Gong Li

Actress Gong Li has earned international acclaim both for her performances and her role in helping bring Chinese cinema to a European and American audience.

She has starred in some of China’s most memorable films, including Red Sorghum, the Oscar-nominated Raise the Red Lantern, and Farewell My Concubine, for which she received a New York Film Critics Circle award. She made her English-speaking debut in Memoirs of a Geisha.

Li was named Best Actress at the Venice Film Festival for her performance in The Story of Qiu Ju.

She has raised the profile of hunger issues in various ways since being appointed an FAO Goodwill Ambassador in 2000. These include visiting FAO projects in China and providing numerous media interviews and recorded messages.

“To launch an appeal against hunger is not a waste of time,” she said. “At the start there is never a path, but where many people pass, a path is formed.”