Gong, Li 1965- (Lei Gung, Gong Li)

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Gong, Li 1965- (Lei Gung, Gong Li)

PERSONAL

Born December 31, 1965, in Shenyang, Liaoning Province, China; daughter of an economics professor; married Ooi Wei Ming (some sources cite name as Ooi Hoe Seong; a tobacco company executive), February 15, 1996 (separated). Education: Central Drama Academy, Beijing, China, graduated, 1989.

Addresses:

Agent—David Unger, International Creative Management, 10250 Constellation Way, 9th Floor, Los Angeles, CA 90067.

Career:

Actress. Head juror of Berlin International Film Festival, 2000, Venice International Film Festival, 2002, and Tokyo International Film Festival, 2003. Appointed global environmental ambassador of the United Nations, 2008; spokesperson for L'Oreal for Southeast Asia and China and for Shanghai Tang clothing line; appeared in television commercials for cellular phones and air conditioners. Central Drama Academy, Beijing, China, instructor.

Awards, Honors:

Hundred Flowers Award, best supporting actress, 1989, for Operation Cougar; Hong Kong Film Award nomination, best actress, 1991, for The Terracotta Warrior; Volpi Cup, best actress, and honorable mention for OCIC Award, both Venice International Film Festival, 1992, and Golden Rooster Award, best actress, 1994, all for The Story of Qiu Ju; Berlinale Camera, Berlin International Film Festival, 1993; Hundred Flowers Award, best actress, 1993, for Raise the Red Lantern; New York Film Critics Circle Award, 1993, for Farewell, My Concubine; Chlotrudis Award nomination, best actress, 1995, for To Live; Hong Kong Film Award nomination, best actress, 1997, for Temptress Moon; French Order of Arts and Letters, 1998; Montreal World Film Festival Award and Golden Rooster Award, both best actress, 2000, for Piao liang ma ma; Grand Prix Special des Ameriques, Montreal World Film Festival, 2000; Students' Choice Award, favorite actress, Beijing Student Film Festival, 2003, for Zhou Yu de huo che; Festival Trophy, Cannes Film Festival, 2004; National Board of Review Award and Satellite Award nomination, International Press Academy, both best supporting actress, 2005, for Memoirs of a Geisha; Hong Kong Film Award and Asian Film Award nomination, both best actress, 2007, for Man cheng jin dai huang jin ja; Chinese World Influence Award, 2007.

CREDITS

Film Appearances:

Nine, the Grandmother, Red Sorghum (also known as Hong gao liang), New Yorker, 1988.

Ah Li, Operation Cougar (also known as Codename Cougar, The Puma Action, and Daihao meizhoubao), 1989.

Guilian, Xi tai hou (also known as The Empress Dowager), 1989.

Hoi sam gui miu ba (also known as Mr. Sunshine and Kai xin ju wu ba), 1989.

Winter/Lili Chu, A Terracotta Warrior (also known as Gu jin da zhan qin yon qing and Qin Yong), 1990.

Title role, Ju Dou, Miramax, 1991.

Songlian, Raise the Red Lantern (also known as Da hong deng long gao gao gua), Orion Classics, 1991.

Herself/waitress at banquet, The Banquet (also known as Party of a Wealthy Family, Haomen yeyan, and Ho moon ye yin), 1991.

(As Lei Gung) Miss Yu-San/Yu-Mong, Back to Shanghai (also known as God of Gamblers Part III: Back to Shanghai, God of Gamblers III, God of Gamblers III: Back to Shanghai, Knight of Gamblers II: Shanghai Beach's Saint of Gamblers, Do hap II: Seung Hoi taam do sing, and Du xia II zhi Shang Hai tan du sheng), 1991.

Ma Li (Mary), Mary from Beijing (also known as Awakening, Meng xing shi fan, Mung seng see fan, and Mungsing Sifan), Rim Film Distributors, 1992.

Chen Heung, Flirting Scholar (also known as Tang Bohu dian Qiu Xiang, Tong bat fu kau chau heung, and Tong pak fu dim Chou Heung), 1993.

