1. Gong Li is regarded as one of the best actresses in China today, known for her versatility and naturalistic performances.
56 Facts About Gong Li
1. 2.
Gong Li starred in three of the four Chinese-language films that have been nominated for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film.
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Gong Li enrolled at the Central Academy of Drama in Beijing, from where she graduated in 1989.
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Gong Li starred in the Chen Kaige-directed Oscar-nominated Farewell My Concubine, for which she won Best Supporting Actress at the New York Film Critics Circle Awards.
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Gong Li was the head of jury at the 2000 Berlin Film and the 2002 Venice Film Festivals, the first Asian to hold such a position for either event.
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Gong Li was appointed as a Commander of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the government of France in 2010.
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Gong Li was born in Shenyang, Liaoning, China, as the youngest of five children.
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Gong Li studied in Jinan Sanhe Street Primary School.
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Gong Li's parents discouraged her from pursuing it further, but Gong persisted by working part-time while taking acting lessons from director Yin Dawei in Jinan.
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Gong Li was admitted to the Central Academy of Drama in 1985 and graduated in 1989.
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In 1987, while at college, Gong Li was discovered by Zhang Yimou, who cast her for the lead role in Red Sorghum, his first film as a director.
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In 1989, Gong Li starred in Zhang Yimou's second counterterrorism film, Codename Cougar, for which she won the Hundred Flowers Awards for Best Supporting Actress, ushering in a new stage of exploring acting skills and style.
13.
In 1990, Gong Li Continued to cooperate with Zhang Yimou and starred in his family ethics movie Ju Dou, which won the Luis Bunuel Special Award at the 1990 Cannes Film Festival, and was nominated for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 63rd Academy Awards, becoming the first Chinese film to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.
14.
Gong Li won the Best Actress award at the Varna International Film Festival.
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In 1991, Gong Li starred in Zhang Yimou's film Raise the Red Lantern, which won the Silver Lion award at the 48th Venice Film Festival, and was nominated for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 64th Academy Awards.
16.
Gong Li, playing a rebellious mistress in the film, won the Hundred Flowers Awards for Best Actress and was nominated for the David di Donatello Awards and the NSFC for Best Actress.
17.
In 1992, Gong Li starred in the rural drama The Story of Qiu Ju, which won the Golden Lion award at the 49th Venice International Film Festival.
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Gong Li worked with renowned director Stephen Chow in comedy films God of Gamblers III: Back to Shanghai and Flirting Scholar.
19.
Immune to political repercussions because of her fame, Gong Li began criticizing the censorship policy in China.
20.
In 1994, Gong Li played Jia Zhen, the wife of Xu Fugui, in the drama To Live, which won the Grand Prix at the 1994 Cannes Film Festival.
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Gong Li was nominated for the Chlotrudis Awards for Best Actress.
22.
In 1995, Gong Li starred in Shanghai Triad, during her breakup with Zhang Yimou, in which she played a seductive stage queen.
23.
Gong Li has been nominated for her second best Actress at the Hong Kong Film Awards for her role as rebellious teenage girl Ru Yi.
24.
In 1997, Gong Li worked with Jeremy Irons on the romantic drama Chinese Box, which won the Best Original Music award at the Venice Film Festival.
25.
In June 1998, Gong Li became a recipient of France's Ordre des Arts et des Lettres.
26.
In many of her early movies, Gong Li represents a tragic victim and an abused soul, trying to release herself from an impossible maze of corruption, violence and suppression.
27.
In 2000, Gong Li won her second international Best Actress trophy for her performance as a struggling single mother in Breaking the Silence directed by Sun Zhou at the Montreal World Film Festival.
28.
Gong Li attended the Montreal World Film Festival that year, where she was awarded a special Grand Prix of the Americas for lifetime achievement for her outstanding achievement.
29.
Gong Li was nominated Goodwill Ambassador of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations on 16 October 2000.
30.
In 2002, Gong Li was invited to head the jury of the Venice Film Festival.
31.
In 2003, Gong Li served as the president of the jury of the 16th Tokyo International Film Festival, the first woman to do so.
32.
Gong Li attended the 2004 Cannes Film Festival, where she was awarded the Festival Trophy for her contributions to film industry.
33.
Gong Li made her English speaking debut in 2005 when she starred as Hatsumomo in Memoirs of a Geisha.
34.
Gong Li won the National Board of Review for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Hatsumomo.
35.
In 2006, Gong Li worked again with Yimou for historical epic Curse of the Golden Flower, for which She won the best Actress at the 26th Hong Kong Film Awards.
36.
Gong Li narrated Beijing, an audio walking tour by Louis Vuitton and Soundwalk, which won an Audie Award for Best Original Work in 2009.
37.
In 2010, Gong Li starred in the World War II-era thriller Shanghai as a spy who is disguised as the wife of a triad boss.
38.
Gong Li turned to documentaries and photographs about World War II, besides taking dancing classes three times a week, to ensure an accurate portrayal of the character.
39.
In 2014, Gong Li was the president of the jury for the 17th Shanghai International Film Festival, becoming the first woman jury president in the festival's history.
40.
In 2016, Gong Li took on her first action role in The Monkey King 2, playing the White Bone Demon.
41.
In 2018, Gong Li served as the jury president of the 55th Golden Horse Awards.
42.
In 2019, Gong Li was cast in Lou Ye's period drama Saturday Fiction, where she plays an actress who is working undercover gathering intelligence for the Allies.
43.
Saturday Fiction was a box office failure due to the delayed release, but the artistic value of the film and Gong Li's performance gained rave reviews.
44.
In 2020, Gong Li was cast in Peter Chan's biographical film Leap, where she plays the hard-driving, real-life head coach of the Chinese women's national volleyball team Lang Ping.
45.
Gong Li was nominated for best actress at the Hong Kong Film Awards for the fourth time.
46.
In 2021, Gong Li was invited to be the jury president of the 11th Beijing International Film Festival, becoming the first female jury president in the festival's history.
47.
In 2022, Gong Li was invited to serve as the Art Chairman of the 12th Beijing Film Festival, responsible for the selected films, assisting in the invitation and recommendation of outstanding films and guests.
48.
In November 1996, Gong Li married Singaporean businessman Ooi Hoe Seong at Hong Kong's China Club.
49.
Gong Li was reportedly considering renouncing her Singaporean citizenship after China blacklisted celebrities with foreign passports; however, there is no evidence that she went through with the renunciation.
50.
In 2006, Gong Li began a relationship with a French photographer, whom she met on the Prague set of Hannibal Rising.
51.
In 2016, Gong Li started dating the French composer and musician Jean-Michel Jarre.
52.
Gong Li is the first Chinese ambassador for L'Oreal Paris in 1997.
53.
Gong Li served as ambassador for Midea, Chopard, and Osim International.
54.
From 2013 to 2018, Gong Li served as the global ambassadors for Piaget.
55.
Gong Li served as the global brand ambassador for Hisense on September 27,2020.
56.
Since 2021, Gong Li has been the first Chinese artist to become the global high jewelry ambassador for Cartier.