She rose to international fame for her role in Golden Lion-winning Lust, Caution (2007) by Ang Lee, and gained further acclaim for her performances in Late Autumn (2010), Finding Mr.

[6] Initially aspiring to study acting at the Central Academy of Drama, she failed three times before being admitted to the directing program in 2000 on her fourth attempt.

[9] She also appeared in TV dramas Sons and Daughters of the Red Cross (2004), Leaving Seafront Street (2005), East Meets West (2005), Born in the 60s (2006) and Silent Tears (2006).

[10][11][12] In July 2006, Tang was cast from more than 10,000 actresses to star in Ang Lee's classic film Lust, Caution (2007),[13][14] adapted from Eileen Chang's novella inspired by the story of female spy Zheng Pingru.

[18] In August 2008, Tang obtained Hong Kong citizenship through the Quality Migrant Admission Scheme, which was expected to enable her to work in a relatively censorship-free market.

[20] In February 2009, during her absence from the show business, Tang briefly attended drama classes at the University of Reading in the United Kingdom.

[24] Tang's performance won over South Korean audiences and made her the only non-Korean to win the Baeksang Awards for Best Actress.

[25][26] In September 2010, it was announced that she was to appear in the CCP tribute film The Founding of a Party, playing the role of Tao Yi, an early girlfriend of Mao Zedong.

[27][28] In December 2011, she dubbed the character of Pia Sahastrabuddhe, originally portrayed by Kareena Kapoor, in the Chinese version of the Bollywood film 3 Idiots (2009).

The sleeper hit grossed $85 million at the box office in China and Tang received rave reviews for her performance.

Tang was then cast to play writer Xiao Hong in Ann Hui's biopic The Golden Era,[35] which closed at the Venice International Film Festival.

[45] In 2022, Tang starred in the South Korean mystery-romance film Decision to Leave, directed by Park Chan-Wook, to critical acclaim.

[58] She was the global face that July for Loewe's pre-fall 2022 collection campaign along with Anthony Hopkins, Jessie Buckley, Josh O'Connor, Kaia Gerber and more.

[59] In November of that year, Tang was named as the global face of the Loewe's spring/summer 2023 collection campaign along with Taylor Russell, Luca Guadagnino, Naomi Ackie, Chloë Sevigny and more.

[61] In August 2023, Tang starred as the global face of the Loewe's Womenswear Fall-Winter 2023 campaign along with Taylor Russell that shot by British fashion photographer David Sims.

[70] In 2014, Tang married South Korean film director Kim Tae-yong in the front yard of the home of Ingmar Bergman on the remote Swedish island of Fårö.