Gong Li Biography

Gong Li was born New Year's Eve, December 31, 1965, in Shenyang, Liaoning Province, China. Raised in Jinan, Gong Li is the daughter of an economics professor.

The porcelain beauty always dreamed of becoming a singer, and it was her love of music that led to her applying to China's top music school. Gong Li was rejected from the music school, but was accepted to the Central Drama Academy in Beijing, and graduated in 1985.

do i a-muse you?

The relationship between Gong Li and famed Chinese director Zhang Yimou started when Gong Li was cast in her debut role, as the female lead in 1987's Red Sorghum, while she was still a student. Zhang Yimou and Gong Li were romantically involved for years, and he referred to her as his Muse.

Once she graduated, Gong Li was cast in Terracotta Warrior and The Puma Action in 1989, Ju Dou in 1990, and Zhang Yimou's Raise the Red Lanternin 1992.

The early '90s were filled with film roles, such as The Banquet, in which she appeared as herself and a waitress, and Back to Shanghai in 1991. In 1992, Gong Li starred in the title role of Zhang Yimou's The Story of Qiu Ju, for which she won a Best Actress Award at the 49th Venice International Film Festival. In what she refers to as her favorite role, Gong Li spent weeks in a small village and learned the local language, in order to portray a poor woman.

gong li goes international

After her role in Mary from Beijing, Gong Li gained International recognition for her role in Chen Kaige's Farewell My Concubine in 1993. She won a New York Film Critics award for the film.

In 1993, Gong Li appeared in Flirting Scholar and Soul of a Painter, and followed these up with 1994's Living (another Zhang Yimou film), Dragon Chronicles: The Maidens, and The Great Conqueror's Concubine.

Gong Li's final collaboration with Zhang Yimou was in 1995's Shanghai Triad, the year her relationship with the director ended.

The '90s rounded off with 1996's Temptress Moon, 1997's Chinese Box (which she refers to as the least favorite of her films), and 1999's Breaking the Silence and The Emperor and the Assassin. She is also said to be planning a film with Richard Gere.

Known as China's most famous actress in the Western world and the Chinese equivalent of Julia Roberts, Gong Li has a multitude of international awards to her name, most notably France's highest cultural honor, the Officier des Arts et des Lettres in 1988.

a gorgeous face


Gong Li is also China's most recognized face, chosen as a representative of Shanghai Tang clothing and a beauty ambassador for L'Oreal cosmetics. Not only recognized for her talent, Gong Li is also known for being one the world's most beautiful women, as People magazine included her in one of its 50 Most Beautiful People lists.

Though she is no longer with Zhang Yimou (who has since been allegedly linked to Zhang Ziyi), Gong Li has been happily married to a wealthy businessman from Singapore, Ooi Wei Ming, since 1996.

Gretchen Mol Biography

# Birth Place: Deep River, CT
# Date of Birth / Zodiac Sign: 11/08/1972, Scorpi

Gretchen Mol Fast Facts:

* Was working at a New York restaurant in 1996 when an agent asked her for photo and resume and launched her career with work in commercials and on the series Spin City.
* Her movie debut was in Spike Lee's Girl 6 in 1996.
* In 1998, she made two highly anticipated movies, Rounders with Matt Damon and Edward Norton and Woody Allen's Celebrity. She also appeared on her first magazine cover for Vanity Fair. Neither movie did very well, and the publicity went away for a while.
* In 2004, made Broadway debut as Roxie Hart in the musical Chicago.
* Her most acclaimed role came with the 2006 film The Notorious Bettie Page, in which she starred as the ill-fated 50s pin-up girl.

* Gretchen Mol Relationships:
* Janet Mol - Mother
* Jim Mol - Brother
* Ptolemy John Williams - Son
* Tod Williams - Husband
* College:
* Attended American Musical and Dramatic Academy, New York, NY; William Esper Studio, New York, NYo

Gabrielle Anwar Biography

Born in the daughter of an Persian film producer and a British actress in Laleham, Middlesex, England, in February of 1970, ruffian Anwar was kicked out of school for fighting in her early years, though she later opted to study drama and dance in London. Anwar made her television debut in Jim Henson's The Storyteller (1987), followed by her film debut in 1988's Manifesto, and after appearing in such British miniseries as Summer's Lease, First Born, and Press Gang (all in 1989), it was time to cross the pond with mate Craig Sheffer and make her bid for Hollywood. Following her eye-catching turn in Scent of a Woman, the fledgling starlet faced an unearthly horror in Abel Ferrara's Body Snatchers, romanced Michael J. Fox in For Love or Money (both 1993), and appeared opposite Andy Garcia in Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead (1995).
Though most audiences will likely remember getting their first glimpse of the lovely Gabrielle Anwar when she took the dance floor as Al Pacino's tango partner from 1992's Scent of a Woman, she had previously appeared in numerous British miniseries' since the late '80s. Breaking into American cinema opposite Richard Grieco in the 1991 teen spy comedy If Looks Could Kill, Anwar soon found herself climbing the credits list after her charm and skillful footwork left audience hungering for more.
Though it certainly seemed as if Anwar's career was headed in the right direction, a series of low-budget efforts in the late '90s, as well as a rumor that she had lost the lead role in Titanic to Kate Winslet, seemed to stall her rise to stardom. Taking a cue from her early years, Anwar turned toward television. She gained positive notice for her role as Fidel Castro's secret lover in the 1999 made-for-television feature My Little Assassin, and a few short years later she appeared in the short lived sci-fi mystery series John Doe. Still appearing frequently in features, the woman voted as one of the 50 most beautiful people in the world by People Magazine (in 1993) could be spotted in such efforts as Save it for Later and Mob Dot Com in 2003.