Zhu Zhu (; born 19 July 1984) is a Chinese actress and singer. She rose to fame as a VJ on MTV China.

Early life

Zhu was born in a military family in

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

on 19 July 1984, with her

ancestral home An ancestral home is the place of origin of one's extended family, particularly the home owned and preserved by the same family for several generations. The term can refer to an individual house or estate, or to a broader geographic area such as a ...

Linhai Linhai (; Tai-chow dialect: Lin-he) is a county-level city in Taizhou, Zhejiang Province situated on the banks of the Lin River in Eastern China. As of the 2020 census, its population was 1,114,146 inhabitants even though its built-up (''or met ...

Zhejiang ) , translit_lang1_type2 = , translit_lang1_info2 = ( Hangzhounese) ( Ningbonese) (Wenzhounese) , image_skyline = 玉甑峰全貌 - panoramio.jpg , image_caption = View of the Yandang Mountains , image_map = Zhejiang i ...

, the daughter of Zhu Hanbin (), a Chinese businessman. Her grandfather Zhu Xuzhi (1912–2000) was a major general of the

People's Liberation Army The People's Liberation Army (PLA) is the military of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the People's Republic of China (PRC). It consists of four Military branch, services—People's Liberation Army Ground Force, Ground Force, People's ...

. Zhu started to learn the piano at the age of 3. When she was a junior school student, she performed ''Beauty and the Beast'', an English stage. Zhu graduated from Beijing Technology and Business University, where she majored in electronics and information engineering.

Personal life

Zhu was in a relationship with Italian businessman

Lapo Elkann Lapo Edovard Elkann (born 7 October 1977) is an Italian businessman, philanthropist, and socialite. He is the chairman, founder, and majority shareholder (53.37%) of the Italia Independent Group. He is also the president and founder of and Ind ...

from 2012 to 2013. On 18 March 2021, Zhu married Wang Yunjia, a lecturer at

Tsinghua University Tsinghua University (THU) is a public university in Haidian, Beijing, China. It is affiliated with and funded by the Ministry of Education of China. The university is part of Project 211, Project 985, and the Double First-Class Constructio ...

's Fine Art Department. They announced the birth of their first child, a daughter named Pearl, on 2 September 2021.

Career

In 2005, Zhu joined ''MTV China'' and hosted music programs on China's domestic MTV network. Zhu was discovered by talent scouts after winning a local singing contest in Beijing, then placing third at the national level. Zhu signed with music label MBOX in 2007 and her first album was released in 2009. In 2010, Zhu made her film debut in ''

What Women Want ''What Women Want'' is a 2000 American romantic fantasy comedy film written by Josh Goldsmith, Cathy Yuspa, and Diane Drake, directed by Nancy Meyers, and starring Mel Gibson and Helen Hunt. The film was released on December 15, 2000 by ...

'', a Chinese romantic comedy film starring

Andy Lau Andy Lau Tak-wah ( zh, order=t,j, t=劉德華, j=Lau4 Dak1 Waa4; born Lau Fook-wing; 27 September 1961), is a Hong Kong actor, singer-songwriter and film producer. He was named the "Fourth Tiger" among the Five Tiger Generals of TVB in the 1 ...

and

Gong Li Gong Li ( zh, s=巩俐, t=鞏俐; born 31 December 1965) is a Chinese-born Singaporean actress. She is regarded as one of the best actresses in China today, known for her versatility and naturalistic performances. She starred in three of the ...

. In 2012, Zhu played the character Chi Chi in an American martial arts film ''

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'', alongside RZA,

Russell Crowe Russell Ira Crowe (born 7 April 1964) is an actor and film director. Russell Crowe filmography, His work on screen has earned him List of awards and nominations received by Russell Crowe, various accolades, including an Academy Award, two Gold ...

Cung Le Cung Le (; born May 25, 1972) is an American actor, former professional mixed martial artist, Sanshou fighter and kickboxer. Le is perhaps best known in mixed martial arts for competing in Strikeforce, holding a record of 7–1 with the organi ...

