Zhang Ruonan (, born 14 November 1996) is a Chinese actress and model. She is known for her roles in the films Cry Me a Sad River (2018), My Love (2021), and Love Life Light (2023); for the series A Date with the Future (2023), Love is Panacea (2023), My Boss (2024), The First Frost (2025), and Live Up to Your Youth (2026). She received nomination for Best Actress at the notable Asian Television Awards for her role in The First Frost.
Zhang ranks among the highest-grossing Chinese film actresses and is top 1 among actresses born after 1995; her movies My Love and Love Life Light, both collectively surpassed ¥1 billion at the box office.
In 2025, she was awarded at the Dragon TV Drama Quality Festival and iQIYI Night. She is regularly ranked in the "Top 10 C-Drama Artists in Global Market".
Early life Zhang was born in Wenzhou, Zhejiang. She completed her primary education in Shijiazhuang, the capital city of Hebei province, where her parents ran a business.
In 2015, Zhang studied graphic design at the Hangzhou Dianzi University. She worked as a model during college years and shared her portfolio on Weibo. She participated in a campus beauty contest and was selected among the "Top 30 Finalists", which led to modeling opportunities. She filmed a short movie advertisement for a Chinese airline during this time.
Career 2018–2019: Beginning In 2017, Zhang was invited via a private message from the official Weibo account of the film Cry Me a Sad River to play a role in the project. The film is a realistic youth film focusing on the theme of school bullying, in which she portrayed "Gu Senxiang", who meets a tragic end after being bullied. The film won an award at the 4th German-Chinese Film Festival and received significant media attention. On 21 September 2018, the film, directed by Guo Jingming, was nationwide released, marking her lead debut.
2020–present: Breakthrough and rising popularity In 2020, Zhang made her small screen debut in iQIYI's romantic series Everyone Wants to Meet You, produced by Zhao Wei. The drama explores how emotional healing can emerge when people face their past wounds and learn to trust again, with Luo Xi—played by Zhang—portrayed as a bright, cheerful girl who helps the workaholic Zhang Min."Everyone Wants to Meet You" has been officially scheduled for release today, opening a brand new chapter of romance on February 16th.《谁都渴望遇见你》今日定档，2月16日开启全新氧气爱情 ．北青网
She starred in Youku's historical romantic comedy Love is All, where she portrayed Tan Lingyin, a writer and government official. The series shows how growth, trust and love are gradually established through misunderstandings and partnership, as two mismatched individuals navigate challenges together beneath a surface of light-hearted humour. In the realistic short film College Entrance Examination 2020, she portrayed as an aspiring student; this aired during the "National Day Gift: Hunan TV's Blue Moon Mid-Autumn Festival".
In December 2020, her fantasy romance film The End of Endless Love exceeded ¥200 million within five days, and the total box office revenue was ¥334 million. In the film, Zhang played Ji Ze, a folk singer struggling with depression who was healed by the character Xin Tang. She performed a song "Diary of Love" alongside Wei Daxun during Hunan TV's "Pinduoduo 12.12 Super Fighting Night".
In 2021, Zhang starred as Liang Nuo in the army-themed series The Glory of Youth, aired on Jiangsu Satellite TV. The series centers on a group of young people enlisting in the army, their gradual understanding of responsibility, sacrifice and collective honour in strict training and mission tests, and finally completes the transformation from ordinary youth to qualified soldiers and the firmness of faith.
She appeared in the emotional youth film My Love, alongside Greg Hsu, she played a character insecure due to a broken family. The film follows a love story that spans many years but has been misplaced, reflecting youth's choices, growth, reality, and the emotional process of learning to let go. My Love premiered across China, Singapore, Taiwan, South Korea, Brunei, North America, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand and was a commercial success, grossing ¥822 million at the box office.
She starred in the revolutionary historical film The Pioneer, directed by Xu Zhanxiong. In August 2021, she starred in the female-oriented drama Be Yourself, portraying a girl raised in luxury who exhibits "princess syndrome". The series tells the story of four girls starting university and traces their growth and experiences over four years on campus. For this role, she won the Breakthrough Actress of the Year at the first New Horn TV Drama Directors Awards. She also appeared in Youku's emotional inspirational drama Psychologist.
In 2022, Zhang participated in iQIYI's outdoor camping reality show Camping Life. In Defying the Storm, she portrayed "Meng Haitang", a character born into a scholarly family. The series explores the story of pilots and cultural scholars who intersect with each other on the road to saving the country. In August, she participated in season 6 of the celebrity reality show Chinese Restaurant.
In 2023, she starred in the youth love All These Years, and in the romantic comedy Too Beautiful to Lie films,**** earning nominations for both at the New Era International Film Festival. Too Beautiful to Lie tells the romantic comedy story of Bai Na, a female swindler from the Jianghu, and Fang Yaodong, a simple-minded man from a small town, as they encounter love.
