Zhu Zhu Bio: In Her Own Words – Video Exclusive, News, Photos

Zhu Zhu is a Chinese actress and singer. She is well known in China as a VJ on MTV China, but has recently been introduced to the Western world as an actress with her roles in The Man with the Iron Fists and the breakout Netflix series Marco Polo.

Zhu Zhu Bio

Zhu Zhu was born on July 19, 1984 in Beijing. She’s the daughter of Zhu Hanbin, a Chinese businessman, and the granddaughter of People’s Liberation Army general Zhu Xuzhi. Zhu was a quick talent in entertainment, learning the piano at age 3 and performing in plays at her junior school. She also graduated from Beijing Technology and Business University with a degree in electronics and information engineering.

Zhu Zhu Music Career

In 2005, Zhu began her role at MTV China as a television host. She told uInterview in an exclusive interview that for her “it was a job. MTV in China is not completely localized. It’s nothing like MTV America.” She says she went to the studios “every week,” got paid, “and then that’s it.” However, her MTV hosting duties began to propel her into China’s entertainment forefront. Zhu won a local singing contest in Beijing and went on to sign a recording deal with MBOX. In 2009, she released her first self-titled album.

Zhu Zhu Film & Television Career

After a few years at MTV, Zhu shifted over to a career in movies and television. “One day I was thinking, you know maybe it’s time to switch jobs,” Zhu told us about her change. “I always found myself passionate in acting and films. I talked to my parents and godmother about it.” They all encouraged her to try it out, and with the help of her godmother, was recommended to a movie to play “a little tiny role, you know, for one or two scenes.” The movie, a Chinese version of What Women Want, was released in 2011. By playing a tiny role, she says, “even if you suck, it wouldn’t screw anything up” in terms of her career path. Little did Zhu know at the time that her film debut would lead her to bigger and better things ahead.

After developing good relationships with casts and crews, she was able to land herself larger roles. In 2012, Zhu Zhu had roles in five movies, including American films such as The Man with the Iron Fists and Cloud Atlas.

Zhu’s star continued to climb in 2014 after her first leading role, in the Chinese series Great Mr. Zhou, led to plenty of critical acclaim. From there she was given a female lead role in the Chinese thriller Last Flight, as well as a role in The Old Cinderella. By the end of the year, she became known worldwide thanks to her role in the Netflix series Marco Polo, an epic based on the explorer’s travels. Zhu played Kokachin, a prisoner of the leader of the Mongol Empire who encounters Marco Polo after he arrives there on his travels.

“She is Marco Polo’s love interest, so basically Kokachin and Marco Polo have the responsibility for the romance of the show,” Zhu Zhu told uInterview. “But she also has a lot of secrets. The reason I think that they connected with each other is because both of them are from outside of Khanbaliq. One is a guest and the another is a prisoner. A guest and a prisoner in the environment like that is probably not that different. She’s trying to survive and Marco as well. I think both of them are also trying to break free.”

Recently, Zhu starred in the television series The Best Partner, which ran from 2019 to 2020 and starred in the 2020 movie Qin Dynasty Epic.

Zhu Zhu Marriage and Family

In March 2021, Zhu married Wang Yunjia, a lecturer at Tsinghua University’s Fine Arts Department. In 2021, the couple welcomed their first daughter.