Lucy Liu Lucy Alexis Liu (; born December 2, 1968) is an American actress, producer, and artist. Widely regarded as a trailblazer for Asian Americans in arts and entertainment, Asian American representation in Hollywood, Los Angeles, Hollywood, she is t ...

Byron Mann Byron Mann Fung ( zh, t=文峰, j=Man4 Fung1; nè Chan; born 13 August 1967) is a Hong Kong-American actor of film and television. His best-known roles include Ryu in ''Street Fighter'', Silver Lion in ''The Man with the Iron Fists'', Wing Cha ...

, Rick Yune,

Dave Bautista David Michael Bautista Jr. (born January 18, 1969) is an American actor and retired professional wrestler. Regarded as one of the most prolific professional wrestlers of his generation, he rose to fame for his multiple stints in WWE betwee ...

, and

Jamie Chung Jamie Jilynn Chung (born April 10, 1983) is an American actress and former reality television personality. She began her career in 2004 as a cast member on the MTV reality series '' The Real World: San Diego'' and subsequently through her appea ...

. The film grossed million on its first day. In 2012, Zhu participated in five films, such as ''

Shanghai Calling ''Shanghai Calling'' is a 2012 American romantic-comedy film written and directed by Daniel Hsia and produced by Janet Yang. Starring Daniel Henney, Eliza Coupe, and Bill Paxton, ''Shanghai Calling'' is a story about a group of Americans from di ...

'', ''

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'', and ''

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''. In 2014, Zhu starred in a supporting role in the romantic comedy film '' The Old Cinderella'', produced by

Lu Chuan Lu Chuan (born 8 February 1971) is a Chinese filmmaker. One of China's Sixth Generation directors, he is known for his films '' Kekexili: Mountain Patrol'' (2004), '' City of Life and Death'' (2009)'', and The Last Supper'' (2012). Early life ...

. In 2014, Zhu played the female lead in the film ''Last Flight'', opposite

Ed Westwick Edward Jack Peter Westwick (born 27 June 1987) is an English actor and musician best known for his role as Chuck Bass on The CW's ''Gossip Girl'' as well as Vincent Swan in the TV series ''White Gold''. He made his feature film debut in '' Chi ...

and featuring Leon Lee and Cary Alexander. In 2014, Zhu began starring in the American TV series ''

Marco Polo Marco Polo (; ; ; 8 January 1324) was a Republic of Venice, Venetian merchant, explorer and writer who travelled through Asia along the Silk Road between 1271 and 1295. His travels are recorded in ''The Travels of Marco Polo'' (also known a ...

'' which premiered on

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in December 2014. In 2016, Zhu signed on for a

Bollywood Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, is primarily produced in Mumbai. The popular term Bollywood is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (former name of Mumbai) and "Cinema of the United States, Hollywood". The in ...

historical war drama film Tubelight, opposite

Salman Khan Abdul Rashid Salim Salman Khan (; born 27 December 1965) is an Indian actor, film producer, and television personality who predominantly works in Hindi films. In a career spanning over three decades, his awards include two National Film Awa ...

. The film is directed by Kabir Khan and was released on Eid 2017. It was the first time that she was in Bollywood. She reached

Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...

on 3 August 2016 to learn

Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...

as soon as possible. On 18 March 2021, Zhu Zhu married Wang Yunjia. Wang was born in 1986 and graduated from the

University of Manchester The University of Manchester is a public university, public research university in Manchester, England. The main campus is south of Manchester city centre, Manchester City Centre on Wilmslow Road, Oxford Road. The University of Manchester is c ...

in the UK. He is the Beijing regional executive partner of a men's suit brand.

Filmography

Film

Television

Variety shows

Album

* ''Zhu Zhu'' ()

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* *
Zhu Zhu at hkmdb.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zhu, Zhu Living people 1984 births Actresses from Beijing Singers from Beijing Chinese film actresses Chinese television actresses Chinese television personalities Beijing Technology and Business University alumni The Amazing Race contestants Participants in Chinese reality television series Chinese expatriates in India Expatriate actresses in India Actresses in Hindi cinema 21st-century Chinese actresses 21st-century Chinese women singers