Gong Li

Gong Li was born on New Year's Eve, December 31, 1965, in Shenyang, Liaoning Province, China. Raised in Jinan, Gong Li is the daughter of an economics professor. The porcelain beauty always dreamed of becoming a singer, and it was her love of music that led to her applying to China's top music school. Gong Li was rejected from the music school, but was accepted to the Central Drama Academy in Beijing, and graduated in 1985. The relationship between Gong Li and famed Chinese director Zhang Yimou started when Gong Li was cast in her debut role, as the female lead in 1987's Red Sorghum, while she was still a student. Zhang Yimou and Gong Li were romantically involved for years, and he referred to her as his Muse.

Once she graduated, Gong Li was cast in Terracotta Warrior and The Puma Action in 1989, Ju Dou in 1990, and Zhang Yimou's Raise the Red Lanternin 1992. The early '90s were filled with film roles, such as The Banquet, in which she appeared as herself and a waitress, and Back to Shanghai in 1991. In 1992, Gong Li starred in the title role of Zhang Yimou's The Story of Qiu Ju, for which she won a Best Actress Award at the 49th Venice International Film Festival. In what she refers to as her favorite role, Gong Li spent weeks in a small village and learned the local language, in order to portray a poor woman.

After her role in Mary from Beijing, Gong Li gained International recognition for her role in Chen Kaige's Farewell My Concubine in 1993. She won a New York Film Critics award for the film. In 1993, Gong Li appeared in Flirting Scholar and Soul of a Painter, and followed these up with 1994's Living (another Zhang Yimou film), Dragon Chronicles: The Maidens, and The Great Conqueror's Concubine. Gong Li's final collaboration with Zhang Yimou was in 1995's Shanghai Triad, the year her relationship with the director ended. The '90s rounded off with 1996's Temptress Moon, 1997's Chinese Box (which she refers to as the least favorite of her films), and 1999's Breaking the Silence and The Emperor and the Assassin. She is also said to be planning a film with Richard Gere.

Known as China's most famous actress in the Western world and the Chinese equivalent of Julia Roberts, Gong Li has a multitude of international awards to her name, most notably France's highest cultural honor, the Officier des Arts et des Lettres in 1988. Gong Li is also China's most recognized face, chosen as a representative of Shanghai Tang clothing and a beauty ambassador for L'Oreal cosmetics. Not only recognized for her talent, Gong Li is also known for being one the world's most beautiful women, as People magazine included her in one of its 50 Most Beautiful People lists. Though she is no longer with Zhang Yimou (who has since been allegedly linked to Zhang Ziyi), Gong Li has been happily married to a wealthy businessman from Singapore, Ooi Wei Ming, since 1996.