Gao Yuanyuan was born in Beijing and graduated from
China Institute of Industrial Relations. Gao entered the entertainment industry in 1996. Gao, unlike other mainland Chinese actresses, did not graduate from any drama academic institutions. Rather, she started acting in a television commercial for Meadow Gold ice-cream after being spotted on the street at Beijing's
Wangfujing shopping district. Gao made her debut in the 1997 film
Spicy Love Soup. Thereafter, she starred in
Beijing Bicycle (2001), which won the Silver Bear at the
Berlin International Film Festival and romance film
Spring Subway (2002). Gao made inroads into the international market with the film
Shanghai Dreams (2005), directed by
Wang Xiaoshuai, which won the
Prix de Jury prize at the
Cannes Film Festival. She was then picked by
Jackie Chan to star in the action comedy movie
Rob-B-Hood (2006). Chan has characterized Gao as having the "freshest look and chaste spirit no Hong Kong actress could approach". Gao next starred in the romance film
Love in the City (2007) opposite
Shawn Yue, where she plays a deaf-mute kindergarten teacher. Her performance won her the Newcomer Award at the 11th
Golden Phoenix Awards. Gao was then cast in
City of Life and Death (2009), directed by
Lu Chuan and based on the events of the
Nanjing Massacre. Departing from her "girl-next-door" image, Gao played a middle-aged teacher who helped Nanjing people survive the horrors of the Japanese atrocities in 1937. Gao called the role a "turning point" in her career, stating that she had never started taking acting seriously until she worked on the film.
City of Life and Death won the top prize at the 2009
San Sebastian Film Festival. In 2010, Gao starred alongside Korean actor
Jung Woo-sung in the romantic film
A Season of Good Rain directed by
Hur Jin-ho, as well as the omnibus romance drama film
Driverless. The following year, she starred in
Johnnie To's romantic comedy ''
Don't Go Breaking My Heart'' alongside
Daniel Wu. In 2012, Gao starred in
Chen Kaige's
Caught in the Web where she plays a young woman who commits suicide after she becomes embroiled in a social media controversy. The film was especially popular among young viewers, drawing more than six million viewers and praise from critics. Gao returned to television in 2013 with the television series
We Get Married, playing a "leftover" (
Sheng nü) unmarried woman who gets entangled with a man who has a phobia of marriage. The series was a commercial hit, and was the highest rated drama of 2013. For her performance, Gao won the Best Actress Award at the 18th Beijing
Chunyan Awards. Gao reprised her role in the
film adaptation of the drama. Gao then starred alongside
Nicholas Tse in the romantic film
But Always (2014). She won the Best Foreign Actress Award at the
52nd Grand Bell Awards. In 2017, after a two-year hiatus, Gao acted in
Juno Mak's film
Sons of the Neon Night, which was shelved until its release in 2025. ==Other activities==