That same year, she played a central role in Love Life Light, which went to gross ¥275 million at the box office. The screen work can be categorised as a "post-pandemic healing film", which tells the story of how people face the reality of losing loved ones, how they struggle to move beyond trauma, settle their minds and bodies, and rebuild their lives. She also starred in the fire-fighting series A Date with the Future, alongside William Chan. The drama follows a firefighter who makes a 10-year promise to Xu Lai (played by Zhang) to reassure her, and their reunion a decade later as she returns as a journalist and search dog trainer while he serves as a fire station captain, and they work together to keep that promise. Zhang was awarded the Promising Drama Performer at the Tencent Video All Star Awards for this role. The series received the "Chinese Cultural Communication Award" at the 2024 China–US Television Festival, as well as the "Outstanding TV Series of the Year" honour at the TV Landmark 2023 awards.
Zhang was paired with Luo Yunxi in Love is Panacea, portraying Su Weian, a determined and compassionate medical student. The series delves into the story of a neurosurgeon who meets a medical student with a rare illness during an aid mission in Africa; as they confront Huntington's disease together, they fall in love and help heal each other.
In 2024, Zhang appeared as the lead in the romantic comedy My Boss with Chen Xingxu. She played the rookie lawyer Cheng Yao in the series, which explores a determined young woman who becomes a lawyer and unexpectedly ends up living with her demanding boss, where their professional rivalry gradually turns into a complicated romance. She acted in Born To be the One, for which she earned the Breakthrough Performance Actress of the Year award at the Dragon TV Drama Quality Festival. The series unfolds the story of three young couples living in Beijing who, when faced with numerous crises in their careers and lives, chose not to give up but instead confronted their inner selves and ultimately overcame these crises together.
In 2025, Zhang starred in the series The First Frost alongside Bai Jingting, an adaptation of the romantic novel by Zhu Yi. It set a record for the fastest 10,000 popularity index on Youku, within two days of its release; trended in the "Top 3 Television Shows" on Netflix,** and earned her "Top C-Drama Artists in the Global Market". The series surpassed 1.2 billion views one month after its premiere and 1.5 billion views after six months across streaming platforms worldwide. In this drama, she played Wen Yifan, a quiet and emotionally guarded woman who reconnects with her past and gradually heals through her love relationship.
She also featured in the film Mumu, in which she delicately portrays the character's inner grievances and loneliness, and enters the world of the deaf community with a sincere attitude, showcasing a moving emotional performance. The film follows a deaf father and his young daughter as they struggle to navigate life together while confronting communication barriers, social challenges, and the need for mutual understanding.
In 2026, Zhang played a leading role in Live Up to Your Youth alongside Bai Yu, Lin Yun and Wang Yanlin, which premiered on iQIYI. The series is a key literary and artistic project under the "Beijing Grand Audiovisual" initiative of the Beijing Municipal Radio and Television Bureau. Set in Beijing from the 1990s to 2018, it focuses on the artistic dream-pursuing journey of young people who moved to Beijing, showcasing their real-life struggles and growth in fields like scriptwriting and musical performance. Zhang played Zhuang Zhuang, a struggling dreamer and singer navigating ambition, hardship, and self-discovery while chasing her future in Beijing. The drama not only became the fastest series to surpass a 3% rating on CCTV-8 in 2026, but also ranked among the top prime-time shows on the channel. The show was awarded the Anticipated Television Series of the Year at the CMG China TV Drama Annual Awards, the Drama of the Year at the Heguang Audio-Visual Glory Night Awards, and nominated for the Ammonite Award at the 6th New Era International Television Festival.
The same year, she portrayed a supporting character in the film My Friend An Delie, for which she received the Best Supporting Actress nomination at the Asian Art Film Festival. In May 2026, Zhan Zhao Adventures starring Yang Yang, Zhang Ruonan, and Fang Yilun premiered on CCTV-8 and online streaming platforms. In the drama, Zhang portrayed Huo Linglong, a fearless and intelligent young woman from Linglong Manor who escapes an arranged marriage; she joins Zhan Zhao's dangerous quest, helping uncover conspiracies while displaying loyalty, courage, and martial-arts skill throughout the journey. The series earned a nomination for the Ammonite Award at the 6th New Era International Television Festival
A Part of Me adapted from the British film Miss You Already was released in July 2026, in which Zhang Ruonan stars as Gao Fan, a determined woman whose lifelong friendship with Wang Meili carries them through two decades of shared dreams, challenges, and life's most important milestones. The film was awarded the Most Anticipated Film of the Year at the Weibo Movie Night Awards 2026.
Endorsements In 2019, Maybelline New York appointed Zhang as its ambassador. In the same year, Zhang was introduced as the smile healing ambassador for Amore Pacific's IOPE and Shu Uemura's Brand Colour Friend. She became a brand ambassador for Guming Tea this year.
In 2021, Lola Rose Watch London confirmed Zhang as its new brand ambassador. She was the spokesperson for the Chery eQ1 Ant car. Zhang also appeared in campaigns of Sephora, Lancome, and SkinCeuticals as a brand friend in 2021.
In 2022, Zhang was chosen as the hair care ambassador for Pantene and the Brand Attitude Ambassador for Dove. She collaborated with Dior as a brand friend for the campaigns in 2022. Zhang had been the ambassador for Proya Skincare from 2022 to February 2026.
In 2023, Zhang was confirmed as the spokesperson for the high-end fragrance DearIrean and a shoes brand.
In April 2025, Zhang was selected as the image ambassador for OPPO Find X8 and a brand spokesperson for Junlebao Jianchun Yogurt.