1987–1989: Career beginnings In 1987, while at college, Gong was discovered by
Zhang Yimou, who cast her for the lead role in
Red Sorghum, his first film as a director. The film won the
Golden Bear at the
38th Berlin International Film Festival, becoming the first Chinese film to win this award. It also won the
Golden Rooster Awards and the
Hundred Flowers Awards for Best Picture in 1988. In 1989, Gong starred in
Zhang Yimou's second counterterrorism film,
Codename Cougar, for which she won the
Hundred Flowers Awards for Best Supporting Actress, ushering in a new stage of exploring acting skills and style. On the same year, she took part in the
1989 Tiananmen Square protests and according to her, Tiananmen taught her that she should have her own opinion, "not just follow blindly."
1990–1999: Fifth generation filmmakers and international spotlight Over the several years following her 1987 acting debut in
Red Sorghum, Gong received international acclaim for her roles in several more Zhang Yimou films. In 1990, Gong Continued to cooperate with
Zhang Yimou and starred in his family ethics movie
Ju Dou, which won the Luis Buñuel Special Award at the
1990 Cannes Film Festival, and was nominated for the Best Foreign Language Film at the
63rd Academy Awards, becoming the first Chinese film to be nominated for an
Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. Gong also won the Best Actress award at the Varna International Film Festival. In 1991, Gong starred in Zhang Yimou's film
Raise the Red Lantern, which won the
Silver Lion award at the
48th Venice Film Festival, and was nominated for the Best Foreign Language Film at the
64th Academy Awards. Gong, playing a rebellious mistress in the film, won the
Hundred Flowers Awards for Best Actress and was nominated for the
David di Donatello Awards and the
NSFC for Best Actress. Her performance in the
Raise the Red Lantern (1991) put her in the international spotlight again. Gong's portrayal of rural woman Qiu Ju not only won the
Golden Rooster Awards and the
Japanese Movie Critics Awards for Best Actress, but also helped her named Best Actress at the
49th Venice Film Festival. In 1993, she received a
New York Film Critics Circle award for her role in
Farewell My Concubine (1993). Directed by
Chen Kaige, the film was her first major role with a director other than Zhang Yimou.
Premiere ranked her performance in
Farewell My Concubine as the 89th greatest performance of all time. She also worked with renowned director
Stephen Chow in comedy films
God of Gamblers III: Back to Shanghai (1991) and
Flirting Scholar (1993). Immune to political repercussions because of her fame, Gong Li began criticizing the censorship policy in China. Her films
Farewell My Concubine and
The Story of Qiu Ju were initially banned in China for being thinly veiled critiques of the Chinese government. Regarding the sexual content in
Ju Dou, Chinese censorship deemed the film "a bad influence on the physical and spiritual health of young people." She was also nominated for the
Chlotrudis Awards for Best Actress. In 1995, Gong starred in
Shanghai Triad, during her breakup with
Zhang Yimou, in which she played a seductive stage queen. The film won the Technical Grand Prize of
Cannes Film Festival, the
National Board of Review for Best Foreign Language film, and was nominated for the
Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film. These roles established her reputation, according to
Asiaweek, as In 1996, Gong and
Chen Kaige collaborated again in the romantic film
Temptress Moon, which was in competition for the
Palme d'Or at the
1996 Cannes Film Festival. Gong has been nominated for her second best Actress at the
Hong Kong Film Awards for her role as rebellious teenage girl Ru Yi. She also appeared on the cover of
Time. In 1997, Gong worked with
Jeremy Irons on the romantic drama
Chinese Box, which won the Best Original Music award at the
Venice Film Festival. In the same year, Gong was invited to be a jury at the
1997 Cannes Film Festival, becoming the first Chinese to be a jury at the festival. In June 1998, Gong Li became a recipient of France's
Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. In 1999, Gong and
Chen Kaige collaborated for the third film
The Emperor and the Assassin, which won the Technical Grand Prize at the
1999 Cannes Film Festival. In many of her early movies, Gong represents a tragic victim and an abused soul (physically or emotionally), trying to release herself from an impossible maze of corruption, violence and suppression. In
Raise the Red Lantern and
Shanghai Triad, an additional tragic element is added to her being as she unintentionally becomes the executioner of new innocent victims, making her realize that she has assisted the dark cynical system.
