Meng'er Zhang ( zh, s=张梦儿, p=Zhāng Mèng'er; born April 22, 1987) is a Chinese actress best known for portraying Xu Xialing in the 2021

Marvel Cinematic Universe The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is an American media franchise and shared universe centered on a series of superhero films produced by Marvel Studios. The films are based on characters that appear in American comic books published by ...

(MCU) film ''

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings ''Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings'' is a 2021 American superhero film based on Marvel Comics featuring the character Shang-Chi. Produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, it is the 25th film ...

''.

Early life

Zhang is the daughter of an actor and a stage designer. She grew up heavily devoted to theatre 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 Nanjing (; , Mandarin pronunciation: ), alternately romanized as Nanking, is the capital of Jiangsu province of the People's Republic of China. It is a sub-provincial city, a megacity, and the second largest city in the East China region. T ...

, where she was born and raised, and

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flow ...

. In 2009, she graduated from

Nanjing University of the Arts The Nanjing University of the Arts (NUA; ), also known as the Nanjing Arts Institute, is a university offering undergraduate and graduate degrees in fine arts, design, and related subjects. The institutional history begins in 1912, with the found ...

with a bachelors degree. She attended the

East 15 Acting School East 15 Acting School (East 15) is a British drama school in Loughton, Essex.Its degrees are awarded by the University of Essex, with which it merged on 1 September 2000. As of 2020, Essex University, where East 15 is located, has been ranked No. ...

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

and the

Russian Institute of Theatre Arts The Russian Institute of Theatre Arts (GITIS) (russian: Российский институт театрального искусства – ГИТИС) is the largest and oldest independent theatrical arts school in Russia. Located in Moscow, ...

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

Career

Early career

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. She later starred in numerous theatre productions. In 2013, in a Chinese stage adaptation, titled ''Finding Destiny'' (寻找初恋), of Korean musical, ''

Finding Mr. Destiny ''Finding Mr. Destiny'' (; lit. ''Finding Kim Jong-wook'') is a 2010 South Korean romantic comedy starring Im Soo-jung (actress), Im Soo-jung and Gong Yoo. It is a film adaptation by playwright-turned-director Jang Yoo-jeong of her hit 2006 musical ...

'', Zhang played the female lead Luo Yan. 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), and in ''

Oliver Twist ''Oliver Twist; or, The Parish Boy's Progress'', Charles Dickens's second novel, was published as a serial from 1837 to 1839, and as a three-volume book in 1838. Born in a workhouse, the orphan Oliver Twist is bound into apprenticeship with ...

'' where she played Dodger. 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.

Hollywood

''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 Mandarin (; ) is a group of Chinese (Sinitic) dialects that are natively spoken across most of northern and southwestern China. The group includes the Beijing dialect, the basis of the phonology of Standard Chinese, the official language of ...

and

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

. After being cast for ''Shang-Chi'', she was trained intensely in

martial arts Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defense; military and law enforcement applications; combat sport, competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; a ...

stunt A stunt is an unusual and difficult physical feat or an act requiring a special skill, performed for artistic purposes usually on television, theaters, or cinema. Stunts are a feature of many action films. Before computer generated imagery spec ...

training. During production of ''Shang-Chi'', she took advice from co-star

Ben Kingsley Sir Ben Kingsley (born Krishna Pandit Bhanji; 31 December 1943) is an English actor. He has received various accolades throughout his career spanning five decades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, a Grammy Award, and two ...

on the distinction between stage acting and camera acting, and director

Destin Daniel Cretton Destin Daniel Cretton is an American filmmaker. He is best known for his films ''Short Term 12'' (2013), ''The Glass Castle'' (2017), ''Just Mercy'' (2019) and the Marvel Studios film ''Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings'' (2021). He has ...

also coached her in on-screen acting as she had little experience working with camera framing. Her casting in the film was revealed at the Disney Investor Day 2020 in December of that year. Zhang joined the cast of ''

The Witcher ''The Witcher'' ( pl, Wiedźmin ) is a series of six fantasy novels and 15 short stories written by Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski. The series revolves around the eponymous "witcher", Geralt of Rivia. In Sapkowski's works, "witchers" are bea ...

'' for its third season as a human huntress named Milva.

Personal life

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 Simu Liu ( ; ; born 19 April 1989) is a Canadian actor. He is known for portraying Shang-Chi in the 2021 Marvel Cinematic Universe film ''Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings''. He also played Jung Kim in the CBC Television sitcom ''Kim's ...

and

Awkwafina Nora Lum (born June 2, 1988), known professionally as Awkwafina, is an American actress, rapper, and comedian who rose to prominence in 2012 when her rap song "My Vag" became popular on YouTube. She then released her debut album, ''Yellow Ran ...

, hosted a surprise wedding reception for them at

Disneyland Disneyland is a amusement park, theme park in Anaheim, California. Opened in 1955, it was the first theme park opened by The Walt Disney Company and the only one designed and constructed under the direct supervision of Walt Disney. Disney in ...

Filmography

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Zhang, Meng'er 1987 births 21st-century Chinese actresses Actresses from Nanjing Alumni of East 15 Acting School Chinese film actresses Chinese stage actresses Living people Nanjing University of the Arts alumni Russian Academy of Theatre Arts alumni Chinese expatriates in Russia Chinese expatriates in the United Kingdom Chinese expatriates in the United States