Yang Zi

**Yang Zi** (, born 6 November 1992), also known as **Andy Yang**, is a Chinese actress and singer. She graduated from the Performing Arts School of Beijing Film Academy (BFA) in 2014. She is regarded as one of the Four Dan Actresses of the post-90s Generation (90后四小花旦).

## Early life

YangZi was born as Yang Niao () on 6 November 1992 in Fangshan district, Beijing, China. Her father Yang Yunfei was a firefighter and mother Ma Haiyan was a housewife. From an early age, she had a passion for acting and first starred in _Ru Ci Chu Shan_ at the age of 6.

YangZi studied at Beijing Xingcheng Primary School in Fangshan District and Beijing No. 55 High School in Dongcheng District. In 2010, she was admitted to Beijing Film Academy.

## Career

In 1999, YangZi made her acting debut, playing Zhou Qiong in _Ru Ci Chu Shan_.

### 2000s

In 2002, YangZi had a minor role as little Consort Donggo in _Xiaozhuang Epic_. In 2004, she made her big-screen debut in the film _Girl's Diary_ for which she received a Best Child Actor nomination at the 12th Tongniu Film Award. In 2005, Yang rose to prominence for playing Xia Xue in the Chinese sitcom _Home with Kids_. The series reached number one in ratings when it aired in China, and won the Outstanding Television Series (for children) award at the Flying Apsaras Awards and the Golden Eagle Awards.

In 2006, she reprised her role as Xia Xue in the sequel _Home with Kids 2_, though not in the subsequent installments. In 2008, YangZi released her first solo album titled _Home with Snow_, which is named after her character's name in _Home with Kids_. In 2009, Yang played her first leading role in the youth romance drama _Girl Rushes Forward_.

### 2010s

In February 2011, YangZi starred in the family drama _Love Comes Knocking on the Door_, based on the novel _Stepmother_ by Geling Yan. Her role as a rebellious teenager allowed her to successfully shed her image of a "child star". In May 2012, YangZi starred in the medical drama _Angel Heart_, portraying a kindhearted nurse. In August, she starred in the horror mystery thriller film _Insisrence_, and won the Best Newcomer Award at the 14th Golden Phoenix Awards. In 2013, YangZi starred in the romance drama _Flowers in Fog_, written by acclaimed Taiwanese writer Chiung Yao. The same year, she played the lead role in the period comedy drama _King Rouge_.

In March 2014, YangZi starred in her first war drama _Battle of Changsha_, directed by Magnolia Award-winner Kong Sheng. The series was a critical success and was voted Best Drama of 2014 in major streaming website Douban after being broadcast on CCTV-8 beginning mid-July 2014. In 2015, YangZi starred in period drama _Yangko Dance_, which received positive reviews and topped television ratings. The same year, she co-starred in the horror mystery web series _The Ferryman_.

In 2016, she starred in the metropolitan romance drama _Ode to Joy_, which depicts the stories of five young women who comes from different social and educational backgrounds, but share a common goal. The series received critical acclaim and commercial success, and YangZi gained widespread recognition for her portrayal of Qiu Yingying, a simple-minded girl from a small town. YangZi was nominated for the Best Actress award at the China TV Golden Eagle Award for her performance. She then portrayed Lu Xueqi, one of the two female protagonists in Noble Aspirations, the television series adaption of the Xianxia novel _Zhu Xian_. The drama was a commercial success and accumulated 23 billion views online, the highest record held by a Chinese drama at that time. YangZi gained wider popularity as a result and was nominated at the 22nd Huading Awards as Best Actress in the ancient drama category for her performance. The same year, she co-starred in _Crying Out in Love_, a film based on the romance novel _Socrates in Love_ by Japanese novelist Kyoichi Katayama. In 2017, YangZi reprised her role as Qiu Yingying in the second installment of _Ode to Joy_ and starred in the historical romance comedy drama _Legend of Dragon Pearl_.

