Gong Li

b. 1965, Jinan, Shandong

Film actress

One of the world’s most accomplished actresses, Gong Li has starred in twenty-two movies and won a number of national and international awards. She has been awarded a ‘Berlinale Camera’ and the title ‘Officier des Arts et Lettres’ for her contribution to cinema. She was president of the international jury at the 2000 Berlin International Film Festival. For all her stardom, she is easy to approach, but said to be disdainful of the media’s intrusions into her private life.

Gong Li entered the Central Dramatic Arts Academy in Beijing in 1985. In 1989 she became an actress in the academy’s Modern Drama Research Institute.

When she was a sophomore, Gong Li was handpicked by Zhang Yimou to play the leading role in Red Sorghum (Hong gaoliang). In this debut, she might be a little puerile, but appeared pleasantly pure and fresh, revealing her potential. Her reputation soared after Red Sorghum won the 1987 Golden Berlin Bear. In 1989–90, she starred in Judou and Raise the Red Lantern (Da hong denglong gaogao gua) in which she successfully depicted women repressed by their clans. Gong Li’s performance reached new heights in The Story of Qiu Ju (Qiu Ju da guansi). Her vivid presentation of a dauntless country girl made an indelible impression on the audience, and for her efforts she was awarded ‘Best Actress’ at the Venice Film Festival. Others of her films include Shanghai Triad (Yaoayao, yaodao waipo qiao), Farewell My Concubine (Bawang bieji), Temptress Moon (Fengyue), The Emperor and the Assassin (Jingke ci qinwang) and Chinese Box hezi).

Further reading

Delamoir, Jeanette (1998). ‘Woman as Spectacle in Zhang Yimou’s “Theatre of Punishments”’. Screening the Past 5 (December).

Reyanud, Bérénice (1993). ‘Glamour and Suffering: Gong Li and the History of Chinese Stars’. In Pam Cook and Philip Dodd (eds), Women and Film: A Sight and Sound Reader. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 21–9.

HU MINGRONG WITH YUAN HAIWANG