Xu Jinglei (, born April 16, 1974) is a Chinese actress and filmmaker. Regarded as one of the Four Dan Actresses in China, Xu rose to fame with television series A Sentimental Story (1997) and Cherish Our Love Forever (1998), followed by TV series Divine Retribution (2000) and films Spring Subway (2002), Confession of Pain (2006), The Warlords (2007), and Eternal Moment (2011).

After making her directorial debut with My Father and I (2003), Xu established herself as one of the most successful female directors in China with such films as Letter from an Unknown Woman (2004), for which she won the Best Director at the San Sebastian International Film Festival, Go Lala Go! (2010), Dear Enemy (2011) and The Missing (2017).

Early life On April 16, 1974, Xu was born in Chaoyang, Beijing, China. Her father Xu Zijian worked at the Beijing Light Bulb Factory before founding the Great Wall Neon Factory, while her mother Yu Shurong worked at the Beijing Chemical Factory. Xu has a younger brother Xu Xinyu.

Xu studied in the calligraphy class in Beijing Children's Palace and learned the Tang poems by heart under the strict education of her father. She was recommended for admission to Beijing No. 80 High School because of her extraordinary calligraphy skills. She initially determined to study make-up in the Stage Art Department of The Central Academy of Drama, but was declined. She was instead admitted to the Performing Arts Department, Beijing Film Academy next year.

Career Acting In her freshman year of 1994, Xu made her acting debut in TV series My Deskmate. She gained wide popularity for her roles in TV series A Sentimental Story (1997), where she played a policewoman who falls for a gangster, and in Cherish Our Love Forever (1998), China's first idol drama. In 1999, she won the Chinese Filmmakers Association's Best Performance Award for her first major film role in Spicy Love Soup (1997). Xu solidified her success with a series of critically acclaimed films, winning the Huabiao Award for Outstanding New Actress for I Love You (2002), the Hundred Flowers Award for Best Actress for Spring Subway (2002), and the Golden Rooster Award for Best Supporting Actress for Far From Home (2002). She then starred in blockbusters such as Confession of Pain (2006) and The Warlords (2007). She reunited with her Cherish Our Love Forever co-star Li Yapeng in Eternal Moment (2011), a film sequel to their breakout show. She took an extended hiatus from acting since Dear Enemy (2011) and switched her career focus to filmmaking and talent management. She made a comeback with her performance in the science fiction thriller Battle of Memories (2017).

Directing Xu made her directorial debut with My Father and I (2003), which she also starred in. The film, China's first independent production, tackles the delicate relationship between a Chinese father and his daughter, winning her the Golden Rooster Award for Best New Director. Her second directorial effort, Letter from an Unknown Woman (2004), was based on Stefan Zweig's novel of the same name, winning her the Silver Shell for Best Director at the San Sebastian International Film Festival in Spain. Xu then collaborated with Chinese writer Wang Shuo in Dreams Come True (2006), an experimental film shot in one setting. Unlike her previous two films, Dreams Come True was panned by critics. In 2010, Xu directed and starred in Go Lala Go!, which was adapted from Li Ke's bestseller of the same name about a young woman's growth in the workplace. In 2014, Xu ranked fifth on the Chinese directors value list, as "the first female director who has directed six films independently and has earned more than 100 million yuan at the domestic box office and won the international Film Festival awards." Xu continued to direct romantic features Dear Enemy (2011) and Somewhere Only We Know (2015), which were moderately successful at the box office. Deviating from her former productions was The Missing (2017), an action cop thriller which proved to be a commercial flop. She also produced an alien-themed web-series My 200-Million-Year-Old Classmate (2018) based on the webfiction of the same name.

Others Since 2003, Xu has been an acting teacher at Beijing Film Academy.

Xu launched her blog in late 2005 to huge success. In 2006, she became the world's most popular blogger, with the most incoming links of any blog in any language on the Internet, according to blog search engine Technorati.

In 2006, Xu founded Kaila Pictures Corporation, a production and management company. She also launched a website, a series of digital magazines, and an accessory line, but all were shut down in the early 2010s.

In 2007, Xu cooperated with Founder Electronics Cooperation to release her personal calligraphy computer characters in FounderType, called "Founder Jinglei Simplified", which was adopted by Starbucks China in its cafe shops.

In 2008, Xu was awarded the honorary title of "China Environmental Ambassador" at an awarding ceremony cosponsored by the Ministry of Environmental Protection and the United Nations Development Program on World Earth Day.