In 2018, she starred in _The Destiny of White Snake_, a fantasy romance drama based on the renowned Chinese folktale. Yang's portrayal of the innocent and naive snake spirit; as well as her voice-dub for the character, received positive reviews. The same year, YangZi starred in the fantasy romance drama _Ashes of Love_, playing an innocent and lively fairy maiden. The series was a commercial success, topping both television and web ratings; and received positive reviews. YangZi received acclaim for her acting and experienced a new high in popularity. _Forbes China_ listed YangZi under their 30 Under 30 Asia 2017 list which consisted of 30 influential people under 30 years old who have had a substantial effect in their fields.

In 2019,  YangZi starred in the romantic comedy drama _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 timeslot and was praised for its transmitting positive and uplifting messages such as the pursuit of dreams as well as patriotism. The success of _Go Go Squid_ reaffirmed YangZi's popularity. Then YangZi featured in the disaster film _The Bravest_ as the wife of a firefighter, and won the Most Popular Supporting Actress award at the 16th Guangzhou Student Film Festival. The same year, he starred in the crime suspense film _Bodies at Rest_ playing a forensics scientist. She then starred in the romance environmental protection drama _My Mowgli Boy_ where she played a marketing executive.

### 2020s

In 2020, she featured in nationalistic film _My People, My Homeland_. Then she starred in _Hear Her_, the first monologue series in China about women's rights. _Hear Her_ is based on the format of BBC Studio's short-film series _Snatches: Moments from Women's Lives_. YangZi has appeared on the _Forbes Asia_ 100 Digital Star list, comprising 100 artists from across the Asia-Pacific region who have been able to stay active, raise awareness and inspire optimism despite the cancellation of physical events during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In 2021, YangZi played a guest role in _Go Go Squid 2 Dt.Appledog's Time_, the sequel to her hit drama _Go Go Squid!_. On July 1, Yang participated in the "Great Journey", a large-scale epic theatrical performance to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China and performed in the inaugural skit titled "Breaking Dawn" along with several other artists. She then starred in the urban drama _Psychologist_, the television series adaption of Bi Shumin's 2007 novel "Female Psychologist".

### Film

|Year|English title|Chinese title|Role|Notes/Ref.|
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|2003|_The Law of Romance_|||Cameo|
|2004|_Girl's Diary_||Ran Dongyang||
|_Lao Fei_||Xiao Lan|||
|_An Old Record_||Ding Yun|||
|_Dad Wants to Divorce_||Ji Ji|||
|_The Quiet Lady_||He Lan|||
|2007|_The Last Fragrance_||Duo Lun||
|2008|_I Am a Fan_||Qiao Xiaoqiao||
|2009|_Mo's Mischief: Teacher's Pet_||Ma Xiaotiao|Voice-dubbed|
|_Ma-Mha_||Nan Qian|Voice-dubbed||
|2010|_Boy and Girl_||Ran Dongyang||
|_Money Makes Trouble_||Shi Xiaotao|||
|_Third Class Fifth Class_||Ran Dongyang|||
|_Death and Glory in Changde_||Tao Er|||
|2012|_Mother's Call_||Qiao Ni||
|_Insisrence_||Jia Jia|||
|2014|_King Tea Storm_||Xie Xiaoxiang||
|2015|_Where Are All The Time_||Lin Yutong||
|2016|_Papa_||Wang Nina||
|_Crying Out in Love_||Xia Ye|||
|2018|_A Paper Marriage_||Ling Ling||
|2019|_The Bravest_||Wang Lu|Cameo|
|_Bodies at Rest_||Qiao Lin|||
|2020|_My People, My Homeland_||Jiang Ziya||
|_Soul Snatcher_||Ying Wuxie|Voice-dubbed||
|2022|_Drug Hunting_||Luo Jia||

