Maria Zhang

Maria Zhang is a Polish-Chinese actress best known for playing Suki, the fierce leader of the Kyoshi Warriors, in Netflix's Avatar: The Last Airbender (2024). Born to a Polish mother and Chinese father, she grew up speaking multiple languages and living across different countries. Her Chinese birth name is Zhang Zhiyi and was once credited under the name Marysia Zhang (a common Polish diminutive/variation of the name Maria) for her role in the 2018 short film Continuum.

Born in Poland, Maria grew up in a richly multicultural and artistic household as both of her parents work as artists. When she was about a year old, her family moved to Beijing, where she spent the majority of her childhood. Growing up in Beijing, she attended a Chinese primary school and was largely raised by her Chinese grandmother, while maintaining a connection to her European roots by spending summers visiting family in rural Poland. Because of this unique background, she grew up speaking Mandarin Chinese, Polish, and English.

Her interest in performance began early. When she was twelve years old and visiting Poland, she and her sister Zofia stumbled upon a newspaper clipping advertising a casting call for a local community theater group, which sparked her initial curiosity for acting.

As she pursued her career, Maria eventually moved to Southern California to attend the University of Southern California (USC) and graduated with a degree in acting and a minor in visual culture. She began appearing in short films and independent projects, such as Continuum (2018), Dear Mom (2019), and the award-nominated short All I Ever Wanted (2021). Her major international breakthrough came in December 2021, when she was cast as Suki, the fierce leader of the Kyoshi Warriors, in Netflix's adaptation of Avatar: The Last Airbender (2024), propelling her into global recognition.