Zhang Tian'ai

For the Hong Kong actress, see Flora Cheong-Leen.

In this Chinese name, the family name is Zhang.

Zhang Tian'ai (Chinese: 张天爱; born 28 October 1988), also known by her English name Crystal Zhang, is a Chinese actress and model. She is best known for her breakout role in the 2015 hit web-drama Go Princess Go.

Zhang Tian'ai
张天爱
Zhang at the 2019 Tokyo International Film Festival
Born	(1988-10-28) 28 October 1988 (age 36)[1][2][3] Harbin, Heilongjiang
Alma mater	Beijing Film Academy
Occupations	Actress Model
Years active	2008–present
Agent	FWS (北京喜天影视文化有限公司)
Relatives	Zhang Yan (brother)
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese	張天愛
Simplified Chinese	张天爱
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Zhāng Tiān'aì

Early life and education

Zhang Tian'ai was born 28 October 1988 in Harbin, Heilongjiang. Zhang attended high school in Japan, majoring in costume design. She then enrolled in the Beijing Film Academy.^[4]

Career

2008–2014: Beginnings and rising popularity

In 2008, Zhang was invited by South Korean director Woody Han to star in Korean short film Cherry Blossom alongside Korean actor Kim Soo-hyun.^[5] After which, she continued to appear in minor supporting roles whilst working as an advertisement model.^[6] Zhang made her official acting debut in the drama The Second Life of My Husband, which aired in 2013.

Zhang first gained attention in 2014 when she acted alongside Sun Honglei in spy drama The Legendary Sniper.^[7] She won the Best Supporting Actress award at the 2nd Hengdian Film and TV Festival of China for her performance.^[8][9]

2015–present: Breakout and leading roles

In 2015, Zhang starred in the historical romance web drama Go Princess Go. The low-budget series unexpectedly became a commercial hit, and shot Zhang to fame.^[9] Following her fame, Zhang was cast in bigger projects.

In 2016, Zhang starred in the romance film I Belonged to You alongside Deng Chao.^[10] The film was a commercial success and earned more than 800 million yuan ($118 million) at the box office.^[9]

In 2017, she starred in comedy film Father and Son with Da Peng and Fan Wei, and in fantasy adventure film Legend of the Naga Pearls with Darren Wang.^[11][12] She also featured in the war film The Founding of an Army as Soong Mei-ling,^[13][14] as well as fantasy-mystery film Legend of the Demon Cat directed by Chen Kaige.^[15] Zhang was nominated at the Hundred Flowers Award for Best Supporting Actress with her performance as Soong.^[16]

In 2018, Zhang starred in the romantic comedy drama The Evolution Of Our Love alongside Zhang Ruoyun.^[17] The same year, she starred as the female lead Ying Huanhuan in fantasy-action drama Martial Universe alongside Yang Yang.^[18]

In 2019, Zhang starred in the aviation disaster film The Captain as a flight attendant.^[19][20] The same year she starred in the workplace romance drama Crocodile and Plover Bird as an aspiring environmentalist.^[21]

In 2020, Zhang appeared in CCTV New Year's Gala for the first time, performing a dance number titled "Quan".^[22] She is set to star in the historical film A'mai Joins the Army as the titular character. The same year, she was cast in the wuxia drama Sword Snow Stride written by Wang Juan.^[23]

From May 20 to August 5, 2022, Zhang participated in the third season of Sisters Who Make Waves, a Chinese survival reality television show where female celebrities over 30 years old competes to debut in a ten-member girl group. She eventually placed tenth in the finals and debuted in X-Sister.

