st-century Chinese actresses
• People from Dezhou
• Chinese film actresses
• Chinese television actresses
• Best Supporting Actress Asian Film Award winners
• Affiliated Chinese Opera School of Shanghai Theatre Academy alumni

• CS1 Chinese-language sources (zh)
• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata
• Use dmy dates from February 2020
• Articles containing Chinese-language text
• Articles with hCards
• Articles containing simplified Chinese-language text
• All articles with unsourced statements
• Articles with unsourced statements from August 2023