Zhu Zhu

Actress Zhu Zhu first found fame as an MTV VJ and singer in her native China before expanding her international appeal with roles in "Cloud Atlas" (2012), "The Man with the Iron Fists" (2012) and "Marco Polo" (Netflix, 2014-). Born in Beijing in 1984, Zhu studied for a degree in Electronics and Information Engineering at her hometown's Technology and Business University before switching her attention to the entertainment world when she landed a role fronting various English-language programmes for MTV China. Not content with just introducing music videos, Zhu also had ambitions of making her own, and after signing to the MBox label in 2007, released her self-titled solo album two years later. However, it was Zhu's talents as an actress that would propel her to stardom, and following a minor role as secretary Xiao Wu in the 2011 Chinese remake of Mel Gibson romantic comedy "What Women Want" (2000), she was cast to play the parts of waitress 12th Star Clone and mathematician Megan Sexsmith in the Wachowskis' adaptation of David Mitchell's best-seller "Cloud Atlas" (2012). Zhu continued to increase her profile in the same year when she appeared as legal assistant Fang Fang in cross-cultural comedy "Shanghai Calling" (2012) and Zen-Yi's fiancee Chi Chi in martial arts epic "The Man With The Iron Fists" (2012), a role she would later reprise for its sequel, "Sting of the Scorpion" (2015). Zhu then returned to her homeland to star in a number of Chinese productions including "Be Careful of No Shadow Man" (2014), "The Old Cinderella" (2014) and "Great Mr. Zhou" (2014), before starring opposite Ed Westwick as a heroic flight attendant in supernatural thriller "Last Flight" (2014). Later that year, Zhu received critical acclaim for her portrayal of a murderous stowaway harboured by the young captain of an abandoned cargo ship in "Secret Sharer" (2014), a romantic thriller inspired by the Joseph Conrad novella of the same name. Continuing her prolific streak, Zhu joined the cast of historical epic "Marco Polo" (Netflix, 2014-) as Kokachin, the 13th Century Mongolian princess who falls in love with the titular intrepid explorer.