Filmography

Film

Year	English title	Chinese title	Role	Notes/Ref.
2009	Cherry Blossom	落櫻	Zhang Lina	Short film[5]
2014	Uncle Victory	勝利		Cameo
2016	I Belonged to You	從你的全世界路過	Yao Ji	[10]
2017	Father and Son	父子雄兵	Liu Wen	[11]
	The Founding of an Army	建军大业	Soong Mei-ling	[13]
	Legend of the Naga Pearls	鮫珠傳	Hei Yu	[12]
	Legend of the Demon Cat	妖貓傳	Yu Lian	[15]
	Travel Through an Alluring Smile	穿越笑倾城		Short film[24]
2018	Miss Puff	泡芙小姐	Civil Affairs Bureau' employee	Cameo[25]
	Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse	蜘蛛侠：平行宇宙	Gwen Stacy	Voice-dubbed[26]
2019	The Captain	中国机长	Huang Jia	[20]
2021	A'mai Joins the Army	阿麦从军	Mai Sui

Television series

Year	English title	Chinese title	Role	Network	Notes
2013	The Second Life of My Husband	老公的春天		Anhui TV	Guest appearance
	Mop Lady's Spring	抹布女也有春天	An Di	Jiangsu TV
2014	Strange Coffee	怪咖啡	Zhu Liye	Tencent	[27]
	The Legendary Sniper	二炮手	Ling Zhiyu	Dragon TV, Jiangsu TV, Zhejiang TV	[7]
2015	Go Princess Go	太子妃升職記	Zhang Pengpeng	LeTV	[9]
	Men	男人帮·朋友	Mu Tian		[28]
2016	My Fair Lady	我的朋友陳白露小姐	Hai Tang	iQiyi	[29]
2018	The Evolution of Our Love	爱情进化论	Ai Ruoman	Dragon TV, Zhejiang TV	[17]
	Martial Universe	武动乾坤	Ying Huanhuan	Dragon TV	[18]
2019	Crocodile and Plover Bird	鳄鱼与牙签鸟	Li Nan'en	Hunan TV	[21]
2020	Held in the Lonely Castle	清平乐	Chen Xichun		Guest appearance[30]
	Together	在一起	Nurse	Dragon TV
TBA	If I Can Never Love You	如果可以，绝不爱你	Zhou Ran	Youku
	Young and Beautiful	我的漂亮朋友	Liu Wenjing	Tencent	[31]
	Sword Snow Stride	雪中悍刀行	Nangong Pushe		[23]

Television shows

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref.
2022	Sisters Who Make Waves Season 3	Contestant	Chinese survival reality show that determined X-Sister members Finished 10th	[32]

Variety show

Year	English title	Chinese title	Role	Network	Notes/Ref.
2019	Aiya Good Figure	哎呀好身材	Cast member	Mango TV	[33]

Discography

Year	English title	Chinese title	Album	Notes
2016	"Between Us"	我们之间		I Belonged to You
2020	"Hand in Hand"	手足		Charity song for Coronavirus[34]

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Nominated work	Result	Ref.
2015	2nd Hengdian Film and TV Festival of China	Best Supporting Actress	The Legendary Sniper	Won	[8]
	Mobile Video Festival	Charismatic Actress Award	—	Won	[35]
2016	1st Golden Guduo Media Awards	Best Actress	Go Princess Go	Won	[36]
		Weibo Fans' Choice Popularity Award		Won
	L'Officiel Fashion Night	Most Talented Actor	—	Won	[37]
	Weibo Fan Festival	Powerstar Ranking Person of the Year	—	Won	[38]
	23rd Cosmo Beauty Ceremony	Rising Idol Award	—	Won	[39]
	Youku Young Choice Awards	Hot Artist of the Year	—	Won	[40]
2017	China Original Literature Billboard Awards	Most Popular Actress	I Belonged to You	Won	[41]
	Weibo Night Awards	Popular Artist of the Year	—	Won	[42]
	2nd Weibo Movie Awards Ceremony	Most Anticipated Film Goddess	—	Won	[43]
2018	34th Hundred Flowers Awards	Best Supporting Actress	The Founding of an Army	Nominated	[16]
2019	Weibo Night Awards	Popular Artist of the Year	—	Won	[44]
	4th China Quality Television Drama Ceremony	Breakthrough Actress Award (Weekly drama)	Martial Universe	Won	[45]
	6th The Actors of China Award Ceremony	Best Actress (Emerald Category)		Nominated	[46]
	32nd Tokyo International Film Festival Gold Crane Awards	Most Popular Actress	The Captain	Won	[47]
	16th Esquire Man At His Best Awards	Breakthrough Artist of the Year	—	Won	[48]
2020	Weibo Awards Ceremony	Rising Artist of the Year	—	Won	[49]