Born in Shenyang, China, on Dec. 31, 1965, Li Gong met influential Fifth Generation filmmaker Yimou Zhang when she was still a drama student and quickly became one of his favorite actresses. She collaborated with Zhang for the first of many times on Red Sorghum (1987), her film debut and his first full-length feature.A decade later, she made her English-language debut opposite Jeremy Irons in Chinese Box (1997) and went on to star in the Oscar-nominated Breaking the Silence (1999) before appearing in her highest-profile role yet, playing a jealous and haughty beauty in the Oscar-nominated Memoirs of a Geisha (2005).
More mainstream Hollywood fare would follow, including the glitzy, big-screen remake of Miami Vice (2006) and the Silence of the Lambs prequel Hannibal Rising (2007).
AddRaise the Red LanternAfter her father's death, 19-year-old Songlian (Li Gong) marries the much older Chen Zuoqian (Jingwu Ma), becoming the latest concubine in Chen's burgeoning harem and finding herself at the bottom of an oppressive hierarchy. Set in the 1920s during China's Warlord era, director Zhang Yimou's lushly... Read More
AddCurse of the Golden FlowerThis lavish film from landmark director Yimou Zhang follows the romantic intrigue and political machinations in the house of the Emperor Ping (Chow Yun Fat) and his ailing wife (Li Gong). Even their children are swept into their secret passions and schemes to power, but will their reign end in a... Read More
AddTo LiveA bold, energetic masterpiece from Zhang Yimou, the foremost director from China's influential "fifth generation" of filmmakers. Continuing his brilliant collaboration with China's best-known actress, Gong Li, Zhang weaves a tapestry of personal and political events, following the struggles of an... Read More
Add2046In this loose sequel to Hong Kong-based filmmaker Wong Kar-Wai's In the Mood for Love, Tony Leung Chiu-wai returns as struggling writer Chow Mo-wan, but now he's a boozing womanizer who writes soft porn. Through time travel and parallel worlds, this lushly photographed romantic drama explores... Read More
AddJu DouIn this romantic tragedy, Chinese director Yimou Zhang's visually sumptuous cinematography complements the sensual story line in which the abused wife (Gong Li) of a wealthy silk dyer (Li Wei) enters into an affair with her husband's nephew (Li Bao-tian). Arresting images, exquisite use of color and... Read More
