in old Hollywood
Li Li-Hua
Captivating Hearts in One Movie
Li LiHua had a long standing film career of 40 long years, having around 120 films in Chinese Cinema. She played roles of royal concubine and Empresses with lavish costuming to a secret agent to an Asian woman in love. Aside from acting she has also produced film and contribute her vocals to songs.
Goddess of Chinese Cinema
01
Background
Li Li-Hua is born in China to superstar parents: Beijing opera singer and an actor father. Her father unfortunately died early when she was only 4 years old.
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Eternal Star
Jackie Chan is a popular Asian actor who has made his rounds even today in Hollywood movies like Rush Hour. Li Li-hua is like a mother figure to him as they have been in 3 films together.
He was the one who presented her with the 2015 Golden Horse Award, calling her an "Eternal Goddess".
A nickname that stuck to her throughout her career is Hsiao Mi or The Evergreen Tree because of her striking beauty and elegance that never seem to fade and all of the wonderful performances she has done throughout her career.
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Notable Movies
Throughout her life she has acted in a total of 120 movies.
Three notable ones are:
1958 China Doll as "Shu-Jen"
1969 Storm Over the Yangtse River as "Chua Chien Lu"
1962 The magnificent concubine as "Yang Kwei Fei"
Most of her career in film is through the Hong Kong industry where she was able to play more diverse roles. In Storm over Yangtse River she played an intelligence unit agent who goes to save her lover. Compared to in China Doll, a Hollywood movie, where she was only seen as an object for a white soldier to use and fall in love with.
02
Rise to Fame
Her first film, at only 16 years old, is called San Xiao (Three Smiles) which made her an overnight star thanks to the ingenious promotional strategy by her producers. In 1948 she moved to Hong Kong where she landed multiple roles with multiple agencies.
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Lifetime Awards
Golden Horse Film Festival
1965 - Best Leading Actress (Xin ti Xiao Yin Yuan 1964)
1969 - Best Leading Actress
(Yang Zi Jiang Feng Yun 1969)
2015 - Lifetime Achievement Award
Hong Kong Film Awards
2016 - Lifetime Achievement Award
Cannes Film Festival
The Magnificent Concubine (1962)
*First movie in Chinese language to be honoured.
Lifetime Achievement Awards recognizes and gives praise to the entire career of the individual rather than just in a single movie/ role.
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Director and Her
Being born into a family of talent and theatrics, Li Lihua had ample natural talent. For the 1956 film Blood In Snow she personally vouched for Li Han-Hsiang to be the director. The film ended up succeeding, and he went on being a well known film director.
Since then Li Lihua and Director Li Han-Hsiang has done multiple successful films together such as The Magnificent Concubine, The Adulteress, and Empress Wu Tse-Tien.