Wu Yanshu

Wu Yanshu (Chinese: 吴彦姝; born 1938) is a Chinese actress. Wu is considered a National Class-A Actor in China.[1][2]

Wu Yanshu
吴彦姝
Born1938 (age 85–86)
OccupationActress
Years active1960s–present
AgentShanxi Drama Theatre
Children1
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese吳彥姝
Simplified Chinese吴彦姝

Wu first garnered recognition for her acting in 2016, when her performance in Finding Mr. Right 2 and earned her a Golden Horse Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress. Her film breakthrough came in 2017 with her performance as the grandmother in the drama film Love Education, for which she received Best Supporting Actress nominations at the 54th Golden Horse Awards, 37th Hong Kong Film Awards and 12th Asian Film Awards. For her role in Relocate, she won a Best Supporting Actress at the 31st Golden Rooster Awards, the Chinese equivalent of the Academy Awards.

Early life

Born in 1938, Wu worked at Shanxi Drama Theatre since the 1960s. Premier Zhou Enlai invited her to perform Liu Hulan in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. She retired in 2003. In 2011 she moved to Beijing, living with her daughter.[citation needed]

Career

Wu's first major film credit was Stream Is Singing, playing the role of Gao Xiaoling. The drama film was produced by Changchun Film Studio.

In 1982, she guest-starred on Men of a Certain Age, a drama film starring Da Shichang and Pan Hong.

Wu had a supporting role in the comedy television series The Story of Xi Gengtian (2006), which starred Lin Yongjian as Xi Gengtian.

In 2011, Wu had a cameo appearance in Journey to the West, adapted from Wu Cheng'en's classical novel of Journey to the West, one of the Four Great Classical Novels in Chinese literature.

Wu appeared as Yu Lan in Love is Not Blind (2013), a romance drama starring Yao Di and Zhang Mo.

In 2016, Wu played the role of Tang Xiuyi in Xue Xiaolu's film Finding Mr. Right 2, for which she received a Best Supporting Actress nomination at the 53rd Golden Horse Awards.[3]

Wu had key supporting role in the 2017 Love Education, directed by Sylvia Chang.[4][5] She was praised for her role and earned critical acclaim for her performance. And she was nominated for Best Supporting Actress at the 54th Golden Horse Awards, 37th Hong Kong Film Awards and 12th Asian Film Awards.[6][7] At the same year, Wu's performance in the feature film Relocate which garnered her a Best Supporting Actress at the 31st Golden Rooster Awards.[8]

Personal life

Wu's husband was a composer and chairman of Shanxi Provincial Musicians Association.[citation needed] Her daughter is a screenwriter.[citation needed]

Filmography

Film

YearEnglish titleChinese titleRoleNotes
1959Stream Is Singing流水欢歌Gao Xiaoling
1982Men of a Certain Age人到中年Aunt Bai
2011The Faithful Brothers信义兄弟Mother
2016Finding Mr. Right 2北京遇上西雅图之不二情书Tang Xiuyi
2017Relocate搬迁Old Mrs. Ma
Love Education相爱相亲Grandmother (Yue Zengshi)
2018Last Letter你好,之华Chen Guizhi
Animal World动物世界Old woman
2019温暖之城之红日亭Grandma Jin
Fagara花椒之味Grandmother
The Whistleblower吹哨人Gao's wife
2020旦后Lin Bo'er (old)
2021Embrace Again穿过寒冬拥抱你Xie Yongqin
Tracing Her Shadow又见奈良Chen Huiming
A Hustle Bustle New Year没有过不去的年Song Baozhen
All About My Mother关于我妈的一切Grandmother
The Bamboo Hat红尖尖Grandmother
不老奇事Su Lingfang
2022Only Fools Rush In四海
请别相信她
Song of Spring妈妈Mother

TV series

YearEnglish titleChinese titleRoleNotes
2002Love of Life and Death生死之恋Mother Wang
2006The Story of Xi Gengtian喜耕田的故事Mother of Xuan Zhu
2009At Middle Age人到中年Aunt Bai
2010Cellphone手机Mother of Wu Yue
2011Journey to the West西游记Pilanpo Bodhisattva
2012Police Story of Yingpan Town营盘镇警事Mother of Dang Yu
2013Raise Children to Provide Against Old Age养儿防老Grandma
Love is Not Blind失恋三十三天Yu Lan
2014Government Audit国家审计Mother of Zhou Weihai
2017Seeking Mr. Right北京遇上西雅图Grandma
2018When We Were Young人不彪悍枉少年grandmother of Hua Biao
Madhouse疯人院Zhao Yi
2019My True Friend我的真朋友Chen Bijun
2020My Best Friend's Story流金岁月Jiang Nansun's grandmother
Shichahai什刹海Aunt Zhong
2021Faith Makes Great理想照耀中国Yan Hongying (old)
美好的日子Mrs. Jiang

Theater

YearEnglish titleChinese titleRoleNotes
1960sLiu Hulan刘胡兰Liu Hulan
Sentinels Under Neon Lights霓虹灯下的哨兵Lin Yuanyuan

Awards and nominations

YearNominated workAwardResultNotes
Beijing International Film Festival
2022Song of SpringBest ActressWon[9]
Golden Horse Awards
2016Finding Mr. Right 2Best Supporting ActressNominated
2017Love EducationBest Supporting ActressNominated
Golden Rooster Awards
2017RelocateBest Supporting ActressWon
Hong Kong Film Awards
2018Love EducationBest Supporting ActressNominated
Asian Film Awards
2018Love EducationBest Supporting ActressNominated

References