Gong Li (born December 31, 1965) is a Chinese film actress. She first came into international prominence through close collaboration with Chinese director Zhang Yimou and is credited with helping bring Chinese cinema to Europe and the United States. She has twice been awarded the Golden Rooster and the Hundred Flowers Awards twice as well as the Berlinale Camera, Cannes Festival Trophy, National Board of Review, New York Film Critics Circle Award, and Volpi Cup winning. She married Singaporean businessman Ooi Hoe Soeng in 1996, and became a Singaporean citizen in 2008.
Early life
Gong Li was born in Shenyang, Liaoning, China, the fifth child in her family. Her father was a professor of economics and her mother, who was 40 when Gong was born, was a teacher. Gong grew up in Jinan, the capital of Shandong Province. She wished to be an actress from a young age[citation needed]. She was accepted to the Beijing Central College of Drama in 1985 and graduated in 1989. She was a student there when Zhang Yimou chose her in 1987 for the lead role in his first film as a director.