### Television series

|Year|English title|Chinese title|Role|Notes/Ref.|
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|2001|_Da Zhai Men_||girl selling apple|Cameo|
|2002|_The Party Member Ma Dajie_||Xiao Qiang||
|_Ru Ci Chu Shan_||Zhou Qiong|||
|_Xiaozhuang Epic_||Consort Donggo (young)|||
|2004|_Crime Scene_||Sun Hongyue|Cameo|
|_Jia Ting Dang An_||Ji Ji|||
|_Yong Gan Mian Dui_||Lingzi|||
|2005|_Home with Kids_||Xia Xue||
|_Girl's Diary_||Ran Dongyang|||
|_Young Kangxi_||Bing Yue|||
|_Fate_||Wei Sichen|||
|2006|_Home with Kids 2_||Xia Xue||
|_No Limit_||Ming Na|||
|_Not Easy to Grow Up_||Shu Xin|||
|2007|_Warmth_||Zhao Xuan||
|2008|_Being Alive is Good_||Chen Huan||
|_Treasure_||Bei La|||
|2009|_Girl Rushes Forward_||Sun Quan||
|_Don't Want to Grow Up_||Teacher Jing|||
|_Stage of Youth_||Secretary Liu|Cameo||
|_Coming Home_||Zhou Youyou|||
|_Chun Zhen Sui Yue_||Mai Sidan|||
|2010|_Boy's Diary_||Ran Dongyang||
|_Wu Cheng'en and Journey to the West_||Ye Yun (young)|||
|2011|_Love Comes Knocking on the Door_||Song Zheng||
|2012|_Angel Heart_||Zhang Xiaolei||
|2013|_King Rouge_||Lei Er||
|_Dad Comes Home_||Lin Ranran|||
|_Flowers in Fog_||Bai Menghua|||
|2014|_Battle of Changsha_||Hu Xiangxiang||
|2015|_Say No For Youth_||An Xiaohui||
|_Yangko Dance_||Wu Ruoyun|||
|_The Ferryman_||Su Wenxiu|||
|2016|_Ode to Joy_||Qiu Yingying||
|_Perfect Wedding_||Xia Ran|||
|_Noble Aspirations_||Lu Xueqi|||
|_Noble Aspirations 2_||Lu Xueqi|||
|2017|_Legend of Dragon Pearl_||Li Yihuan||
|_Ode to Joy 2_||Qiu Yingying|||
|2018|_Women in Beijing_||Miao Miao|Cameo|
|_The Destiny of White Snake_||Bai Yaoyao|||
|_Ashes of Love_||Jin Mi|||
|2019|_Go Go Squid!_||Tong Nian||
|_My Mowgli Boy_||Ling Xi|||
|2021|_Go Go Squid 2 Dt.Appledog's Time_||Tong Nian|Cameo|
|_Psychologist_||He Dun|||
|2022|_Immortal Samsara_||Yan Dan||
|_The Oath of Love_||Lin Zhixiao|||

### Variety show

|Year|English title|Chinese title|Role|Notes/Ref.|
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|2014|_We Are Young 2_||Cast member||
|2015|_Sisters Over Flowers_||||
|2018|_Give Me Five 2_||||
|2019|_Chinese Restaurant 3_||||
|2021|_The Detective's Adventure_||||

### Albums

|Year|English title|Chinese title|Notes/Ref.|
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
|2008|_Home With Snow_|||