Pan Yuliang, Soul of a Painter (also known as Pan Yu Liang, a Woman Painter, A Soul Haunted by Painting, Hua Hun, Pan Yuliang artiste peintre, and La peintre), 1993.

Juxian, Farewell, My Concubine (also known as Ba wang bie ji and Ba wong bit gei), Miramax, 1993.

Wan Qiu Ju, The Story of Qiu Ju (also known as Qui Ju Goes to Court and Qiu Ju da guan si), Sony Pictures Classics, 1993.

Mo Han-Wen, 8 Guardians of Buddhism (also known as Dragon Chronicles: The Maidens, Dragon Chronicles: The Maidens of Heavenly Mountain, The Immortals, The Maidens of Heavenly Mountain, Semi-Gods and Semi-Devils, San tin lung baat biu chi tin saan tung liu, and Xin tian long ba bu zhi tian shan tong lao), 1994.

Lu Zhi, The Great Conqueror's Concubine (also known as King of Western Chu, Sai choh ba wong, and Xi chu bawang), 1994.

Xu Jiazhen, To Live (also known as Lifetimes, Living, Huozhe, and Woot jeuk), Samuel Goldwyn, 1994.

Xiao Jinbao (Little Jewel), the Godfather's Mistress, Shanghai Triad (also known as Yao a yao yao dao waipo qiao), Sony Pictures Classics, 1995.

Pang Ruyi, Temptress Moon (also known as Feng yue), Miramax, 1996.

Vivian, Chinese Box, Trimark Pictures, 1997.

Sun Liying, Piao liang ma ma (also known as Breaking the Silence), 1999.

Lady Zhao, Jing ke ci qin wang (also known as The Assassin, The Emperor and the Assassin, The First Emperor, and L'empereur et l'assassin), Sony Pictures Classics, 1999.

Zhou Yu, Zhou Yu de huo che (also known as Zhou Yu's Train), 2002, subtitled version, Sony Pictures Classics, 2004.

Su Li-zhen, 2046 (also known as 2046—Der ultimative Liebesfilm), Sony Pictures Classics, 2004.

Miss Hua, "The Hand," Eros, Warner Independent Pictures, 2005.

Hatsumomo, Memoirs of a Geisha, Columbia, 2005.

(As Gong Li) Isabella, Miami Vice, Universal, 2006.

Empress Phoenix, Man cheng jin dai huang jin jia (also known as Curse of the Golden Flower), Sony Pictures Classics, 2006.

(As Gong Li) Lady Murasaki, Hannibal Rising (also known as Hannibal Lectere—Le origini del male and Hannibal Lecter—Les origines du mal), Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 2007.

Television Appearances; Specials:

Hatsumomo and herself, On the Set: Memoirs of a Geisha, Starz, 2005.

(In archive footage) 101 Sexiest Celebrity Bodies, E! Entertainment Television, 2005.

2006 Asian Excellence Awards, 2006.

Isabelle and herself, Miami Vice: Undercover, NBC, 2006.

Isabella (in archive footage), Como conseguir un papel en Hollywood, 2007.

(In archive footage) Cannes, 60 ans d'histoires, 2007.

Television Appearances; Episodic:

Primer plano, 1996.

(As Gong Li) Tout le monde en parle, 2002.

Qiu Hu and herself (in archive footage), Cinema mil, 2005.

"Lady in the Water," HBO First Look, HBO, 2006.

"Miami Vice: Undercover," HBO First Look, HBO, 2006.

RECORDINGS

Videos:

Secrets Within: Behind the Scenes of "Curse of the Golden Flower," Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, 2007.

OTHER SOURCES

Books:

International Dictionary of Films and Filmmakers, Volume 3: Actors and Actresses, 4th edition, St. James Press, 2000.

Newsmakers 1998, Issue 4, Gale, 1998.

Periodicals:

Asian Cult Cinema, Issue 54, 2007, pp. 4-11.

Entertainment Weekly, January 27, 1995, p. 14; December 16, 2005, pp. 40-44; July 21, 2006, p. 23.

Guardian, April 6, 2007.

Interview, May, 1997, p. 54.

People Weekly, April 27, 1998, p. 135.

Premiere, March, 1996, pp. 73-75; February, 2006, p. 84.