Gong Li (1965– )

Chinese actor. Celebrated for her grace and sensuality, she is one of China's best known actresses in the West. She starred in the Chen Kaige films Bawang bie ji/Ba wang bie ji/Farewell My Concubine (1993; Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival), and Feng yue/Temptress Moon (1997) and in a series of films directed by Zhang Yimou, including Du hong denglong gao gao gua/Raise the Red Lantern (1992). The romantic drama Chinese Box (1997), opposite Jeremy Irons, was her first English language film.

She received the best actress award at the 1992 Venice International Film Festival for her role in the bittersweet comedy Qui Ju da guan si/The Story of Qiu Ju (1992). Other films include the drama Ju Dou (1990), the romantic drama Mungsing Sifan/Mary from Beijing (1992), the political drama Jing ke ci qin wang/The Emperor and the Assassin (1999), the most expensive Chinese film ever made, and Wong Kar-Wai's romantic drama 2046 (2005).

She was born in northeastern Shenyang and grew up in Jinan, where she studied singing and dancing from an early age. While studying at the Central Drama Academy in Beijing she starred in Hong gao liang/Red Sorghum (1987), Yimou's directorial debut. The film won the Golden Bear award at the 1987 Berlin Film Festival and became an international success.