Zi Yang

Zi Yang, also known as Andy Yang is a Chinese actress and singer. She was born on November 6, 1992 in Fangshan district, Beijing, China. She graduated from Beijing Film Academy in 2014, with a major in performance. Southern Metropolis Daily chose Yang as one of the Four Dan Actresses of the post-90s generation.

Her father Yunfei Yang was a firefighter and her mother Haiyan Ma was a housewife. Her father chose the character “Ao” from a Chinese Idiom “Cheng Gong Shen Ao” and named her Niao Yang. From a young age, she had a love for acting. So her parents accompanied her to various auditions.

In 1999, at the age of 6, Yang started her acting career by playing Zhou Qiong in “Ru Ci Chu Shan”. She made her silver-screen debut in the youth film “Girl’s Diary”. In her early teens, she rose to prominence for playing the role of Xia Xue in the popular Chinese sitcom “Home with Kids”. Yang released her first solo album “Home with Snow” in 2008.

In 2009, Yang voiced Ma Xiaotiao in the comedy animation series “Mo’s Mischief: Teacher’s Pet”. She then played her first leading role in “Girl Rushes Forward”. In 2011, she starred in the family drama “Love Comes Knocking on the Door”, where she played as a rebellious teenager. It allowed her to successfully shed her image of a “child star”.

In 2012, she starred in the horror mystery thriller film “Insisrence” and won the Best Newcomer Award at the 14th Golden Phoenix Awards. In 2013, she starred in the romance drama “Flowers in Fog”. In 2014, Yang starred in the war drama “Battle of Changsha”, which was set against the back drop of Battle Of Changsha in 1939. The series was a critical success and became the highest rated mainland Chinese series at that time.

In 2015, she starred in the period drama “Yangko Dance”. The series received positive reviews. In 2016, she starred in “Ode to Joy”, which received critical acclaim and commercial success. Yang gained widespread recognition for her portrayal of Qiu Yingying and was nominated for the Best Actress award at the China TV Golden Eagle Award. She then starred in “Noble Aspiration”, playing one of the two female protagonists. She gained wider gained wider popularity as a result and was nominated at the 22nd Huading Awards as Best Actress in the ancient drama category. She then co-starred in The film “Crying Out in Love”.

In 2017, she reprised her role as Qiu Yingying in “Ode to Joy” season 2. Then she starred in the historical drama “Legend of Dragon Pearl”. In 2018, she starred in “The Destiny of White Snake”. Her portrayal of the innocent and naive snake spirit; as well as her voice-dub for the character, received positive reviews. Then she starred in the fantasy romance drama “Ashes of Love”. The series was a commercial success, topping both television and web ratings; and received positive reviews. Yang received acclaim for her acting and experienced a new high in popularity.

In 2019, Yang starred in “Go Go Squid!”, playing a talented computer major who is also a popular online singer. The drama topped television ratings and had been streamed more than 9.6 billion times in its time slot. The success of Go Go Squid reaffirmed Yang’s popularity. She won the Best Actress award in modern drama category at the 26th Huading Awards. She featured in the disaster film “The Bravest” and won the Most Popular Supporting Actress award at the 16th Guangzhou Student Film Festival. She then starred in the romance drama “My Mowgly Boy and the crime film “Bodies at Rest”. Yang was awarded the iQiyi Scream Goddess at the iQiyi All-Star Carnival and Weibo Queen at the Weibo Awards Ceremony.