Gong Li

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Gong Li
Gong Li in Chen Kaige's The Emperor and the Assassin (1999)
Born	December 31, 1965 (age 41) Shenyang, Liaoning, China
Other name(s)	Li Gong
Spouse(s)	Ooi Wei Ming (1996-present)
Notable roles	Jiu'er in Red Sorghum Juxian in Farewell My Concubine Hatsumomo in Memoirs of a Geisha Lady Murasaki Shikibu in Hannibal Rising

This is a Chinese name; the family name is Gong.

Gong Li (Simplified Chinese: 巩俐; Traditional Chinese: 鞏俐; pinyin: Gǒng Lì) (born December 31, 1965) is a Chinese film actress. She first came into international prominence through close collaboration with Chinese director Zhang Yimou.

Contents 1 Biography 1.1 Early life 1.2 Career 2 Filmography 3 Trivia 4 See also 5 Footnotes 6 External links

[edit] Biography

[edit] Early life

Li was born in Shenyang, Liaoning, China, the fifth child in her family. Her father was a professor of economics and her mother, who was 40 when Li was born, was a teacher.^[1] Li grew up in Jinan, the capital of Shandong Province. She knew from a young age that she wanted to be an actress, and at school she excelled at singing and dancing almost to the exclusion of other subjects. In spite of failing her college exam twice, she was eventually accepted to the Beijing Central College of Drama in 1985 and graduated in 1989.^[2] She was still a student there when Zhang Yimou chose her in 1987 for the lead role in his first film as a director, Red Sorghum, which was awarded the Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival.

[edit] Career

Li has since become one of the most successful actresses in Chinese cinema, with fame that has extended abroad to many areas. Considered one of the most beautiful women in the world, her work has been recognized with awards from the Venice Film Festival and New York Film Critics Circle. She retains a very strong popularity. In addition to acting, she is also an exceptional singer, as demonstrated during her performance in Shanghai Triad. She was also presented the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in June 1998.

She starred in Zhang Yimou's films well into the mid-1990s. During their long collaboration, the two created a scandal for being long-term lovers, despite Zhang's marital status. The couple eventually broke up in 1995, and Gong Li married Singaporean tobacco tycoon Ooi Hoe Soeng the next year. Gong and Zhang had then stopped working together until 2006, when Gong Li starred in Zhang Yimou's Curse of the Golden Flower. Gong's limited Hollywood appearances include 1997's Chinese Box, and expanded with 2005's Memoirs of a Geisha, in which she, in the words of Time Magazine film critic Richard Corliss, was "gloriously channeling Bette Davis".^[3] She also appeared in the 2006 film adaptation of Miami Vice and the 2007 film Hannibal Rising, the prequel to the other three Hannibal Lecter films.

In 2006, Premiere ranked her performance in Farewell My Concubine as the 89th greatest performance of all time.

Directors Steven Speilberg, Oliver Stone and Michael Mann are reported to be admirers of her.

American funk rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers named a song after her, which was released as a b-side of their single "Scar Tissue". The song is featured on Japanese versions of the band's 1999 album Californication. The most likely reason for the title being "Gong Li" probably is the song's oriental sound.

[edit] Filmography

• Believe It or Not (2009)
• Hannibal Rising (2007)
• The Yellow M (2006)
• Curse of the Golden Flower (2006)
• Miami Vice (2006)
• Memoirs of a Geisha, as Hatsumomo (2005)
• Eros (2004) - segment The Hand
• 2046 (2004)
• Zhou Yu's Train (2002)
• Breaking the Silence (1999)
• The Emperor and the Assassin (1999)
• Chinese Box (1997)
• Temptress Moon (1996)
• A Soul Haunted by Painting (1995) — based on the life of Pan Yuliang
• Shanghai Triad (1995)
• The Great Conqueror's Concubine (1994)
• Dragon Chronicles (1994)
• To Live (1994)
• Flirting Scholar (1993)
• Farewell My Concubine (1993)
• Awakening (1992)
• The Story of Qiu Ju (1992)
• God of Gamblers III: Back to Shanghai (1991)
• Party of a Wealthy Family (aka The Banquet) (1991)
• Raise the Red Lantern (1992)
• Ju Dou (1990)
• The Empress Dowager (1989)
• Operation Cougar (1989)
• A Terracotta Warrior (1989)
• Mr. Sunshine (1989)
• Red Sorghum (1987)

[edit] Trivia

• Gong Li was voted the most beautiful person in China.^[4][5]

[edit] See also

• Cinema of China

[edit] Footnotes

[edit] External links

• Gong Li at the Internet Movie Database

Cinema of China
Actors • Directors • Films A-Z • Film chronology • Cinematographers • Festivals • Producers • Screenwriters •