Overview (2)
| Born | in Shenyang, China |
| Height | 5' 7" (1.7 m) |
Mini Bio (1)
Born in Shenyang, grew up in Jinan, the daughter of an economics professor. Loved music from childhood, and dreamed of a singing career. After failing to gain entrance to China's top music school in 1985, applied for and was admitted to the Central Drama Academy in Beijing, from which she graduated in 1989. While still a student, was cast as the female lead in Red Sorghum (1988)(aka "Red Sorghum"), the initial directing effort by Yimou Zhang. China's best-known actress in the West, she was named Best Actress at the 49th Venice International Film Festival for her role in The Story of Qiu Ju (1992) (aka "The Story of Qiu Ju"). Made a series of successful films with Yimou Zhang, a collaboration that apparently ended with the breakup of their personal relationship in 1995 and Gong's subsequent marriage to a tobacco company executive.
- IMDb Mini Biography By: Don Marion <d-mari@maroon.tc.umn.edu>
Family (2)
| Spouse |
Jean-Michel Jarre (May 2019 -
present) Ooi Wei Ming (15 February 1996 - 2010) (divorced) |
| Children | Mamoru Yoki Chung Li |
Trivia (26)
Was included in People Magazine's 50 Most Beautiful People.
Representative of Shanghai Tang line of clothing.
Graduated from the Central Drama Academy in Beijing (1989)
Received New York Film Critics award for Farewell My Concubine (1993).
President of the 'Official Competition' jury at the 50th Berlin International Film Festival in 2000.
President of the 'Official Competition' jury at the 59th Venice International Film Festival in 2002.
President of the 'Official Competition' jury at the 16th Tokyo International Film Festival in 2003.
Member of the 'Official Competition' jury at the 50th Cannes International Film Festival in 1997.
Her performance as Juxian in Farewell My Concubine (1993) (aka "Farewell My Concubine") (1993) is ranked #89 on Premiere Magazine's 100 Greatest Performances of All Time (2006).
Had a song written about her by the Red Hot Chili Peppers ("Gong Li").
She was presented the French government's Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in June 1998 for contributions to the cinema.
Was chosen and honored as one of TIME Magazine's "60 Years of Asian Heroes".
Youngest person to be honored with the "Trophy of the Festival" award at Cannes.
Can understand English but is uncomfortable in speaking it off camera and in interviews. Usually finds its easier to learn her lines for her English speaking roles phonetically.
Beauty ambassador for L'Oreal cosmetics.
Her father and her older sister both died of cancer.
Voted "Most beautiful woman in China" 2006.
#52 on Premiere magazines "100 sexiest movie stars of all time" (2008).
Appointed in 2008 by the United Nations(UNEP) as the "Global Environmental Ambassador", along with Mikhail Gorbachev , Richard Branson, Samuel Etoo Angelique Kinjo, Gabriel Yared.
Recipient of the 2007 Chinese World Influence Award.
Named one of CNN's "25 greatest Asian actors of all time".
In 2010 Gong Li was presented with the "Commandeur of the Legion of Honor" the highest decoration from the French government. She is the only Chinese woman ever to receive it.
First Chinese actress/actor on the cover of TIME magazine.
Empress Phoenix, her character from Curse of the Golden Flower (2006), served as the inspiration for Mattel's Gold Label Collector doll Empress of the Golden Blossom Barbie.
Personal Quotes (5)
For me the beauty of a person is a matter of the whole package. You have to look at the whole thing, not just a matter of outward appearance or whatever. It has to do with one's character, personality, upbringing and so on
The important thing for me when I look at characters is to consider the kind of constraints placed upon them. Now, me personally, I don't like to have a lot of constraints placed upon me. When you look at a script, of course, you look at a character and sometimes the character has to face situations that are very different from what you would like to face, or how you would like to react.
The important things are the script and the director. I have been waiting around to get the right script and the right director. For example, in the past if a Hollywood director came to me with a script and wanted me to play a character and she was a stereotypical Asian woman who gets into a fight and gets killed off quickly, that didn't seem to have much interest for me.
[on Memoirs of a Geisha (2005)] The most extraordinary thing about Rob Marshall is the way he works. For one thing: he is always encouraging, always supportive. Whatever we do, he says "Perfect", "Elegant", "Very Good", etc. Even if you're not the best actress in the world, he will keep supporting and encouraging, so that you will feel like "Oh my Gosh, I'm such a great actress, I can be a great actress!' And this really helped us a lot, because it really inspired us to give him our all. Every time we tried a scene, we would give him more and more. The other thing about Rob Marshall is his way of rehearsing. We rehearsed the whole film all the way through, from beginning to end, before we started shooting each scene. We had to memorize all the lines. They set up a simple set for us to practice and we ran our lines, adjusting some, so we knew what we were doing when we actually started filming it. We rehearsed the whole thing even before we split up the screenplay into shots, so we knew the whole script all the way through. This is something we just don't do in China. And it's very refreshing and different for me. And now I'm convinced this is a very good way to work.
[on the differences between acting in Chinese and Hollywood films] In terms of performance, it's not that different. Of course in terms of dialogue, there is a language difference, and this does make a difference. When I speak in English, my expressions become different. My attitude too. I'm not sure why, but there really is a difference. My hands move differently when I speak English. But in terms of performance, it's not that different. It won't be that because I'm in a foreign film that my approach is different. My training allowed me to make contact with a number of different possibilities. Four years in college let me work with excellent teachers who gave me a good foundation.
