Li Bingbing

COP11 · November 3, 2010

Li Bingbing (Chinese: 李冰冰; pinyin: Lǐ Bīngbīng; born February 27, 1976) is a Chinese actress and singer. Becoming active in her acting career since 1994, Li has steadily achieved success in both television and film, especially in Mainland China and other Asian countries. She is also a UNEP Goodwill Ambassador and WWF Earth Hour Global Ambassador in China.

Life and career

Li had no intention of becoming an actress initially and enrolled specifically in a high school for prospective school teachers. However, upon graduation, she discovered her interest in acting and was eventually persuaded by a friend to join the Shanghai Drama Institute in 1993.

Her film debut was Zhang Yuan's Seventeen Years (1999), which won her the "Best Actress" Award in the 1999 Singapore Film Festival. In 2001, Li starred in a TV series Young Justice Bao, which propelled her to become one of the most famous actresses in China. That year she was awarded the title of one of the "Top Ten Best TV actors/actresses in China". From then on, Li was approbated as an "action actress" as she starred in a number of wuxia TV series, such as Taiji Prodigy and Eight Heroes.

In 2004, Li starred in the romantic comedy film Waiting Alone, which received three Chinese Academy Award nominations, including "Best Picture" and "Best Actress". That same year, Li won the title of "The Most Popular Actress" at the 12th Beijing College Film Festival. She went on to star in Feng Xiaogang's A World Without Thieves, which earned her a nomination for "Best Supporting Actress" Award at the 2005 Golden Rooster Awards.

Li won the "Best Actress" Awards at the 2007 Huabiao Awards and at the 2008 Golden Rooster Awards for her performance in The Knot; the film is also China's entry for the Best Foreign Film award at the 2008 Academy Awards. She also co-starred with Jet Li and Jackie Chan in the 2008 film The Forbidden Kingdom as the White-haired Witch Ni-Chang. In November 2009, Li won the Best Leading Actress Award at the 46th Golden Horse Film Awards for her role in the espionage spy thriller The Message.

Li's most recent notable performance is for the role of Shangguan Jing'er in Tsui Hark's 2010 film Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame. Her character is loosely based on Shangguan Wan'er, a poet, writer and politician of the Tang Dynasty. She will co-star and co-produce with Jackie Chan in the film The 1911 Revolution, which will be released in September 2011 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Xinhai Revolution.