Zhang Ruonan (, born 14 November 1996) is a Chinese actress and model. She is known for her roles in the films Cry Me a Sad River (2018), My Love (2021), and ' (2023); for series A Date with the Future (2023), ' (2023), ' (2024), The First Frost (2025), and ' (2026). She received nomination for Best Actress at the notable Asian Television Awards for her role in The First Frost.
Ruonan ranks among the highest-grossing Chinese film actresses and is top 1 among actresses born after 1995; her movies My Love and ', both collectively surpassed ÃÂ¥1 Billion at the box office.
In 2025, she was awarded at Dragon TV Drama Quality Festival and Bazaar Gala. She is regularly ranked in the "Top 10 C-Drama Artists in Global Markets".
Ruonan was born in Wenzhou, Zhejiang. She completed her primary education in Shijiazhuang, the capital city of Hebei province, where her parents ran a business. She has three younger siblings: two sisters and a brother.
In 2015, Ruonan studied graphic design at the Hangzhou Dianzi University. She worked as a model during college years and shared her portfolio on Weibo. She participated in a campus beauty contest and was selected among the "Top 30 Finalists", which led to modeling opportunities. She filmed a short movie advertisement for a Chinese airline during this time.
In 2017, Ruonan was invited via a private message from the official Weibo account of the film Cry Me a Sad River to play a role in the project; she portrayed "Gu Senxiang", who meets a tragic end after being bullied. On 21 September 2018, directed by Guo Jingming the film's nationwide release, marked her solo lead debut.
In 2020, Ruonan made her small screen debut in iQIYI's romantic series ', produced by Zhao Wei. She starred in Youku's historical romantic comedy ', where she portrayed Tan Lingyin, a writer and government official. In the realistic short film College Entrance Examination 2020, she portrayed as an aspiring student, this aired during the "National Day Gift: Hunan TV's Blue Moon Mid-Autumn Festival". In December, her fantasy romance film ' exceeded ÃÂ¥ 200 Million within five days; she played Ji Ze, a folk singer struggling with depression. She performed a song "Diary of Love" alongside Wei Daxun during Hunan TV's "Pinduoduo 12.12 Super Fighting Night".
In 2021, Ruonan starred as Liang Nuo in the army themed series The Glory of Youth aired on Jiangsu Satellite TV. She appeared in the emotional youth film My Love, alongside Greg Hsu, she played a character insecure due to a broken family. She starred in the revolutionary historical film The Pioneer, directed by Xu Zhanxiong. In August, she starred in the female oriented drama ', she played a girl with "Princess syndrome" raised in luxury. She appeared in Youku's emotional inspirational drama Psychologist.
In 2022, Ruonan participated in the iQIYI' s outdoor camping reality show Let's Camp Together. In Defying the Storm she portrayed "Meng Haitang", a character born into a scholarly family. In August, she participated in season 6 of the celebrity reality show Chinese Restaurant.
In 2023, she starred in the youth love All These Years, and in the romantic comedy Too Beautiful to Lie films. She also starred in the fire fighting series A Date with the Future, alongside William Chan. In 2024, Ruonan appeared as the lead in the romantic comedy ' with Chen Xingxu. She played the rookie lawyer Cheng Yao in the series.
In 2025, Ruonan starred in the series The First Frost alongside Bai Jingting, an adaptation of the romantic novel by Zhu Yi. It set record of fastest 10000 popularity index on Youku, within two days of its release, trended in "Top 3 Television Show" on Netflix, and earned her "Top C-Drama artists in the Global Market".
In 2026, Ruonan played a leading role in ' alongside Bai Yu, Lin Yun and Wang Yanlin, premiered on iQIYI. The series is a key literary and artistic project under the "Beijing Grand Audiovisual" initiative of the Beijing Municipal Radio and Television Bureau. Set in Beijing from the 1990s to 2018, it focuses on the artistic dream-pursuing journey of young people who moved to Beijing, showcasing their real-life struggles and growth in fields like scriptwriting and musical performance.
In August 2025, Ruonan was appointed as China's ambassador for Givenchy, the French luxury fashion brand. Ruonan has been attending Givenchy fashion shows in Paris since March 2025.
In 2019, Maybelline New York appointed Zhang Ruonan as its ambassador. In the same year, Ruonan was introduced as the Smile Healing Ambassador for Amore Pacific's IOPE and Shu Uemura's Brand Colour Friend. She became a brand ambassador for Guming Tea this year.
In 2021, Lola Rose Watch London confirmed Ruonan as its new brand ambassador. She was the spokesperson for Chery eQ1 Ant car. Ruonan also appeared in campaigns of Sephora, Lancome and SkinCeuticals as a brand friend in 2021.
In 2022, Ruonan was chosen as the Hair Care Ambassador for Pantene and the Brand Attitude Ambassador for Dove. She collaborated with Dior as a brand friend for the campaigns in 2022. Ruonan had been the ambassador for Proya Skincare from 2022 to February 2026.
In 2023, Ruonan was confirmed as the spokesperson for the high-end fragrance DearIrean and a shoes brand.
In April 2025, Ruonan was selected as the Image Ambassador for OPPO Find X8 and a brand spokesperson for Junlebao Jianchun Yogurt. In September 2025, Ruonan was named a brand ambassador for Gaode Maps (Amap) of AutoNavi, the high-end personal care ABC brand, and Basement FG. In October 2025, Rounan became the ambassador for Realme Mobile Image and launched the Realme GT8 Pro.
In November 2025, she participated in the Double 11 Crazy Good Six Nights show for Tmall platform. 2025 witnessed Rounan expanded her local ambassadorship portfolio by partnering with additional brands.
In January 2026, Zhang Ruonan was announced as a brand ambassador for MLB Korea. In the same month, she presented as the New Year Festival Ambassador for JD e-commerce. In March 2026, Jeanswest unveiled Ruonan as the global brand ambassador.
Helena Rubinstein, a luxury avant-garde skincare brand, announced Ruonan as its brand ambassador in March 2026.
Ruonan participated in promotional campaigns of other international brands, such as Loro Piana, Chanel, Guerlain, Celine, AHKAH Jewellery, Longines, Longchamp, and Michael Kors.
In May 2019, Ruonan joined China Movie Report's "Youth Season Entering Campus", visiting China Agricultural University to promote environmental awareness. In June, she supported the "Yi Hu Bai Xing" campaign, raising awareness of respiratory health and pneumoconiosis.
In 2021, Ruonan participated in Lancome's charity project 'Write Her Future" to support female university students' employment and career development.
In 2024, as a Public Welfare Ambassador for the China Society of Entrepreneurs and Ecology Organisation, Ruonan spoke at a childrenâÂÂs nature writing camp, encouraging children to use poetry to protect nature and safeguard rare speciesâ habitats. In the same year, she participated in China Charity Day events, advocating "Everyone's Charity Day" to promote a sustainable clean water future.
In November 2025, Ruonan donated ÃÂ¥500,000 to Hongkong Wang Fuk Court fire victims through the Shanghai Fosun Public Welfare Foundation.
In August 2025, Ruonan was ranked the 15th on the "Top 500 Young Chinese Brands" list, which was announced at the 19th China Brand Festival at the Shenzhen Convention and Exhibition Center.
Ruonan has been featured on magazines, such as Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, L'Officiel, Marie Claire, Elle, Grazia, Esquire, Cosmopolitan, Nylon, OK!, Jalouse, Glass Magazine, Ellemen New Youth, Vector fashion.
She also appears on the covers and is presented in local magazines, including Ray Li Magazine, ', NeufMode, iDest Magazine, LifeStyle Magazine, and Shang Cheng Shi.