Wu Yan Shu, born in Guangzhou, Guangdong, is a Chinese actress of theater, film and television. Starting her career in 1960 at Shanxi Grand Theatre, she has appeared in both films and television as a supporting actress. In 1970, she was invited by the Chinese first premier Zhou Enlai, to play Liu Hu Lan at the Great Hall of the People. She was serving as a director when she retired from the theater in 2003.

In 2010, her husband and both of her parents passed away, and she moved to Beijing with her daughter. In 2011, one of her students who was working as an actor coordinator in Zhang Jizhong’s adaptation of the Chinese classic tale, Journey to the West, recommended her for the role of Boddhisatva Pilanpo, and she agreed to appear in the television adaption. Her cameo proved to be a breakthrough role for her, and she reinvented herself at the age of 72.

In 2016, her role as Tang Xiu Yi in a romantic comedy, Finding Mr. Right 2, earned her Best Supporting Actress nomination at the 53rd Golden Horse Awards. In the same year, for her role as Ma Jia Lao in the drama film Relocate, she won the Best Supporting Actress award at the 31st Golden Rooster Awards, the Chinese equivalent of the Academy Awards.

A major supporting role the following year, Love Education (2017) added further acclaim to her career, and she was nominated for Best Supporting Actress at the 54th Golden Horse Awards, 37th Hong Kong Film Awards and 12th Asian Film Awards. At the age of 84, for her performance in the 2022 film Song of Spring, she won a Tiantian Award for Best actress art 13th Beijing International Film Festival.

Wu was married to Zhang Yi Fei, a known music composer and conductor based in Shanxi, until his death in 2010. She has a daughter named Zhang He Er, who is a screenwriter based in Beijing. Wu is regarded as National Class-A Actor in China.

(Source: Laitimes; Min.News; Wikipedia) Edit Biography