Story of Xin Zhilei: From Coal-Town Poverty to Venice Film Festival Queen

Story of Xin Zhilei: From Coal-Town Poverty to Venice Film Festival Queen

Story of Xin Zhilei: 

Early Life in Heihe: Childhood in a Coal Town
Xin Zhilei was born in 1986 in Heihe (often reported as Heigang), a poor, underdeveloped city in China’s northeastern Heilongjiang province, into a working-class family where both parents were manual laborers struggling to make ends meet. She grew up with a younger brother and sister, in a small home where money was always tight and basic comforts were considered luxuries, not guarantees. Even as a little girl, Xin learned responsibility quickly by the age of six she was already helping cook and look after her siblings while her parents worked long hours to keep the family afloat.​

Schoolgirl, Waitress, and Early Burdens
While still in secondary school, Xin began working as a waitress at a fast-food restaurant to support the family’s income, often heading to work straight after classes and returning home late at night. She has openly shared that there were days when she felt exhausted and invisible, but those experiences built her resilience and sharpened her understanding of hardship. Her childhood wasn’t filled with expensive toys or trips; instead, it taught her how to stretch every yuan, be independent, and dream beyond her circumstances.​

Fashion Dreams in Harbin: A Different Path First
Before becoming an actress, Xin actually wanted to be a fashion designer. She left her hometown for Harbin, the capital of Heilongjiang, to study fashion design at Harbin Huade University of Art and Design. Surrounded by fabrics, sketches, and runway inspirations, she initially imagined a life behind the scenes, creating beautiful garments. However, this period also widened her world view—she was exposed to art, cinema, and performance, and her ambition quietly began to shift from design to acting.​

Stepping into Acting: Training and Early Roles
After realizing her true passion, Xin redirected her path towards acting and received formal performance training, eventually entering the entertainment industry in the mid-2000s. Her early career was defined by supporting roles in television dramas and films, where she worked tirelessly but remained largely unknown outside industry circles. Xin took every role seriously, big or small, seeing each as a chance to improve her craft and to prove that a girl from a neglected coal town could stand out on national screens.​

Rise to Prominence: “Ruyi’s Royal Love in the Palace”
Xin’s major breakthrough came in 2016 with the period drama “Ruyi’s Royal Love in the Palace,” where she played Imperial Concubine Jia. The role demanded elegance, emotional complexity, and inner steel, all of which she delivered with remarkable nuance. Viewers across China quickly took notice; her character became one of the most talked-about figures in the series, and Xin, virtually overnight, gained a huge wave of attention and recognition. This success opened doors to higher-profile projects and elevated her from a working actress to a recognizable star.​

Versatile Performances: Television and Streaming Success
Following “Ruyi’s Royal Love in the Palace,” Xin appeared in several popular dramas, including major roles in “Joy of Life,” “Blossoms Shanghai,” and fantasy series like “Fights Break Sphere,” where she showcased her ability to move between historical, modern, romantic, and action-oriented characters. Critics praised her for bringing layered humanity and subtle emotional shifts to each role, never letting herself be boxed into one type of character. Her increasing presence in big-budget series and acclaimed ensembles established her as a versatile leading actress in Chinese television.

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Deep Personal Regrets: Family, Poverty, and Guilt
As Xin’s fame grew, she spoke candidly about the emotional scars left by her early poverty. In past interviews she admitted feeling guilt towards her family, especially regarding her late father. He was paralyzed for five years before passing away, and once asked her if she could buy him a computer so he could chat with relatives online. At that time, Xin’s finances were still extremely tight, and she could not afford one; after he died, she said she could only “burn” paper computers as offerings during yearly rituals, a memory that still hurts her and drives her to work harder. These stories reveal a woman whose success is interwoven with unresolved sorrow and deep gratitude.​

International Breakthrough: Best Actress at Venice
In 2025, Xin Zhilei achieved a career-defining milestone when she won the Best Actress award at the 82nd Venice Film Festival for her performance in the film “The Sun Rises on Us All”. The film tells a morally complex story of love, guilt, and redemption, and Xin’s portrayal was hailed as powerful, raw, and emotionally devastating. International media described her win as a triumph for an actress who had climbed from poverty and obscurity to global recognition through sheer ambition and skill. The Venice trophy has since become a symbol of how far she has come, and how far Chinese actresses can go on the world stage.​

Public Image, Brand Work, and Social Media Presence
With rising fame came brand endorsements and fashion collaborations, including luxury beauty and fashion houses that now celebrate her as a modern Chinese style icon. On social media platforms like Instagram and Weibo, Xin shares glimpses of red-carpet appearances, magazine covers, film promotions, and moments from everyday life, while keeping her family largely private. She is often praised for blending elegance with strength appearing glamorous yet grounded, and consistently acknowledging the struggles that shaped her journey.​

Current Status: A Global Chinese Star with Unfinished Ambition
As of late 2025, Xin Zhilei stands as one of China’s most acclaimed contemporary actresses, balancing big-budget domestic dramas with arthouse cinema and international festival projects. She has publicly said she is driven by “desire and ambition,” not in a superficial way, but as a determination to honor her family’s sacrifices and to keep expanding the kinds of stories Chinese women can tell on screen. With new projects in development and global directors taking interest in her work, Xin’s trajectory suggests that her Venice win is not a culmination, but a powerful midpoint in a career still on the rise

 Story of Xin Zhilei: From Coal-Town Poverty to Venice Film Festival Queen#age#networth#investor#Actress#china#Venice Film Festival#journey#story#life