2000–2004: Worldwide recognition In 2000, Gong won her second international Best Actress trophy for her performance as a struggling single mother in
Breaking the Silence (2000) directed by Sun Zhou at the
Montreal World Film Festival. She attended the
Montreal World Film Festival that year, where she was awarded a
special Grand Prix of the Americas for lifetime achievement for her outstanding achievement. In the same year, Gong was invited by the
Berlin Film Festival to be the president of its international jury for the festival's 50th anniversary. Gong was nominated
Goodwill Ambassador of the
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) on 16 October 2000. In 2002, Gong was invited to head the jury of the
Venice Film Festival. In 2003, Gong served as the president of the jury of the 16th
Tokyo International Film Festival, the first woman to do so. In the early 2000s, Gong also starred in two films directed by
Wong Kar-wai,
2046 and
Eros (both in 2004), which were seen as "an important opportunity to get rid of the influence of Zhang Yimou". She also attended the
2004 Cannes Film Festival, where she was awarded the Festival Trophy for her contributions to film industry.
2005–2018: Hollywood and Chinese cinema Despite her popularity, Gong avoided Hollywood for years, due to a lack of confidence in speaking English. She made her English speaking debut in 2005 when she starred as Hatsumomo in
Memoirs of a Geisha. Her performance was met with generally positive reviews.
Times Richard Corliss to describe her as Gong also won the
National Board of Review for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Hatsumomo. Her other English-language roles to date included the
Chinese Cuban Isabella of
Miami Vice in 2006 and
Lady Murasaki of
Hannibal Rising in 2007. In all three films, she learned her English lines
phonetically. Through three English-language films, Gong has gradually established herself in
Hollywood. Speaking of the Hollywood experience, Gong said it broadened her horizons, gave her a better idea of what she liked and allowed her to experiment with different acting styles. In 2006, Gong worked again with Yimou for historical epic
Curse of the Golden Flower, for which She won the best Actress at the
26th Hong Kong Film Awards.
Time named her performance as the Empress as the seventh greatest performance of the year. In the same year, she was voted No.1 in the poll of "Most Beautiful Persons in China" held by The Beijing News. She narrated
Beijing (2008), an audio walking tour by
Louis Vuitton and Soundwalk, which won an Audie Award for Best Original Work in 2009. In 2010, Gong starred in the
World War II-era thriller
Shanghai as a spy who is disguised as the wife of a triad boss (played by Chow Yun-fat). She turned to documentaries and photographs about World War II, besides taking dancing classes three times a week, to ensure an accurate portrayal of the character. During a press junket for the film, she stated that she was becoming more selective with the Chinese language projects offered to her. She also emphasized in the interview:
Shanghai was not a hit with critics, with critic Nick Allen writing that "Gong Li is put to a great amount of work as the most active member in the ensemble, but she has scant character aside from his intricate allegiances." That year, she was named by
CNN as one of "Asia's 25 Greatest Actors of All Time." In 2014, Gong was the president of the jury for the
17th Shanghai International Film Festival, becoming the first woman jury president in the festival's history. Later that same year, she reunited with Yimou for the film
Coming Home, which is set during the throes of the
Cultural Revolution; this film was their first collaboration since 2006. In 2016, Gong took on her first action role in
The Monkey King 2, playing the
White Bone Demon. In 2018, Gong served as the jury president of the
55th Golden Horse Awards.
2019–present In 2019, Gong was cast in
Lou Ye's period drama
Saturday Fiction, where she plays an actress who is working undercover gathering intelligence for the Allies. The film was selected to compete for the Golden Lion at the
76th Venice International Film Festival. Gong learned shooting and hypnosis for the film.
Saturday Fiction was a box office failure due to the delayed release, but the artistic value of the film and Gong's performance gained rave reviews. That year, she was also cast in the
live-action adaptation of the 1998 Disney animated film
Mulan, as a powerful witch. While the film, released in 2020, had a mixed reception, Gong's performance was widely praised by critics.
Vanity Fair's chief critic,
Richard Lawson, wrote in his review: "It is a pleasure as ever to watch Gong do her thing, slinking and thrashing around in a fabulous black witch's cloak."
The Hollywood Reporter commented: In 2020, Gong was cast in
Peter Chan's biographical film
Leap, where she plays the hard-driving, real-life head coach of the Chinese women's national volleyball team
Lang Ping.
Leap grossed more than $100 million at the worldwide box office, and while the film received mixed reviews from critics, Gong's performance in the film was highly recognized. The performance swept all the major Hong Kong film industry awards in 2021, including the
Hong Kong Film Critics Society Awards and the
HKFDG Awards. She was also nominated for best actress at the
Hong Kong Film Awards for the fourth time. The Hong Kong Film Critics Society described her performance as having an "astonishing aura" and wrote that "She fights with conviction in the face of a conservative educational establishment, former teammates and a new generation of young athletes." In 2021, Gong was invited to be the jury president of the 11th
Beijing International Film Festival, becoming the first female jury president in the festival's history. In 2022, Gong was invited to serve as the Art Chairman of the 12th Beijing Film Festival, responsible for the selected films, assisting in the invitation and recommendation of outstanding films and guests. ==Personal life==