Tang Wei

Tang Wei (born 7 October 1979) is a Chinese actress. She rose to international fame for her role in Golden Lion-winning Lust, Caution (2007) by Ang Lee, and gained further acclaim for her performances in Late Autumn (2010), Finding Mr. Right (2013), The Golden Era (2014), Long Day's Journey into Night (2018), and Decision to Leave (2022). Tang is the first and only non-Korean to be honored as the Best Actress at the Baeksang Art Awards (twice), Blue Dragon Film Awards, Chunsa Film Art Awards and Buil Film Awards. She is also the first Asian actor to have won the Trophée Chopard, which she received at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival.

Tang has appeared on multiple instances in Forbes China Celebrity 100 list, ranking 72rd in 2008, 70th in 2013, 38th in 2014, and 55th in 2015.

1979–2005: Early life and career beginnings
In 1979, Tang Wei was born in Hangzhou, Zhejiang. Her father, Tang Yuming, is a painter, and her mother, Shi Xifeng, is a Yue opera actress.

From 1992 to 1994, Tang attended school in Shenzhen, Guangdong due to her father's job. She graduated from a vocational school in Hangzhou, where she studied fine arts, in 1996 and worked as a model afterward. Initially aspiring to study acting at the Central Academy of Drama, she failed three times before being admitted to the directing program in 2000 on her fourth attempt. At university, she caught the attention of producer Yuan Hong and Taiwanese stage director Stan Lai, leading her to be cast in a production of the latter's play A Dream Like a Dream, a role she held until she was cast for the film Lust, Caution in 2006.

In 2004, Tang starred in a TV series, Policewoman Swallow (2004) and a stage play, Che Guevara. She also appeared in TV dramas Sons and Daughters of the Red Cross (2004), Leaving Seafront Street (2005), East Meets West (2005), Born in the 60s (2006) and Silent Tears (2006).

2006–09: Lust, Caution and ban
In July 2006, Tang was cast from more than 10,000 actresses to star in Ang Lee's classic film Lust, Caution (2007), adapted from Eileen Chang's novella inspired by the story of female spy Zheng Pingru. Tang learned Shanghainese and Suzhou Pingtan, which is sung in the Suzhou dialect, for her role. She won the Golden Horse Award for Best New Performer and was nominated for the Independent Spirit Award and BAFTA Award for the film.

Despite the critical acclaim for her performance, China's State Administration of Radio Film and Television (SARFT) ordered a media ban on Tang because of the sexual nature of her performance. All print ads and feature content using Tang were removed, and her endorsements were discontinued. In August, 2008, Tang obtained Hong Kong citizenship through the Quality Migrant Admission Scheme, which was expected to enable her to work in a relatively censorship-free market. She, however, was replaced by Maggie Q in Tian Zhuangzhuang's big-budget period film The Warrior and the Wolf (2009). In February 2009, during her absence from the show business, Tang briefly attended drama classes at the University of Reading in the United Kingdom.

2009–11: Return to the screen
In 2009, Bill Kong, head of Edko Films and executive producer of Lust, Caution, gave Tang a chance to relaunch herself with the Hong Kong romantic comedy Crossing Hennessy (2010), directed by Ivy Ho. For her role, Tang honed her Cantonese, which she had picked up during her school days in Shenzhen, Guangdong. Crossing Hennessy is the first film starring Tang to be shown in China since Lust, Caution, marking the lift of the ban. She was nominated for the Golden Horse Award for Best Leading Actress and Hong Kong Film Award for Best Actress for this film.

From November 2009 to March 2010, Tang filmed alongside Hyun Bin in Late Autumn (2010), directed by Kim Tae-yong. The film was shot in Seattle, Washington. Tang's performance won over South Korean audiences and made her the only non-Korean to win the Baeksang Awards for Best Actress.

In September 2010, it was announced that she was to appear in the CCP tribute film The Founding of a Party, playing the role of Tao Yi, an early girlfriend of Mao Zedong. However, her scenes were cut out in the theatrical version, allegedly at the request of Mao Zedong's grandson, Mao Xinyu. In December 2011, she dubbed the character of Pia Sahastrabuddhe, originally portrayed by Kareena Kapoor, in the Chinese version of the Bollywood film 3 Idiots (2009).

Tang returned to mainstream cinema with two major films; Speed Angels, a car-racing flick directed by Jingle Ma, and Dragon, a martial arts epic directed by Peter Chan. Though Speed Angels was a commercial flop, Dragon was successful and was named the eighth best movie of 2012 according to Time magazine.