### Soundtracks

|Year|English title|Chinese title|Album|Notes/Ref.|
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|2009|"Grow a little everyday"||_Don't Want to Grow Up OST_||
|2010|"Living Happily"||_Good to be Living OST_|with various singers|
|2012|"The Quiet Rubble"||_Insisrence OST_||
|2013|"Blooming Rouge"||_King Rouge OST_||
|2014|"I Will Remember You"||_Battle of Changsha OST_|with Wallace Huo|
|2016|"More Fragrant Than Flowers"||_Ode to Joy OST_||
|"There Will Be Happiness Waiting for You"||with Liu Tao, Jiang Xin, Wang Ziwen & Qiao Xin|||
|"Just Like When We First Met"||_Noble Aspirations 2 OST_|||
|2017|"Kungfu Yoga"||_Kung Fu Yoga OST_|with Jackie Chan & Zhang Yishan|
|"Earthworm"||_Ode to Joy 2 OST_|||
|"Us"||with Liu Tao, Jiang Xin, Wang Ziwen & Qiao Xin|||
|2018|"Few Lifetimes of Happiness"||_The Destiny of White Snake OST_||
|"Unparalleled in the World"||_Ashes of Love OST_|with Deng Lun||
|"Love Frost"|||||
|2019|"Milk Bread"||_Go Go Squid! OST_||
|"Breaking the Silence"||_Bodies at Rest OST_|with Richie Jen & MC Jin||
|"Windy Night"||_My Mowgli Boy OST_|||
|2020|"My Homeland"||_My People, My Homeland OST_|with Wang Junkai, Roy Wang, Han Haolin & Jackie Li|
|"Bring Your Own Breeze"||_Qing Feng (Breeze)_ Endorsement Song|with Mosaic Band||
|2021|"Flower Room Cafe"||_Psychologist OST_|with pianist Wu Muye|

### Other appearances

|Year|English title|Chinese title|Notes/Ref.||
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|2017|"Beautiful Youths of China"|美丽中国年|Performance for CCTV Spring Festival Gala||
|2018|"China"||Theme song for the China's Communist Youth League||
|"The Future Me"||Project for People's Republic of China's 70th anniversary|||
|2019|"Dream"||Theme song for China Student Television Festival||
|rowspan=2|2020|"Meeting in 20 Years Again"||Performance for CCTV Spring Festival Gala|
|"The Figure of an Angel"||Tribute song for the COVID-19 Frontliners|||

## Awards and nominations

|Year|Nominated work|Award|Category|Result|Ref.|||
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|2004|_Girl Diary_|12th Tongniu Film Awards|Best Child Actress|||||
|2013|_Insisrence_|14th Golden Phoenix Awards|Best Newcomer|||||
|2016||8th China TV Drama Awards|Rising Actress Award|||||
|2017|_Noble Aspirations_|22nd Huading Awards|Best Actress (Ancient Drama)|||||
|_Ode to Joy_|23rd Shanghai Television Festival|Best Supporting Actress||||||
|rowspan=2|2018|29th China TV Golden Eagle Award|Best Actress|||||
|_Ashes of Love_|24th Huading Awards|Best Actress (Ancient Drama)||||||
|rowspan=5|2019|rowspan=2|_The Bravest_|16th Guangzhou Student Film Festival|Most Popular Supporting Actress|||
|11th Macau International Movie Festival|Best Supporting Actress|||||||
|rowspan=3|_Go Go Squid!_|6th The Actors of China Award Ceremony|Outstanding Actress (Emerald Category)|||||
|8th China Student Television Festival|Most Watched Actress|||||||
|26th Huading Awards|Best Actress (Modern drama)|||||||
|rowspan=2|2020|_The Bravest_|35th Hundred Flowers Awards|Best Supporting Actress||||
||7th The Actors of China Award Ceremony|Outstanding Actress (Emerald)||||||

## Infobox (chinese)

- **child**: yes
- **t**: 楊紫
- **s**: 杨紫
- **p**: Yáng Zǐ


## Infobox (person)

- **name**: Yang Zi
- **image**: Yang Zi at Ryo band promotion, Wuhan of China, 12 April 2019.jpg
- **caption**: Yang Zi in 2019
- **birth place**: Fangshan, Beijing, China
- **other names**: Andy Yang
- **nationality**: Chinese people, Chinese
- **education**: Bachelor of Arts
- **alma mater**: Beijing Film Academy
- **agent**: YANGZI Studio; Confidence Entertainment.
- **years active**: 1999–present