Song Zu'er

Song was born in Tianjin, China.^[1] After completing the first grade of elementary school in Tianjin, she moved to Beijing with her mother to continue her education. At elementary school, Song began her acting career as a child actor with a supporting role in TV drama The Sea and Sky Boundless (2005).^[2] She appeared in a song and dance show in the 2007 CCTV New Year's Gala and gained recognition for playing Nezha in television series Prelude of Lotus Lantern (2009).^[3]

Song graduated from junior high school in Beijing in 2013. Due to issues with academic registration, which prevented her from taking regular entrance exams in Beijing and Tianjin, along with her struggle in mathematics, she withdrew from Tianjin No. 45 High School in 2014 and transferred to a church school near Chicago in the United States. After completing high school, she returned to China to pursue a career in acting.^{[citation needed]}

In 2016, Song returned to acting in the comedy film Papa, where she acted opposite Xia Yu. Her appearance in the reality show Divas Hit the Road (Season 3) in 2017 gained her significant attention, leading to roles in a series of TV dramas, films, and variety shows. She was admitted to the Beijing Film Academy in 2018. The same year she played lead roles in the fantasy historical drama The Dark Lord, as well as the comedy web series Gossip High.^[4][5] In 2019, Song starred in the fantasy epic drama Novoland: Eagle Flag.^[6][7] The same year, she was cast in the romance comedy drama Cupid's Kitchen.^[8] Forbes China listed Song under their 30 Under 30 Asia 2019 list, which consisted of 30 influential people under 30 years old who have had a substantial effect in their fields.^[9]

Song appeared in the 2020 CCTV New Year's Gala, acting in a comedy sketch.^[10] She then starred in TV dramas, such as Guardians of the Ancient Oath (2020), The Bond (2021), To Fly with You (2021), Cupid's Kitchen (2022), and Legally Romance (2022), until her career was derailed by an alleged tax evasion in 2023. In August 2024, Song's studio stated that she had been cleared by the tax authorities following an investigation.^[11]

On April 3, 2025, the film One and Only (2023), in which Song appeared, was re-released in China with her scenes intact.^[12] On April 12, her comeback drama The Demon Hunter's Romance premiered on iQiyi.^[13]

In March 2021, Song's team posted on Weibo a collage of photos of her holding a bouquet of lilies against a background that looks like the bottom page of a magazine with a corner ripped out to reveal a price sticker. The poster, however, was pointed out to have plagiarized from South Korean idol Baekhyun's 2019 EP City Lights. Song's photographer issued an apology, acknowledging the plagiarism, after which Song's team issued a follow-up apology and removed the plagiarized poster.^[14][15]

On August 31, 2023, Song was reportedly accused by a former employee at her office of evading up to 45 million yuan in taxes (6.5 million US dollars).^[16] The same day the State Administration of Taxation stated that tax investigation will be carried out, and details will be shared on its official website.^[17] Following the allegation, China's major TV stations removed Song's mention in their social media.^[18] On August 27, 2024, Song's office issued a statement via Weibo, clarifying that, following an investigation by the tax authorities, Song was found to have committed no tax evasion and has not been subject to any administrative penalties for tax-related matters.^[11]