Zheng Shuang is a Chinese actress who was born Zheng Yihan on August 22, 1991. She rose to prominence in Meteor Shower (2009–2010) as Chu Yuxun, becoming the youngest actress to be nominated for Best Actress at the China TV Golden Eagle Awards. She appeared in the hit romance comedy drama Love O2O in 2016.
Zheng was also named one of the "Four Dan Actresses of the Post-90s Generation" (Chinese: 90) by Southern Metropolis Daily, alongside Zhou Dongyu, Guan Xiaotong, and Yang Zi.
Zheng was found guilty of tax evasion (a total of 299 million RMB) on January 20, 2021. Coupled with her surrogacy scandal, she was labeled by Chinese state regulators as "actors with poor conduct," and she was blacklisted and barred from all public appearances, with all existing public activities relating to her entertainment career forced to be canceled.
Education
Zheng Shuang graduated from Beijing Film Academy in 2011 with a bachelor of arts in performance.
Acting debut and rising popularity from 2009 to 2013.
Zheng Shuang made her acting debut in Meteor Shower, Hunan TV's remake of the hit Taiwanese drama Meteor Garden, in 2009. The drama was a huge success in China, catapulting Zheng to stardom. She also released a single for the soundtrack, "Love Waltz." Zheng was nominated for Best Actress at the 25th China TV Golden Eagle Awards, making her the youngest nominee. Zheng later reprised her role in the drama's second season, which aired in 2010.
Zheng starred in Gordon Chan's fantasy film Mural in 2011, earning her the Hong Kong Film Directors' Guild Award for Best New Actress. In the same year, she appeared in the action comedy No Limit and the historical romance drama War of Desire.
Zheng played Princess Taiping and Princess Andingsi in the historical drama Secret History of Princess Taiping in 2012. In 2013, she starred in the sequel to the 2011 hit drama The Queen of SOP 2, a fashion romance drama.
Rising Popularity from 2014 to 2020
Zheng appeared as a fox spirit in the hit fantasy action drama Swords of Legends in 2014. The popularity of the drama led to Zheng's re-evaluation, and she was named Audience Favorite Actress at the 13th Huading Awards.
Zheng appeared in her first period drama, The Cage of Love, written by Tong Hua, in 2015. At the 19th Huading Awards, she was named Best Actress in the Revolutionary-Era Drama category for her performance. She co-starred with Jing Boran in Love Weaves Through a Millennium, a remake of the South Korean time-travel romance drama Queen In-hyun's Man, and appeared on the travel reality show Divas Hit the Road the same year. Zheng won the Popular Actress award at the 1st China Television Drama Quality Ceremony due to her extensive press coverage and successful works.
In 2016, Zheng starred in the historical melodrama Chronicle of Life, which was based on Fei Wo Si Cun's novel Lonely Courtyard in Late Spring. She then played Ding Yuehua in The Three Heroes and Five Gallants, a historical mystery drama based on the 19th-century classic novel of the same name. Zheng co-starred with Yang Yang in the romance comedy drama Love O2O, which was based on Gu Man's novel of the same name. Zheng's popularity grew as a result of the drama's success both domestically and internationally.
Rush to the Dead Summer, a youth melodrama based on Guo Jingming's novel of the same name, starred Zheng alongside Chen Xuedong in 2017. The drama received praise for its realistic depiction of youth and campus life, as well as its stunning cinematography. She also co-starred in Wu Kong, a fantasy-adventure film, her first in six years.
Zheng appeared in the romance drama My Story for You with Luo Jin in 2018. The same year, she helped write the script for the science fiction romance drama Hi, I'm Saori, in which she stars. Forbes China named Zheng to their 30 Under 30 Asia 2017 list, which included 30 influential people under the age of 30 who have had a significant impact in their fields.
Zheng appeared in Zhao Baogang's female-centric youth drama Youth Fight in 2019. The same year, she co-starred with Ma Tianyu in the romance melodrama River Flows To You, based on Guo Jingming's novel Cry Me A Sad River. Zheng was set to star in the spy drama Secret Keepers, in which she would play both an undercover agent and a Japanese spy. Secret Keepers was supposed to be released on September 5, 2020, but on September 2, 2020, it was abruptly halted and postponed indefinitely. The postponement was caused by a general blacklist imposed by state regulators on a co-star, Zhao Lixin, which required the production team to edit Zhao out of the drama.
