Gong Li

Gong Li (; born 31 December 1965) is a Chinese actress. Regarded as one of the best actresses in China today, she is known for her versatility and naturalistic performance. She starred in three of the four Chinese-language films that have been nominated for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film.

Gong 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, as they continued to collaborate on a string of critically acclaimed movies, including the Oscar-nominated features ''Ju Dou'' (1990) and ''Raise the Red Lantern'' (1991). For her role in the Zhang-directed ''The Story of Qiu Ju'' (1992), Gong won the Volpi Cup for Best Actress at the Venice Film Festival.

Gong also starred in the Chen Kaige-directed Oscar-nominated ''Farewell My Concubine'' (1993), for which she won Best Supporting Actress at the New York Film Critics Circle Awards. In English-language films, she won the National Board of Review Award for Best Supporting Actress for ''Memoirs of a Geisha'' (2005), directed by Rob Marshall. Other notable appearances include ''Flirting Scholar'' (1993), ''To Live'' (1994), ''Chinese Box'' (1997), ''The Emperor and the Assassin'' (1998), ''Breaking the Silence'' (2000), ''Zhou Yu's Train'' (2003), ''Eros'' (2004), ''Miami Vice'' (2006), ''Curse of the Golden Flower'' (2006) and ''Saturday Fiction'' (2019).

Gong was head of jury at the 2000 Berlin Film Festival and the 2002 Venice Film Festival, the first Asian person to hold such position at both events. Over the course of her career, Gong 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. She was appointed as a Commander (Commandeur) of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the government of France in 2010. Provided by Wikipedia