In November 2012, Xu participated in the fourth season of China's Got Talent and acted as the judge. In May 2018, Xu participated in the third season of the Crossover Singer, a singing competition show, aired on BTV1.

Xu launched an education and film fund with 200,000 yuan (US$25,000) to support braille publications, education for the children of migrant workers, and filming.

Personal life From 1994 to 2004, Xu Jinglei was in a relationship with writer Wang Shuo, during which she reportedly took a three-year break to be with musician Sanbao.

In July 2005, Xu was photographed in Beijing on a date with musician Zhang Yadong, shortly after actress Gao Yuanyuan made public of her 5-year relationship with Zhang. In January, 2006, Gao declared that she had broken up with Zhang. The next month Xu was photographed in Beijing meeting both Zhang and actor Huang Jue on the same day. Xu then had a relationship with Huang until their breakup in 2010.

Since their collaboration in Go Lala Go! in 2010, Xu has been in a relationship with Taiwanese-American singer-actor Stanley Huang. Since 2017, they have been living in the US.

Filmography

Film Year English title Chinese title Role Notes1996 Tough Guy 忽然丈夫 1997 My Love to Tell You 我的爱对你说 Life Express一夜富贵 Spicy Love Soup愛情麻辣燙Lin Yuqing1998 The Storm Riders風雲Feng Wu 2002 Dazzling花眼Xiao HaoSpring Subway開往春天的地鐵Xiao Hui Far From Home我的美丽乡愁 Xue'er 2003 I Love You 我爱你 Du XiaojieHeroic Duo 雙雄Zhuo Min My Father and I 我和爸爸Xiao Yu also director and screenwriter2004 Brothers 兄弟Xue'er Last Love, First Love 最后的爱,最初的爱Fang Min 2005 Letter from an Unknown Woman 一个陌生女人的来信Young girl also director and screenwriter2006 Dreams May Come 梦想照进现实Actoralso director and screenwriter Confession of Pain 伤城Zhou Shuzhen 2007 The Warlords 投名状Lian Sheng 2009 Shinjuku Incident 新宿事件 Yuko Eguchi2010 Go Lala Go! 杜拉拉升职记Du Lalaalso director and screenwriter2011 Eternal Moment 将爱情进行到底Wen Hui Dear Enemy 亲密敌人Ai Mialso director2013 Better and Better 越來越好之村晚Liu Shufen2014 One Step Away 触不可及Ying Zi2015 Somewhere Only We Know 有一个地方只有我们知道 Chen Lanxin also director2017 The Missing 綁架者 also director Battle of Memories 记忆大师 Zhang Daichen2018 The Trough 低压槽 HuiMeizi Good Luck Dad 让我怎么相信你 also Title Design +Xu's Filmography as a directorTimeFilm title2003My Father and I2005Letter from an Unknown Woman2006Dreams May Come2010Go Lala Go!2011Dear Enemy2015Somewhere Only We Know2017The Missing

Television series Year English title Chinese title Role Notes1994 My Old Classmate同桌的你 1996 Beijing Love Story北京爱情故事 Dan Hong 1997 A Sentimental Story 一場風花雪月的事Lu Yueyue1998 Long Tang龙堂Ding MinCherish Our Love Forever 将爱情进行到底Wen Hui1999Thunderstorm Rider霹雳菩萨 Ah DeHere Comes Fortune财神到Xiao YuLove Letter情书Xia Lin2000 New Romance Generation 新言情时代 Yi Fei television filmDivine Retribution 世纪之战 Yuen Siu-mui / Siu-kuk Family of Lu Ao旅"奥"一家人 2001Accumulating All My Love 堆积情感Yu JingjingLet Love Make the Decision让爱作主Lou Jiayi2002Sky Lovers天空下的缘分Du Mai2005 Doukou Nianhua 豆蔻年华Lin Lan2018200 Million Years Old Classmate同学两亿岁 also executive producer

Awards and nominations

San Sebastián International Film FestivalTimeAward's titleAwarded workStatus2004Silver Shell Award for Best Director of the 52nd San Sebastián International Film FestivalLetter from an Unknown WomanAwarded Huabiao AwardsTimeAward's titleAwarded workAward2003Best Newcomer of the 9th China Film Huabiao AwardsI Love YouAwarded2003Outstanding Actress Award of the 9th China Film Huabiao AwardsFar From HomeNominated

References

External links