Zhao Tao (born 28 January 1977) is a Chinese actress. She works in China and occasionally Europe, and has appeared in 10 films and several shorts since starting her career in 1999. She is best known for her collaborations with her husband, director Jia Zhangke, including Platform (2000) and Still Life (2006). With Shun Li and the Poet (2011), she became the first Asian actress to win a prize at David di Donatello. She received two Golden Horse Award nominations for Mountains May Depart (2015) and Ash Is Purest White (2018). In 2020, The New York Times ranked her #8 on its list of the 25 Greatest Actors of the 21st Century.
Biography Zhao was born 28 January 1977 in Taiyuan, Shanxi, which is also the hometown of the heroine in Still Life. As a child, she studied classical Chinese dance. In 1996, she enrolled in the folk dance department at Beijing Dance Academy. After graduation, she became a dance teacher in Taiyuan Normal College, where she was spotted by Jia during casting for Platform. Since then, they have worked together frequently.
In 2011, she starred in the Italian film Shun Li and the Poet by Andrea Segre, which screened in the Venice Days section of the 68th Venice International Film Festival. Zhao won the David di Donatello Award, the Italian Oscar, for Best Actress for her bilingual role.
Personal life On 7 January 2012, Zhao married director Jia Zhangke.
Complete filmography YearEnglish TitleChinese TitleRoleNotes2000Platform站台Yin RuijuanEnsemble2002Unknown Pleasures任逍遥Qiao QiaoLead2004The World世界TaoLead2006Still Life三峡好人Shen HongLead2007Our Ten Years我们的十年Lead200824 City二十四城记Su NaEnsemble2008Dada's Dance达达Ensemble2008Cry Me a River河上的愛情Zhou QiLead2009Remembrance念石-Lead2010Ten Thousand Waves-Blue GoddessEnsemble2011Shun Li and the Poet我是丽Shun LiLead2013A Touch of Sin天注定Xiao YuEnsemble2015Mountains May Depart山河故人Shen Tao Nominated - 52nd Golden Horse Award for Best Leading Actress2018Ash Is Purest White江湖兒女Zhao Qiao Nominated - 55th Golden Horse Award for Best Leading Actress Silver Hugo Award for Best Actress Asia Pacific Screen Award for Best Performance by an Actress2024Caught by the Tides风流一代Qiao QiaoLead
References
External links
Conversation with Zhao Tao and Jia Zhangke at Asia Society