Zhao Na

Zhao Na is a Shandong-born actress. In 1976 she was admitted to Shandong Drama Theater, and later transferred to the acting troupe of the Bayi Film Studio. She began her film career in 1980, appearing in works such as The Death of the Marshal, Hua Zhiqiao, and The Dadu River; in The Death of the Marshal she played Wu Tonghua, a descendant of a martyr. In 1981 she acted in the dramatic film Xu Mao and His Daughters, collaborating with Tian Hua and Siqin Gaowa. In 1982 she starred in Journey to the Tianshan, playing Li Qian. In 1983 she appeared in Where There Is Romance. In 1985 she entered the Beijing Film Academy’s Special Class for Performing Cadres; that same year, while studying, she recorded the teachers’ words and would listen to them verbatim in the dormitory. Due to a romantic relationship, she left the film factory, taking her son and moving to Shenzhen to work in Qingdao Beer sales as a single mother.

In 1987 she appeared in the wartime drama Eight Women Jumping into the River, completing near-shot scenes in temperatures more than 30 degrees below zero Celsius. In 1988 she acted in Death Track. Thereafter she engaged in business in her hometown and made a comeback in acting. In the summer of 2002 she reconnected with Du Zhiguo through a friend; they married on January 2, 2004, and later divorced. In May 2004 she took part in the Movie Channel’s 8th anniversary special program “Youth, Oh Youth,” marking her first reunion with classmates from the 1980s.

Regarding her personal history, Zhao Na’s former husband is Zhu Yanping, who starred in the TV series Wu Song. The couple met and married in 1980 in The Death of the Marshal and had a son; after divorcing due to personal reasons, Zhao Na left the film industry, took her son abroad, and later returned home to do business and make a comeback, with their son eventually being sent to Australia for study. In the summer of 2002 she again met Du Zhiguo; they married on January 2, 2004 and subsequently divorced. Zhao Na was one of 23 students in Beijing Film Academy’s 1985 acting department “Star Class,” i.e., the Class of ’85. Her 1980s film work includes The Dadu River, Hua Zhiqiao, The Death of the Marshal, Journey to the Tianshan, Xu Mao and His Daughters, Where There Is Romance, among others; her later screen work includes the 2011 TV series Water Margin, in which she played Li Mama.