Wu Yanshu

Wu Yanshu (; born 1938) is a Chinese actress. Wu is considered a National Class-A Actor in China.

Wu first garnered recognition for her acting in 2016, when her performance in Finding Mr. Right 2 and earned her a Golden Horse Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress. Her film breakthrough came in 2017 with her performance as the grandmother in the drama film Love Education, for which she received Best Supporting Actress nominations at the 54th Golden Horse Awards, 37th Hong Kong Film Awards and 12th Asian Film Awards. For her role in Relocate, she won a Best Supporting Actress at the 31st Golden Rooster Awards, the Chinese equivalent of the Academy Awards.

Early life Born in 1938, Wu worked at Shanxi Drama Theatre since the 1960s. Premier Zhou Enlai invited her to perform Liu Hulan in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. She retired in 2003. In 2011 she moved to Beijing, living with her daughter.

Career Wu's first major film credit was Stream Is Singing, playing the role of Gao Xiaoling. The drama film was produced by Changchun Film Studio.

In 1982, she guest-starred on Men of a Certain Age, a drama film starring Da Shichang and Pan Hong.

Wu had a supporting role in the comedy television series The Story of Xi Gengtian (2006), which starred Lin Yongjian as Xi Gengtian.

In 2011, Wu had a cameo appearance in Journey to the West, adapted from Wu Cheng'en's classical novel of Journey to the West, one of the Four Great Classical Novels in Chinese literature.

Wu appeared as Yu Lan in Love is Not Blind (2013), a romance drama starring Yao Di and Zhang Mo.

In 2016, Wu played the role of Tang Xiuyi in Xue Xiaolu's film Finding Mr. Right 2, for which she received a Best Supporting Actress nomination at the 53rd Golden Horse Awards.

Wu had key supporting role in the 2017 Love Education, directed by Sylvia Chang. She was praised for her role and earned critical acclaim for her performance. And she was nominated for Best Supporting Actress at the 54th Golden Horse Awards, 37th Hong Kong Film Awards and 12th Asian Film Awards. At the same year, Wu's performance in the feature film Relocate which garnered her a Best Supporting Actress at the 31st Golden Rooster Awards.

Personal life Wu's husband was a composer and chairman of Shanxi Provincial Musicians Association. Her daughter is a screenwriter.

Filmography Film Year English title Chinese title Role Notes 1959 Stream Is Singing Gao Xiaoling 1982 Men of a Certain Age Aunt Bai 2011 The Faithful Brothers Mother 2016 Finding Mr. Right 2 Tang Xiuyi 2017 Relocate Old Mrs. Ma Love Education Grandmother (Yue Zengshi) 2018 Last Letter Chen Guizhi Animal World Old woman 2019 Grandma Jin Fagara Grandmother The Whistleblower Gao's wife 2020 Lin Bo'er (old) 2021 Embrace Again Xie Yongqin Tracing Her Shadow Chen Huiming A Hustle Bustle New Year Song Baozhen All About My Mother Grandmother The Bamboo Hat Grandmother Su Lingfang 2022 Only Fools Rush In Song of Spring Mother

TV series Year English title Chinese title Role Notes 2002 Love of Life and Death Mother Wang 2006 The Story of Xi Gengtian Mother of Xuan Zhu 2009 At Middle Age Aunt Bai 2010 Cellphone Mother of Wu Yue 2011 Journey to the West Pilanpo Bodhisattva 2012 Police Story of Yingpan Town Mother of Dang Yu 2013 Raise Children to Provide Against Old Age Grandma Love is Not Blind Yu Lan 2014 Government Audit Mother of Zhou Weihai 2017 Seeking Mr. Right Grandma 2018 When We Were Young grandmother of Hua Biao Madhouse Zhao Yi 2019 My True Friend Chen Bijun 2020 My Best Friend's Story Jiang Nansun's grandmother Shichahai Aunt Zhong 2021 Faith Makes Great Yan Hongying (old) Mrs. Jiang 2024 Best Choice Ever 承欢记 Chen Shuzhen

Theater Year English title Chinese title Role Notes 1960s Liu Hulan Liu Hulan Sentinels Under Neon Lights Lin Yuanyuan

Awards and nominations Year Nominated work Award Result Beijing International Film Festival 2022 Song of Spring Best Actress Golden Horse Awards 2016 Finding Mr. Right 2 Best Supporting Actress 2017 Love Education Best Supporting Actress Golden Rooster Awards 2017 Relocate Best Supporting Actress Hong Kong Film Awards 2018 Love Education Best Supporting Actress Asian Film Awards 2018 Love Education Best Supporting Actress