51-Year-Old Actress Dies of Cancer: Husband Announces Death of Zhu Yuanyuan

Zhu Yuanyuan, the renowned Chinese actress remembered for her roles in films and TV series such as The Forest Ranger and Ocean Heaven, has died.

Zhu’s husband, actor Xin Baiqing, announced in an obituary that the actress passed away Saturday at the age of 51 after a five-year battle with cancer.

“During her nearly five-year battle with cancer, she had never been pessimistic or depressed. Instead, she had faced difficulties with firm resolve and confidence, and conveyed her love for life to everyone around her through laughter and warmth,” he wrote, adding that Zhu “left calmly and peacefully. In this way, she reminded her family not to waste every day and every second! I believe she went to where she wanted to go.”

Zhu’s death comes a little over two weeks after she finished filming the Chinese drama The City Maker, which also stars Zhao Liying and Huang Xiaoming, according to The Star. The title will now marks her final acting credit and will be released posthumously.

Remembered as a “first-class actress” who was “admired by audiences across the nation,” Zhu was born on March 18, 1974, in Qingdao, Shandong Province. She graduated from the Central Academy of Drama in 1997 and enjoyed a decades-long career that spanned the stage and screen. Following early roles in Spring Breeze in the Evening, Modern Urban Heroine, and Waiting Hall, she landed her breakout role as Li Yunfang in The Happy Life of Talkative Zhang D, earning her the Best TV Actress Award at the Beijing Chunyan Awards and Favorite Actress Award at the Golden Eagle Awards.

She is also well remembered for role as Tao Hua in 2005’s The Forest Ranger, adaptation of Zhang Ping’s novel The Attacker. She received numerous nominations for her performance, and won the Female Actor Award at the Golden Phoenix Awards. She picked up her second Golden Phoenix Award for her role in the 2012 film Love In The Family. Her other credits include Nine Daughters in My Family, A Little Red Flower, My Sister, and A Love for Separation.

Paying tribute to her, the National Theatre of China said, per Global Times, “the passing of Zhu Yuanyuan is a tremendous loss to China’s theatre and film communities and a heartbreak for countless audience. What she left behind is not only a legacy of classic stage and screen performances, but also her deep love, passion, and pursuit of the performing arts, as well as her reverence for the stage, her genuine affection for the people, and her commitment to her country. Her lifelong contribution to the cause of National Theatre of China will be forever etched into the monument of Chinese drama.”