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Top 10 Astonishing Facts about Gong Li

Gong Li is a Chinese actress, her work can be seen in three of the four Chinese language films. She was born on 31 December 1965.

She was born in Shenyang, Liaoning, and grew up in Jinan. Gong li graduated from college( Central Academy of Drama). She joined the program in 1985 and finished in four years.

When she was two years old, she was nominated by her school to sing children’s songs at Jinan People’s Broadcasting Station. She was a member of her high school literature and art team.

Gong comes from a big family, she has four older siblings. Her mother was a teacher and her father was a professor. One can only imagine how education was a big aspect while she and her siblings were growing up.

1. She loves Performing

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Since she was little she has always had a special place in her heart for performing. She loved to do creative things and she found a home in singing and dancing. Surprisingly enough, she still holds on to her dream of becoming a singer one day.

2. The Growth Of Her Carrer

She was discovered by Zhang Yimou( he was an upcoming film director) while she was still at the university. He asked her to star in his first film, ‘Red Sordhum’.

This went well for both parties and they each got the recognition they deserved. In 1987, her first film won the Golden Rooster Awards and the Hundred Flowers Awards for best picture 1988.

This launched her career to a whole new level. In 1989, she began ushering in a new stage of acting skills and style, this made her addition to the film industry fresh and new.

In 1990, Her film with Zhang won the Luis Bunel Special Award and was nominated for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 63rd Academy Awards. In 1991, Gong was nominated for the David di Donatello Awards.

3. Work Romance

She was in a romantic relationship with the man who discovered her. They were together from 1987 to 1995, they worked on six films together and during that time, they made their relationship private.

They continued to work together over the following decades. One of their work ‘Ju Dou'(1990) received an oscar-nomination same as ‘Raise The Dead Lantern'(1991).

In 1995, she starred in Shangai Triad, which was around the same time she broke up with Zhang Yimou.

4. Her Personal Life

This shocked society because she had just come out of a long-term relationship with Zhang Yimou. She got married to a man named Ooi Hoe Seong a Singaporean tobacco tycoon. They were rarely seen as a couple in public. They got married in Hong Kong in 1996. In 2008, she applied for Singapore citizenship, she later considered renouncing Singapore citizenship after being blacklisted in China.

5. She Was Voted Most Beautiful

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Her beauty is beyond compare, so much that in 2006 she was voted the most beautiful in China. This gained her favor being that there were so many other women in China at the time but she still managed to top the list.

6. She Is Charitable

She has a passion for helping everyone in need and giving back to the less fortunate. She is a goodwill ambassador for the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organisation. She considers it a labor of love, and it’s something she enjoys. She has been giving back since she began her role in 2000 making this her second nature. She has a portrait display at ‘ The Transformative Power Of Art’ exhibition at the united nations headquarters in 2016. in 2008, Gong was invited to be the Global Environmental Ambassador and urge the public to reduce the discharge of carbon dioxide and to give up bad habits that harm the environment.

7. She’s Divorced and Re-Married.

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On 28th June 2010, she and her husband ended their 14-year marriage. There was no argument or problem.

They just went separate ways making it quite clear that sometimes things change and people grow apart.

Either way, the rest of their dating life was quiet after that and they both made their relationships private. In 2019, she got married again to Jean Michel Jarre a french musician.

This time, she kept things private and only entered the media after she was married.

8. She Avoided Hollywood

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Gong didn’t have confidence in speaking English so she avoided Hollywood for years. She made her debut in 2005 when she starred in ‘Memoirs Of A Geisha.

Her performance gave her a good amount of positive reviews and she even made an issue in Times magazine. Her other English-language roles are ‘Miami Vice’ and ‘Hannibal Rising’.

Through her films, she gradually introduced herself to Hollywood, which broadened her horizons and gave her a better idea of different acting styles.

She was named 7th greatest performance of the year. In 2008, she narrated Beijing which was an audio walking tour by Louis Vuitton and Soundwalk.

In 2009, it won an Audie Award for Best Original Work. She played Xianniang in the Disney live-action Mulan (2020)

9. International Fame

Gong Li is China’s most internationally famous actress and brings a new era to Chinese film in the 1980s. Her films have spread like wildfire causing her to grow in fame and popularity.

Her performance in Mulan gave her an audience in countries like Croatia, Thailand, Turkey, Russia, South Africa, and Poland.

10. A Dash Of Fashion

Gong Li proves that style can be timeless, she was named Global Ambassador for Cartier. She is the front for the luxurious brand’s high-end jewelry collections and various events and appearances.

This helped her join the ranking of stars like Willow Smith, Lily Collins, and Maisie Williams among others.

All in all, Gong Li has blessed the film industry with her work and talent. She brings a lot to the table, from fashion to giving back to society, proving there that there is nothing she can’t do. This Makes her a piece of art and a gift to society.