2021–present: Career halting
Scandal surrounding surrogacy
It was revealed in January 2021 that Zheng had two children born through surrogacy in the United States and had allegedly first demanded late term abortions at 7 months into the pregnancies and expressed annoyance when informed that it was illegal, then abandoned them after her relationship with their father soured. Surrogacy is not permitted in China, but due to legal loopholes, some Chinese citizens may seek to have children through surrogate mothers in other countries. In China, news of people using surrogacy is usually met with a strong backlash.
Many brands began to drop her after the news broke. Prada later fired her as a spokesperson due to "significant recent media coverage" of her "personal life." Some brands, including Lola Rose of London, Chioture of China, and Aussie of Australia, had distanced themselves from her, while others had deleted social media posts promoting her. Many of her fanclubs had also removed content featuring her with fans abandoning her.
The scandal drew the attention of state regulators, who issued statements on various state media platforms criticizing Zheng's use of surrogacy and labeling her a "problematic artiste." Zheng has since been blacklisted by state regulators, and all existing entertainment activities involving her have been forced to be cancelled. When asked anonymously, several producers stated that no future programs would want to involve Zheng. The awarding committee also revoked awards won at the 13th and 19th Huading Awards.
Meituan Waimai, a Chinese shopping platform, classified "Zheng Shuang" as a sensitive word on February 20. Users were unable to order food if they entered "Zheng Shuang" as the recipient or picker.
Evasion of taxes
Zhang Heng revealed his chat history with Zheng Shuang and her mother in April 2021, revealing Zheng received a salary of 160 million RMB (US$24.6 million) for an unreleased TV series, A Chinese Ghost Story. It was claimed that Zheng presented tax authorities with a lower taxable amount of 48 million RMB, while the remainder was charged as fees by a company owned by her mother. In 2018, China enacted legislation to limit the highest possible salary for an actor to 40%-70% of a film's production costs. This prompted a tax evasion investigation into Zheng. To save the TV show, the production team decided to replace Zheng's face with Peng Xiaoran's throughout the series.
On August 27, 2021, it was revealed that Zheng received 156 million RMB for A Chinese Ghost Story and had understated her earnings through a 'yin-yang contract' arrangement. She was found to have failed to declare 191 million RMB between 2020 and 2021, evaded 45.27 million RMB in taxes, and underpaid her taxes by 26.52 million RMB. Zheng was charged with tax evasion by China's State Taxation Administration and ordered to pay a penalty of 299 million RMB (US$46.1 million). Zheng had paid the evaded taxes and late fees, leaving only the fine outstanding. Zhang was the agent suspected of facilitating the arrangement, and he is currently being investigated. The National Radio and Television Administration also ordered the cancellation of all programs in which Zheng had appeared, including A Chinese Ghost Story.
Private life
Zheng Shuang met producer Zhang Heng in May 2018 while filming a reality show. In August 2018, the couple announced their relationship and founded a company together. On January 19, 2019, the couple exchanged wedding vows in the United States. They did, however, announce their split in December 2019. On January 18, 2021, Zhang revealed that he had been stranded in the United States for over a year to care for two children. The two children were born on December 19, 2019 and January 4, 2020 to surrogate mothers in the United States. Both Zhang and Zheng have since confirmed that they are the children's parents. Zhang claimed that Zheng abandoned the two children after the couple split up and refused to sign legal documents allowing the children to travel to China. Zheng had denied the allegations, claiming Zhang had cheated on her in September 2019 and had returned to China.
Zheng's fertility clinic is reportedly owed US$68,000 for the successful surrogacy. According to reports, the clinic also confirmed Zheng's request to terminate the pregnancies at the seventh month, which was denied. The clinic also claimed that she wanted to pay them monthly to raise the children in the United States rather than bring them back to China.
She and her family also claimed that she did not abandon the children and that she had been preparing to fight for custody since 2019. On 23 January 2021, Zheng's father revealed in a video recording that the conversation that went viral was made when Zheng and Zhang had just broken up; the family simply wanted to find any way to cut Zhang off from Zheng's life, rather than not wanting the children. Zheng's father also stated that the couple decided to have children through surrogacy due to poor health conditions caused by Zheng's work, and he apologized for 'not correctly advising Zheng's decision-making process.'
