Li Gong's Birthday
On December 31, 1965, in the city of Shenyang, China's Liaoning province, the fifth child, a girl, was born to a professor of economics at Liaoning University Lijie Gong and his wife Ying Zhao, an employee of the same university. The Gong family already had one daughter, and in accordance with the then demographic policy of the PRC, the birth of a second girl was undesirable and capable of bringing the authorities' discontent on the family. But the girl's parents were not afraid to go against the guidelines of the Chinese communist government and never regretted it.
From an early age, Li Gong developed an aptitude for music, singing and choreography. Due to this, already at school, she was recommended to participate in the choir of the local broadcasting company. After completing her primary education in 1983, Li Gong tried several times to enter higher education, but each time she failed. In 1985, she made another attempt to enter the National Academy of Theater, however, she again did not have enough points for admission. But the Ministry of Culture of the PRC, interested in attracting personnel for the national opera, sent a letter of recommendation to this educational institution. So Li Gong became a student at the Central Academy of Dramatic Arts in Beijing.
It so happened that in 1987, when Li Gong was still a student at the theater academy, aspiring filmmaker Zhang Yimou was looking for an actress to play the main character in his debut anti-Japanese film "Hong gao liang 红高粱 (Red Sorghum)". An assistant director in search of a young actress came to the theater academy, where one of the students recommended Li Gong to him. Zhang Yimou, after meeting and talking with Li Gong, came to the conclusion that she, like no other actress, is suitable for the role of the heroine of "Red Sorghum". Thus began the creative and then romantic union of Li Gong and Zhang Yimou, which lasted 15 years. The film "Hong gao liang 红 高粱 (Red Sorghum)", which became the debut for its director and female lead, in 1988 received the main prize - Golden Bear - at the Berlin Film Festival. This victory brought international fame to Zhang Yimou and Li Gong.
The romantic (but not marital!) union of Gong Li and Zhang Yimou lasted until 1995. After breaking off her relationship with Zhang Yimou in 1996, Gong Li married a tobacco magnate from Singapore. In 2010, Gong Li divorced the tobacco magnate and in 2019 married the world-famous French composer Jean-Michel Jarre.
For several decades, Gong Li refused offers from American filmmakers to appear in Hollywood films, citing poor knowledge of the English language. However, in 2004, the Actress accepted an offer to play one of the main roles in Rob Marshall's film Memoirs of a Geisha (2005). This film, which strengthened Gong Li's international fame, marked the beginning of a deterioration in her relations with the Chinese leadership. Chinese censors banned the showing of this film in China, offended by the fact that Japanese prostitutes were played by Chinese actresses. The friction between the actress and Chinese censorship that began with this film led to the fact that in 2008 she had to change, although not without difficulties, her Chinese citizenship to Singaporean.
To date, Li Gong's filmography includes 35 full-length feature films, of which 4 films entered the Golden Thousand, including "Ba wang bie ji 霸王别姬 (Farewell My Concubine)" (1992, director Kaige Chen), "Da hong deng long gao gao gua 大红灯笼高高挎 (Raise the Red Lantern)" (1991), "Qiu Ju da guan si 秋菊打官司 (The Story of Qiu Ju)" (1992), "Huo zhe 活着 (To Live)" (1995). Director of the last three mentioned pictures - Yimou Zhang. With that said, Li Gong is included in FilmGourmand's list of the 100 Most Beautiful and Sexiest Actresses in World Cinema.
Li Gong has won 37 film awards, including the prestigious Best Actress Awards at the 1992 Venice International Film Festival and the 2000 Montreal International Film Festival. Today, Li Gong is the most respected actress in China, having received numerous film awards and state awards, both national and international, thanks to which she has acquired the reputation of "the first lady of the Asian film industry." On the Actress’s birthday, I invite fans of her work to remember scenes from the best films with her participation.
