Ni Ni (Chinese: 倪妮; pinyin: Ní Nī, born 8 August 1988) is a Chinese actress best known for portraying Yu Mo in the 2011 film The Flowers of War, directed by Zhang Yimou; and Ling Xi in the 2019 television series Love and Destiny. She is considered to be one of the “New Four Dan Actresses” by Southern Metropolis Daily.^[1]

Ni was born on 8 August 1988 in Nanjing, Jiangsu, China. She graduated from the Communication University of China, Nanjing, majoring in television broadcasting and hosting.^[2]

Ni made her debut in Zhang Yimou's war film The Flowers of War, playing the lead female character "Yu Mo".^[3] She received acclaim for her performance in the film and rose to fame.^[4]

In 2012 and 2013, Li starred in the mystery film Redemption alongside Liu Ye,^[5] romance film Love Will Tear Us Apart and road-trip drama film Up in the Wind.^[6][7]

In 2014, Ni starred in the coming-of-age film Fleet of Time.^[8][9] In 2015, Ni starred alongside Angelababy in the Chinese remake of Bride Wars.^[10]

In 2016, Ni starred in the Chinese-French fantasy The Warriors Gate, written by Luc Besson.^[11] The same year, she starred in the romantic comedy film Suddenly Seventeen, directed by Zhang Yimou's daughter.^[12]

In 2017, Ni starred in fantasy action film Wu Kong,^[13] as well as science fiction wuxia film The Thousand Faces of Dunjia directed by Tsui Hark.^[14]

In 2018, Ni starred in her first television drama, The Rise of Phoenixes alongside Chen Kun. She released her first single, "Why to No Avail" as part of the soundtrack of the series.^[15][16] Forbes China listed Ni under their 30 Under 30 Asia 2017 list which consisted of 30 influential people under 30 years old who have had a substantial effect in their fields.^[17]

In 2019, Ni returned to the big screen in the crime heist film Savage.^[18] She then made her theater debut in the play One One Zero Eight directed by Stan Lai.^[19] The same year, Ni starred in the fantasy romance drama Love and Destiny alongside Chang Chen.^[20] The series received positive reviews, and Ni gained acclaim for her portrayal of a fairy maiden that went through numerous struggles to attain happiness.^[21]

In 2020, Ni starred alongside Andy Lau in the action thriller Shock Wave 2.^[22] The same year she returned to television in CCTV-8's My Best Friend's Story, which earned her a Magnolia Award for Best Actress nomination at the 27th Shanghai Television Festival.^[23]

In 2021, Ni starred in romantic-drama film Yanagawa, directed by Korean-Chinese filmmaker Zhang Lü. For her highly praised performance in this film, she was nominated for Best Actress at the 35th Golden Rooster Awards.^[24] In the same year, Ni was cast in the drama Night Wanderer, adapted from the popular time-travel themed novel "Ye Lv Ren" (夜旅人) by Zhao Xi Zhi alongside Deng Lun.^[25]

In 2022, Ni made her return to the big screen in Lost in the Stars alongside Zhu Yilong, a mystery crime film was produced by Chen Sicheng. The film was then released theatrically in early 2023 and became a huge commercial success when it grossed over ¥3.524 billion at the box office in China^[26][27] and won her the Golden Deer Award for Best Actress at the 18th Changchun Film Festival.^[28]

Ni has been the Chinese ambassador for Jaeger-LeCoultre since 2011^[29] and now a global spokesperson for Jaeger-LeCoultre.^[30][31] She was named as the global ambassador for SK-II in 2013.^[32][33][34]

In 2014, she was selected to be the brand ambassador for Uniqlo in China,^[35] and became a global spokesperson for Uniqlo since 2019.^[36]

She was the official global ambassador of Tiffany & Co. between 2017 and 2019.^[37][38]

Ni has been the official brand ambassador of Gucci since 2017^[39] and a global ambassador for Gucci's Eyewear since 2019.^[40] Since 2022, she has been announced as Global Brand Ambassador of Gucci.^[41] She became the global face of Gucci Eyewear through various collections' campaigns such as Spring Summer 2017,^[42] Fall Winter 2017,^[43] Spring Summer 2018,^[44] Fall Winter 2018,^[45] Sprring Summer 2019,^[46] Fall Winter 2019,^[47] Spring Summer 2020,^[48] Spring Summer 2021,^[49] Fall Winter 2021,^[50] Spring Summer 2022,^[51] Fall Winter 2022,^[52] Spring Summer 2023,^[53] Fall Winter 2023 ^[54] and Spring Summer 2024.^[55] In January 2020, she became the global face of the Gucci's Chinese New Year with Mickey Mouse-themed collection campaign along with Earl Cave and Zoë Bleu that shot by American photographer and director Harmony Korine.^[56] In January 2024, Ni starred as the global face of the Gucci's Valigeria campaign for the Savoy collection along with her co-star in the TV series Love and Destiny - Chang Chen.^[57][58][59]

Ni had been the global spokesperson of Bobbi Brown Cosmetics since 2019^[60][61] and a global ambassador of Cindy Chao The Art Jewel since 2021.^[62]

Since 2022, French luxury beauty house Lancôme announced Ni as their Global Skincare and Fragrance Ambassador.^[63][64]

In 2022, Ni had been the brand spokesperson of L'Oréal Hair-care.^[65] Since 2024, Vaseline announced Ni as the brand spokesperson in the Asia-Pacific region.^[66]