In May 2021, an American court granted Zhang full custody of the two children on the grounds that the children recognized Zhang as the sole parent. Simultaneously, the court ordered Zheng to undergo treatment for 6 months to stabilize her mental health, as well as to interact with the children three times a week to allow them to form a familial bond.
| Year | English title | Chinese title | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | No Limit | 无极限之危情速递 | Xiao'an |
| Mural | 画壁 | Mudan | |
| 2017 | Wu Kong | 悟空传 | Ah Yue |
| Year | English title | Chinese title | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Meteor Shower | 一起来看流星雨 | Chu Yuxun |
| 2010 | Meteor Shower II | 一起又看流星雨 | Chu Yuxun |
| 2011 | Secret History of Empress Wu | 武则天秘史 | Princess Taiping (teenage) |
| War of Desire | 凰图腾 | Ning Caidie | |
| 2012 | Secret History of Princess Taiping | 太平公主秘史 | Princess Taiping / Princess Andingsi (teenage) |
| Fairytale | 童话二分之一 | An Qi'er | |
| 2013 | The Queen of SOP 2 | 胜女的时代 | Mu Xiaoyan / Fang Yifei |
| 2014 | Swords of Legends | 古剑奇谭 | Xiang Ling |
| Wonder Lady | 极品女士 | Sha Sha Guimi | |
| 2015 | Love Weaves Through a Millennium | 相爱穿梭千年 | Lin Xiangxiang |
| The Four | 少年四大名捕 | Wen Bing'er | |
| The Cage of Love | 抓住彩虹的男人 | Wu Caihong | |
| Destined to Love You | 偏偏喜欢你 | Xiao Han | |
| 2016 | A Happy Life 2 | 天天有喜2之人间有爱 | Bai Xue |
| Chronicle of Life | 寂寞空庭春欲晚 | Wei Linlang (Liang'er) | |
| The Three Heroes and Five Gallants | 五鼠闹东京 | Ding Yuehua | |
| Love O2O | 微微一笑很倾城 | Bei Weiwei | |
| Beauty Private Kitchens | 美人私房菜 | Song Yudie | |
| 2017 | Rush to the Dead Summer | 夏至未至 | Li Xia |
| 2018 | My Story for You | 为了你，我愿意热爱整个世界 | Li Muzi |
| Hi, I'm Saori | 我的保姆手册 | Saori | |
| 2019 | Youth Fight | 青春斗 | Xiang Zhen |
| River Flows To You | 流淌的美好时光 | Yi Yao | |
| TBA | Secret Keepers | 绝密者 | Su Jiaman |
| Jade Lovers | 翡翠恋人 | Shen Chenxi | |
| A Chinese Ghost Story | 只问今生恋沧溟 | Nie Xiaoqian |
| Year | English title | Chinese title | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Kissing Fish | 接吻鱼 | |
| Shutter Love | 如果遇见 | Xiao Han | |
| 2014 | The Twilight Saga | 暮光之城 | Bella |
| 2016 | Jasmine Flowers | 茉等花开 | |
| 2017 | Zhu Xian: Yun Meng Valley | 诛仙云梦川 | Ling Long / Duo Yi |
| Year | English title | Chinese title | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Divas Hit the Road | 花儿与少年 | Cast member |
| 2016 | The Greatest Love | 旋风孝子 | |
| 2018 | This is Fighting Robots | 这！就是铁甲 | |
| 2019 | Meeting Mr. Right | 女儿们的恋爱 | |
| 2020 | 让生活好看 | ||
| 爆款来了 | |||
| Little Forest | 奇妙小森林 |
| Year | English title | Chinese title | Singer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | "Watching The Moon Climb Up" | 看月亮爬上来 | Jason Zhang |
| 2010 | "The Left Side of the Wing" | 左半边翅膀 | Xu Fei |
| "Happy Advancement" | 快乐出发 | EE-Media stars | |
| "Wishing For You" | |||
| 2011 | "Giving Energy Youth" | 给力青春 | |
| Year | English title | Chinese title | Album | Notes/Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | "Love's Waltz" | 爱的华尔兹 | Meteor Shower OST | |
| 2010 | "Super Fantasy" | 超梦幻 | Da Huo Shui Ni OST | |
| 2011 | "Extreme Love" | 极限爱恋 | No Limit OST | with Hans Zhang |
| 2015 | "Can't Forget" | 不能忘 | Love Weaves Through a Millennium OST | with Jing Boran |
| "Divas Hit the Road" | 花儿与少年 | Divas Hit the Road OST | ||
| 2020 | "With You by My Side" | 有你在身边 | Charity song for Coronavirus |
| Year | English title | Chinese title |
|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Zheng Shuang's Book | 郑爽的书 |
| Year | Award | Category | Nominated work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Major awards | ||||
