Gong Li

Gong Li

Gong Li was born in Shenyang, Liaoning, and grew up in Jinan, Shandong. She enrolled at the Central Academy of Drama in Beijing, from where she graduated in 1989. While a student at the Academy, she was spotted by director Zhang Yimou and debuted in Zhang’s Red Sorghum in 1987. Gong and Zhang’s professional and personal relationship received much media attention in the Chinese-speaking world.

About Gong Li in brief

Summary Gong LiGong Li was born in Shenyang, Liaoning, and grew up in Jinan, Shandong. She enrolled at the Central Academy of Drama in Beijing, from where she graduated in 1989. While a student at the Academy, she was spotted by director Zhang Yimou and debuted in Zhang’s Red Sorghum in 1987. Gong and Zhang’s professional and personal relationship received much media attention in the Chinese-speaking world. She starred in three of the four Academy Award for Best International Feature Film-nominated Chinese-language films. For her role in the Zhang-directed The Story of Qiu Ju, Gong won the Volpi Cup for Best Actress at the Venice Film Festival. Gong was head of jury at the 2000 Berlin Film Festival and the 2002 Venice film Festival, the first Asian to hold such position at both events. She was appointed a Commander of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the government of France in 2010. She has won three Hundred Flowers Awards, two Golden Rooster Awards, a Hong Kong Film Award, and honorary awards at the Berlin and Cannes film festivals. Her performance in Raise the Red Lantern helped her put her in the international spotlight again. In 1993, she received a Best Actress award at the 49th Venice International Film Festival for her portrayal of rural woman QiuJu. She also won the Golden Lion award for her performance in the rural drama The Story Of Ju Ju, which won theGolden Rooster award for Best Picture.

In 2010, Gong was nominated for the 64th Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film for the film, Raise The Red Lantern. She won the Hundred Flowers Award for best actress and the David di Donatello Awards for the Best Actress and the NSFC Awards for best supporting actress for Farewell My Concubine. In 2011, she won a Golden Lion Award for her work in the film The Emperor and the Assassin, playing a rebellious mistress. She is married to Chinese actor and director Li Bingzhang and has three children. She lives in Singapore with her husband and two children, who are studying at the University of Hong Kong and the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. She works as a director and producer in China and Singapore, and has directed and produced several films in the U.S. and Europe. Her films include Ju Dou, Chinese Box, Breaking the Silence, Zhou Yu’s Train, 2046, Memoirs of a Geisha, Miami Vice, Curse of the Golden Flower, and Coming Home. Her husband is Chinese film director and actor Zhang YIMou, and she has worked with him on a string of critically acclaimed movies, including Ju Dou and Chinese Box. Her daughter is Chinese actress and film director Li Qun. Gong is also married to Singaporean actor and film producer Li Yun, who lives in Hong Kong. Her son, Li Jia, is a film producer and director.