Meng'er Zhang

Meng'er Zhang
张梦儿
Zhang in 2021
Born
Zhang Meng'er

(1987-04-22) April 22, 1987 (age 37)
Nanjing, Jiangsu, China
Education
OccupationActress
Spouse
Yung Lee
​
(m. 2021)​
Chinese name
Simplified Chinese张梦儿
Traditional Chinese張夢兒
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinZhāng Mèng'er
IPA[ʈʂáŋ məŋ.aɚ]

Meng'er Zhang (Chinese: 张梦儿; pinyin: Zhāng Mèng'er; born April 22, 1987)[1] is a Chinese actress best known for portraying Xu Xialing in the 2021 Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) film Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.

Early life and education

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Zhang is the daughter of an actor and a stage designer. She grew up heavily-devoted to theater arts in order to follow in her mother's footsteps. Prior to becoming a professional actress, she starred in stage and musical productions in Nanjing, where she was born and raised, and Shanghai. In 2009, she graduated from Nanjing University of the Arts with a bachelor's degree.[2] She attended the East 15 Acting School in Essex and the Russian Institute of Theater Arts in Moscow.[3]

Career

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Early career

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In 2009, Zhang participated in China's Super Girl TV singing contest and was amongst the top 20 participants nationwide before withdrawing as her parents had arranged further schooling overseas for her.[4][5] She later starred in numerous theatre productions.[6] In 2013, in a Chinese stage adaptation, titled Finding Destiny (寻找初恋), of the Korean musical, Finding Mr. Destiny, Zhang played the female lead Luo Yan.[7][8] In 2017, she starred in the Chinese musical adaptation of The Street of Dawn (黎明之街) where she played Nakanishi Akiba (仲系 秋叶),[9] and in Oliver Twist where she played Dodger.[6][10] In 2019, she was in In the Mood for Sorrow (马不停蹄的忧伤) where she was nominated for the Best leading Actress Award at 13th Daegu International Musical Festival.[11][12]

Hollywood

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Shang-Chi and the Legend of the ten Rings was her debut mainstream film role. Before being cast, she sent an audition-tape for an unknown role in an unknown film for women who could speak both Mandarin Chinese and English. After being cast for Shang-Chi, she received intense martial arts stunt training.[13] During production of Shang-Chi, she took advice from co-star Ben Kingsley on the distinction between stage- and camera-acting,[14] and director Destin Daniel Cretton also coached her in on-screen acting as she had little experience working with camera framing.[6] Her casting in the film was revealed at the Disney Investor Day 2020 in December of that year.[15] Zhang joined the cast of The Witcher for its third season as a human hunter named Milva.[16]

Personal life

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On May 10, 2021, Zhang married Yung Lee, an action designer on Shang-Chi, whom she met on the set of the film. The Shang-Chi cast and crew, including her costars Simu Liu and Awkwafina, hosted a surprise wedding reception for them at Disneyland.[17][18][19]

Filmography

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Film
Year Title Role Notes Ref
2021 Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings Xu Xialing [15]
Television
Year Title Role Notes Ref
2023 The Witcher Milva Season 3; Recurring [20]
Theatre
Year Title Roles Notes Ref
2013 Finding Destiny 《寻找初恋》 Luo Yan 骆颜 [7]
2014 The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane [21]
2016 The Moon and Sixpence [22]
2017 The Street of Dawn 《黎明之街》 Nakanishi Akiba 仲系 秋叶 [9]
2017 Oliver Twist Dodger [6][10]
2019 In The Mood For Sorrow 《马不停蹄的忧伤》 Lin Baosheng 林宝笙 Nominated for Best Leading Actress Award at 13th Daegu International Musical Festival [11][12]

References

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  1. ^ "漫威电影宇宙首部华人超英电影《尚气与十环传奇》曝角色海报和采访特辑。". 6 August 2021.
  2. ^ "音乐剧《寻找初恋》主创介绍_娱乐频道_凤凰网". ent.ifeng.com. Retrieved 2021-09-05.
  3. ^ "Marvel's Latest Heroine Meng'er Zhang Shares A Few Of Her Favourite Things With Vogue". British Vogue. 2021-09-03. Retrieved 2021-09-04.
  4. ^ "漫威《尚气》中女主曾参加过"快乐女声"". www.bcbay.com. Retrieved 2021-09-05.
  5. ^ 张磊 (3 December 2011). "张梦儿唐宁退出20强 快女遗珠极有可能被复活_娄底新闻网". news.ldnews.cn. Retrieved 2021-09-13.
  6. ^ a b c d "Meng'er Zhang on pursuing a dream and becoming a part of the MCU in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings". The Laterals. 2021-08-24. Retrieved 2021-09-04.
  7. ^ a b "音乐剧《寻找初恋》_娱乐频道_凤凰网". ent.ifeng.com. Retrieved 2021-09-05.
  8. ^ "《寻找初恋》：不只第一次恋爱才算初恋- 中国日报网". covid-19.chinadaily.com.cn. Retrieved 2021-09-05.
  9. ^ a b "张梦儿 东野圭吾作品《黎明之街》中国唯一授权舞台剧，本月底开演". m.longyanws.com. Retrieved 2021-09-05.
  10. ^ a b "4月1日音乐话剧《雾都孤儿》观剧团名单". www.pinlue.com. Retrieved 2021-09-05.
  11. ^ a b "原创音乐剧《马不停蹄的忧伤》斩获国际音乐剧节一项「评委会大奖」及五项提名_作品". www.sohu.com. Retrieved 2021-09-05.
  12. ^ a b "온라인상영작 | DIMF | 홈페이지". dimf.or.kr. Retrieved 2021-09-05.
  13. ^ Grebey, James (2021-09-03). "'Shang-Chi' star Meng'er Zhang's favorite part of filming? 'Punching Simu in the face'". SYFY WIRE. Retrieved 2021-09-04.
  14. ^ "'Asked & Answered with the Women of Marvel': Michelle Yeoh, Awkwafina, and Meng'er Zhang". Marvel Entertainment. Retrieved 2021-09-04.
  15. ^ a b McHenry, Jackson (2020-12-11). "All the Disney Investor Day Announcements in One Big Post". Vulture. Retrieved 2021-09-04.
  16. ^ Moreau, Jordan (April 14, 2022). "The Witcher Season 3 Casts Robbie Amell, Shang-Chi Star Meng'er Zhang and More". Variety. Penske Media Corporation.
  17. ^ "Meng'er Zhang Interview: Shang-Chi". ScreenRant. 2021-09-04. Retrieved 2021-09-04.
  18. ^ "Shang-Chi Star Meng'er Zhang Shares Details Of On-Set Marriage". Game Rant. 2021-09-02. Retrieved 2021-09-06.
  19. ^ "Shang-Chi' Star Meng'er Zhang Shares How Simu Liu and Awkwafina Threw Her a Surprise Wedding Reception | Entertainment Tonight". www.etonline.com. Retrieved 2021-09-06.
  20. ^ Petski, Denise (14 April 2022). "'The Witcher': Robbie Amell, Meng'er Zhang Among 4 Cast In Netflix Fantasy Drama". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 23 April 2022.
  21. ^ "成年人也需要童话 《爱德华的奇妙之旅》上演_大申网_腾讯网". sh.qq.com. Retrieved 2021-09-05.
  22. ^ "在控制欲望之前，先看清欲望" (in Chinese (Macau)). Retrieved 2021-09-05.
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