| 2010 | 25th China TV Golden Eagle Award | Best Actress | Meteor Shower | Nominated |
| 8th China Golden Eagle TV Art Festival | Most Popular Actress | Nominated | ||
| 2012 | 6th Hong Kong Film Directors' Guild Award | Newcomer Award | Mural | Won |
| 31st Hong Kong Film Award | Best New Performer | Nominated | ||
| 2014 | 13th Huading Awards | Audience's Favorite Actress | Swords of Legends | Rescinded |
| 2016 | 19th Huading Awards | Best Actress (Revolutionary-Era Drama) | The Cage of Love | Rescinded |
| 2017 | 9th Macau International Movie Festival | Best Supporting Actress | Wu Kong | Nominated |
| 2019 | Golden Bud – The Fourth Network Film And Television Festival | Best Actress | Youth Fight, River Flows To You | Nominated |
| Popular Actress of the Year | Won | |||
| Other awards | ||||
| 2009 | China Radio International Online | Most Popular Actress | Meteor Shower | Won |
| Sohu Internet TV Festival | Most Popular Actress | Won | ||
| 2nd Mengniu Music Chart Awards Ceremony | Best Cross-over Newcomer | Won | ||
| 2010 | Sohu Internet TV Festival | Best New Actress | Meteor Shower II | Won |
| Best Couple | Won | |||
| Hunan Television Festival | Best Newcomer | — | Won | |
| 2011 | Grand Ceremony of New Forces | Most Promising Film Newcomer | — | Won |
| 2013 | Entertainment Live Television Ranking | Most Influential Actress | — | Won |
| Asian Idol Awards | Best Couple | The Queen of SOP 2 | Won | |
| 2015 | Baidu Knowledge 10th Anniversary Award Ceremony | Most Shining Celebrity | — | Won |
| Show Star Award Ceremony | Actress of the Year | — | Won | |
| Baidu Tieba Fantasy Carnival | Best On-screen Performance | — | Won | |
| The Actors of China Award Ceremony | Emerald Category: Actress | — | Won | |
| 2016 | Powerstar Award Ceremony | Most Popular Actress | — | Won |
| 5th iQiyi All-Star Carnival | Popular Actress Award | The Cage of Love, Destined to Love You | Won | |
| 1st China Television Drama Quality Ceremony | Popular Actress Award | — | Won | |
| 2017 | Asian Good Books Ranking | Best Cross-over Author | Zheng Shuang's Book | Won |
| Weibo TV Online Video Awards | Most Commercially Valuable Actor | Love O2O, Rush to the Dead Summer | Won | |
| Weibo Fans Choice Award | — | Won | ||
| Netease Entertainment Award Ceremony | Celebrity Collaborator | — | Won | |
| 2019 | Sohu Fashion Awards | Fashion Figure of the Year | — | Won |
| 11th China TV Drama Awards | Young Marketable Actress | — | Won | |
| 2020 | Weibo Awards Ceremony | Popular Artist of the Year | — | Won |
| Year | Rank |
|---|---|
| 2017 | 39th |
| 2019 | 67th |
| 2020 | 82nd |
| Body Measurements | 33-24-35 inches |
| Bodytype | Slim |
| Height | 5 feet 5 inches (1.68 m) |
| Weight | 53 kg (117 lbs) |
| Waist | 24 inches |
| Hair Color | Black |
| Eye Color | Dark Brown |
| Nickname | Zheng |
| Gender | Female |
| Age | 31 years old (in 2023) |
| Date of Birth | August 22, 1991 |
| Full Name | Zheng Shuang |
| Profession | Actress, Singer |
| Nationality | Chinese |
| Birthplace | Shenyang, China |
| Religion | Christianity |
| Zodiac Sign | Leo |
Qualification: Beijing Film Academy
Profession: Actress, Singer
Known For: Love O2O
Net Worth: $2 Million Approx
Father: Zheng Chenghua
Mother: Liu Yan
Marital Status: Single
No. of Children: 2
Past Relationships:
Zhang Heng (m. 2019; div. 2020)
Hobbies: Photoshoot, Painting
Favorite Destination: Japan
Favorite Food: Pizza
Favorite Color: Pink, Brown
,-Biography,-Wiki,-Age,-Boyfriend-&-More-134.jpg "Surabhi-Samriddhi Mehra (Chinky Minky), Biography, Wiki, Age, Boyfriend & More")
