Her father, Zhou Tianning (周天宁), was a local film projectionist, and her mother, Chen Yiqin (陈以琴), was a salesperson at a department store.

[9] Zhou achieved breakthrough on the big screen with Lou Ye's Suzhou River (2000), which won her the Best Actress award at the 15th Festival du Film de Paris.

[10] That year, she was named one of the Four Dan Actresses alongside Zhang Ziyi, Zhao Wei and Xu Jinglei.

In her first Hong Kong film Hollywood Hong Kong directed by Fruit Chan, which was selected to compete for the Golden Lion at the 58th Venice International Film Festival,[16] Zhou received her first Golden Horse Award for Best Leading Actress nomination and impressed critics with her performance.

[19] Among Zhou's earlier notable works also include television series April Rhapsody (2000), Love Story in Shanghai (2001), Ripening Orange (2002) and The Legend of the Condor Heroes (2003).

[28] She then starred in Cao Baoping's romantic thriller The Equation of Love and Death (2008) as a taxicab driver on the lookout for her missing boyfriend.

[34] The same year she appeared in Gordon Chan's horror-adventure film Painted Skin, a remake of a classic supernatural thriller of the same title.

[42] Asia-Pacific Producers Network (APN) also honored her as the Asian Star of the Year for her exemplary box office achievements.

[52] In 2014, Zhou returned to television after 10 years in Red Sorghum, based on Nobel prize laureate Mo Yan's 1986/1987 novel of the same name.

[57] In 2017, she made her return to the big screen in Ann Hui's war film Our Time Will Come alongside Eddie Peng and Wallace Huo.

[67] In the series, she portrayed Chinese pharmaceutical chemist and malariologist Tu Youyou, a Nobel Prize winner, focusing on her efforts to develop artemisinin and dihydroartemisinin in the 1970s, used to treat malaria.

[76] In 2023, she made a special appearance as Ms. Chen, member of the Communist Party and wife of Tony Leung Chiu-wai's character, in Cheng Er's World War II espionage thriller film Hidden Blade.

The series received positive feedback and topped the rating during its broadcast time on Dragon TV and other platforms.

[83] Zhou Xun was named the first United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Goodwill Ambassador for China in 2008 with a special focus of promoting environmental sustainability.

[86] On 22 April 2010, she became the Laureate of United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)'s Champions of the Earth (Inspiration & Action).

"[90][91] In 2020, Zhou became the Greater Chinese face of Chanel's "J12 Turns 20" advertising campaign, promoting the J12 Watch on its 20th anniversary, featuring alongside Lily-Rose Depp, Vanessa Paradis, Ali MacGraw, Naomi Campbell, Claudia Schiffer, Liu Wen and William Chan.

[92] In April 2023, Zhou became the global face for Chanel's J12 Watch Campaign - "It's All About Seconds", alongside Penélope Cruz, Margot Robbie, Ali MacGraw and Kim Go-eun.

[95] In September 2014, Zhou became the global face for IWC Schaffhausen's 2014 Portofino Midsize Collection Campaign, alongside Cate Blanchett, Emily Blunt, Ewan McGregor and Christoph Waltz.

[104] On October 19, 2020, Chinese domestic beauty brand Perfect Diary announced that Zhou would be its first global spokesperson.

[111] 2003-2008: Zhou began a five-year relationship with Taiwanese stylist Li Daqi, who was introduced to her by singer Rene Liu.

[113] 2014-2020: Zhou married American actor Archie Kao on 16 July 2014 on stage after a charity event in Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China.