Which actress starred in "Ju Dou", "Raise the Red Lantern", and "Shanghai Triad"?

The key actress who stars in "Ju Dou" (1990), "Raise the Red Lantern" (1991), and "Shanghai Triad" (1995) is Gong Li. She was born in Shenyang, Liaoning, China in 1965. Her father was a professor of economics and her mother was a teacher. She grew up in Jinan, the capital of Shandong.

In 1985 at age 20, she was accepted to study at the Central Academy of Drama in Beijing; she graduated in 1989. While a student at the Central Academy of Drama, she was discovered by Zhang Yimou, a Chinese film director, producer, writer, and actor, and former cinematographer.

Yimou chose Li for the lead role in the film "Red Sorghum" (1987); it was Yimou's first film as a director. In this film, Gong Li plays a young woman where her life is all about her job working in a distillery making sorghum liquor. Upon its release, "Red Sorghum" obtained international acclaim. Overall it was both a commercial and artistic success.