2013–present: Career resurgence
In 2013, Tang starred opposite actor Wu Xiubo in the Xue Xiaolu-directed romantic comedy Finding Mr. Right. The sleeper hit grossed $85 million at the box office in China and Tang received rave reviews for her performance. She won Best Actress at 21st Beijing College Student Film Festival.

Tang was then cast to play writer Xiao Hong in Ann Hui's biopic The Golden Era, which closed at the Venice International Film Festival. Though highly anticipated, the film received mixed reviews and failed at the box office. However, her performance has received high praise from domestic critics.

Tang made her English-language film debut in Blackhat, an action thriller co-starring Chris Hemsworth and Wang Leehom, her co-star in Lust, Caution (2007). She also starred in A Tale of Three Cities, based on the wartime experiences of Jackie Chan's parents. During the shooting of The Tale of Three Cities in Shanghai, Tang fell victim to a telecommunications scam and was swindled out of $34,692 (210,000 yuan).

Tang and Wu teamed up again to film the sequel to Finding Mr. Right (2013), titled Book of Love (2016), which was a commercial success. With this film, she was nominated as the Best Actress in Hong Kong Film Awards for the sixth time, setting a record for nominations, but did not win the award in history.

In 2017, Tang was cast as the female lead of Long Day's Journey Into Night, directed by Bi Gan. The film was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival.

In 2019, Tang returned to the small screen with the historical drama Empress of the Ming. The same year, she starred in the film The Whistleblower directed by Xue Xiaolu.

In 2022, Tang starred in the South Korean mystery-romance film Decision to Leave, directed by Park Chan-Wook, to critical acclaim. In April 2022, the film was selected to compete for the Palme d'Or at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival, where Park Chan-wook won Best Director. For her role as a Chinese immigrant to South Korea who is suspected of murder, Tang became the first non-Korean honored as the Best Actress at the Baeksang Art Awards, which was for the second time, Blue Dragon Film Awards, Chunsa Film Art Awards and Buil Film Awards.

Endorsements
In 2011, Tang became brand ambassador for Japanese cosmetics brand SK-II. Since 2015, she has been the global brand ambassador of SK-II. In August 2021, Tang became the global face of the SK-II's "My PITERA™ Story" skincare campaign, along with Ni Ni, Ayase Haruka and Chloe Grace Moretz.

In 2013, Tang became the global face of Piaget's rose jewelry collection campaign. Since 2014, she has been selected as global spokesperson for Swiss luxury watch brand Rado.

Since 2021, British makeup and skincare brand Charlotte Tilbury has chosen Tang as its very first global makeup ambassador. In 2022, she was also become the first global brand ambassador for watches and jewelry brand Lola Rose.

Since 2022, Tang has served as a global brand ambassador for Spanish luxury fashion house Loewe. She was the global face that July for Loewe's pre-fall 2022 collection campaign along with Anthony Hopkins, Jessie Buckley, Josh O'Connor, Kaia Gerber and more. In November of that year, Tang was named as the global face of the Loewe's spring/summer 2023 collection campaign along with Taylor Russell, Luca Guadagnino, Naomi Ackie, Chloë Sevigny and more. In January 2023, she became the global face of the Loewe's Year of Rabbit Collection campaign. In August 2023, Tang starred as the global face of the Loewe's Womenswear Fall-Winter 2023 campaign along with Taylor Russell that shot by British fashion photographer David Sims.

In May 2023, Chopard, a Swiss brand for luxury watches, jewelry and accessories, announced Tang as its brand ambassador following her attendance at the 76th Cannes Film Festival. Since September 2023, Chopard had announced Tang as its Global Brand Ambassador.

In November 2023, Tang has served as a global brand ambassador for British luxury fashion house Burberry.

Personal life
In 2014, Tang married South Korean film director Kim Tae-yong in the front yard of the home of Ingmar Bergman on the remote Swedish island of Fårö. A formal wedding ceremony was later held in Hong Kong, with only immediate family members as guests. In August 2016, Tang Wei gave birth to their daughter, Summer.

Other honors

 * 2004 - Miss Universe China finalist
 * 2007 - New York Times listed her as one of the Best 15 Performers in 2007
 * 2007 - Variety's top 10 actors to watch
 * 2022 - New York cinema's Metrograph honors her with "Starring Tang Wei" throughout November