Zhang Ruonan

Zhang Ruonan (, born 14 November 1996) is a Chinese actress. She is known for her roles in the films '' Cry Me a Sad River'' (2018), '' My Love'' (2021), and ''Love Life Light'' (2023), television series A Date with Future (2023), Love is Panacea (2023), My Boss (2024), as well as ''The First Frost'' (2025). She won the “Breakthrough Performance Actress of the Year" award at the 2025 Dragon TV Drama Quality Festival for her role in Fan Ren Ge. She also won the Most Charming Actress Award at the 2025 Bazaar Gala in Shanghai in June 2025. She is regularly in the Top 10 C-Drama Artists in Global markets ranking published by V-Pulse.

Early life

Zhang was born in Wenzhou, Zhejiang. She completed her primary education in Shijiazhuang, where her parents were employed.

In 2015, Zhang began attending university in Hangzhou. As a student, she frequently shared photos of herself on Weibo. Encouraged by a classmate, she participated in a campus beauty contest by submitting a photo and placed among the top 30 finalists. This achievement opened the door to modeling opportunities.

Career

In 2017, Zhang received a private message from the official Weibo account of the anti-school violence film '' Cry Me a Sad River'', inviting her to star in the project. Initially hesitant, Zhang struggled with the decision to accept the role. Noticing her delayed response, the production team contacted her through mutual friends. Eventually, she agreed to join the film and portrayed Gu Senxi's twin sister, Gu Senxiang—a gentle and kind character who tragically falls to her death after being bullied by a rogue hired by Tang Xiaomi. The film marked Zhang's debut as a solo lead and was released nationwide on 21 September 2018.

In 2018, Zhang made her acting debut as Gu Senxiang in the melodrama film '' Cry Me a Sad River'', directed by Guo Jingming. In the same year, she made her small-screen debut in the romance drama ''Everyone Wants to Meet You'', produced by Zhao Wei.

In 2019, Zhang starred in her first historical drama, ''Love is All'', playing the role of a female detective. That same year, she reunited with Guo Jingming in the fantasy romance film ''The End of Endless Love''.

In 2020, the urban emotional drama ''Everyone Wants to Meet You'' was launched on IQiyi. In the series, Zhang plays the sunny girl Luo Xi, who helps Zhang Huan, a career-driven man, relieve his headache symptoms. The same year, Zhang starred in the romantic light comedy ''Love Is All'', which was released on Youku. She portrayed Tan Lingyin, a playful and charming storybook writer and county government official. Zhang participated in the realistic short film ''College Entrance Examination 2020'', broadcast during Hunan Satellite TV's "2020 National Day Gift · Hunan Satellite TV Blue Moon Mid-Autumn Festival Night." In the film, she played a senior high school student striving to achieve her dreams. On December 4, the urban fantasy movie ''The End of Endless Love'' was released nationwide. Zhang played Ji Ze, a folk song singer suffering from depression. The film's box office exceeded 200 million yuan on the fifth day of its release. Zhang and Wei Daxun performed the song "Diary of Love" during Hunan Satellite TV's ''Pinduoduo 12.12 Super Fighting Night.''

In 2021, the army-themed drama '' The Glory of Youth'' was jointly broadcast on Zhejiang Satellite TV and Jiangsu Satellite TV. In the series, Zhang played Liang Nuo, Xia Zhuo's college classmate. The same year, the urban emotional youth film ''My Love'', co-starring Xu Guanghan, was released. Zhang portrayed You Yongci, a character struggling with insecurity due to a broken family. The revolutionary historical film ''The Pioneer'', directed by Xu Zhanxiong, was released that year. Zhang played Li Dazhao's daughter, Li Xinghua. On August 18, the female-themed youth emotional drama ''Be Yourself'' premiered, with Zhang playing Huangfu Shumin, a girl with "Princess syndrome" raised in a pampered environment. The urban emotional inspirational drama ''Psychologist'', in which Zhang starred, was broadcast on Youku.

In 2022, Zhang participated in the outdoor trendy camping reality show ''Let's Camp Together'', jointly produced by iQiyi, Caviar, and Jiangsu Satellite TV, and co-produced by iQIYI Encore Studio. The same year, the period drama ''Defying the Storm'', starring Hu Yitian and Wang Jinsong, was broadcast on Hunan Satellite TV. In the series, Zhang portrayed Meng Haitang, a character born into a scholarly family. On August 12, she participated in season 8 of the celebrity reality show ''Chinese Restaurant'', which was broadcast on Hunan Satellite TV.

In 2023, the youth love movie ''All These Years'', in which Zhang participated, was released. The same year, the urban romantic comedy ''My Boss'', starring Zhang, premiered. On May 20, the romantic comedy film ''Too Beautiful to Lie'' was released. The television series '' A Date with the Future'', starring Zhang and William Chan, was broadcast on Jiangsu Satellite TV.

In 2025, Zhang's series ''The First Frost'' alongside Bai Jingting, an adaptation of the romantic novel by Zhu Yi, which before its release collected over 8M reservations in Youku. It set record of fastest 10k popularity index in Youku, within 2 days of its release, trended in "Top 3 Television Show" in Netflix within a week, and earned her "Top C-Drama artists in the Global Market".

Social activities

In May 2019, Zhang participated in the "Youth Season Entering Campus" series of activities organized by China Movie Report. She visited China Agricultural University, learned about the environmental protection efforts of the teachers and students there, and advocated for environmental protection alongside the students. In June, Zhang supported the public welfare initiative "Yi Hu Bai Xing", raising awareness about respiratory health and the plight of pneumoconiosis patients.

Filmography

Film

Television series

Discography

OST

Music video appearances

Awards and nominations

References

External links

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Zhang Ruonan on iQIYI

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zhang, Ruonan
1996 births
Living people
Actresses from Wenzhou
21st-century Chinese actresses
Chinese film actresses
Chinese television actresses