In 1987, at the height of China’s cinematic renaissance, a young director named Zhang Yimou discovered film student Gong Li during an audition for Red Sorghum. Although inexperienced, her fiery gaze fascinated him. Zhang they took a bold opportunity, casting her as the lead, a decision that paid off when the film won the Golden Bear at the 1988 Berlin International Film Festival, launching both of their careers to international fame.
From that moment their names became inseparable. Zhang Yimou shaped Gong Li‘, as she became his muse, the soul of his camera. Together, they created some of the greatest masterpieces of Chinese cinema: Raise the Red Lantern, Ju Dou, The Story of Qiu JuAND Live. Their on-screen collaborations blurred the line between professional partnership and passionate love.
Gong Li once said, “We understood each other without words, a look was enough.” However, as their creative bond deepened, personal expectations began to tear them apart.
For eight years, Gong Li he dedicated his youth Zhang Yimou. In 1995, at the age of 30, he wanted marriage and stability. However, Zhang still emotionally scarred from his previous marriage, he feared the marriage would happen “it chains his creativity”. His hesitation planted the seed of their separation.
Second Tiffany Chenwife of Hong Kong film mogul Charles Heung and a longtime friend of the couple, Gong Li he confided in her in those painful years. Chen he remembered seeing Gong Li crying in a locker room Suzhouheartbroken after waiting in vain for a proposal that never came.
When the break finally came, Zhang he was devastated. He was inside Tokyo finishing post-production when he received the news. Chen he revealed it Zhang he called her from a pay phone, sobbing uncontrollably. “He talked a lot, but none of it made sense,” he said. “It was the first time I saw a man so powerful in art yet so helpless in love.”
During that emotional turmoil, another man entered Gong Li‘s life — Singaporean businessman Ooi Hoe Seongwho had coincidentally been introduced to her through one of the Zhangthe projects of. Ooh prosecuted Gong Li with unwavering sincerity and in 1995 ended his relationship with Zhang. The following year he married Oohmarking a new chapter in his life.
Their marriage was peaceful but distant. While Gong Li she traveled the world for her international film career, her husband remained focused on business Singapore. Over time, the emotional gap widened, leading to a calm and amicable divorce, without bitterness.
Today, at 60 years old, Gong Li remains a timeless global icon. She often appears elegantly alongside her second husband, the French composer Jean-Michel Jarreradiating independence and inner peace. She’s no longer anyone’s muse, Gong Li now she is the author of her own safe, free and satisfied story.
In the meantime, Zhang Yimou he went on to create cinematic epics such as Hero, House of Flying Daggers, ShadowAND Under the hawthorn treeas he embraces a humble family life with his wife Chen Ting and their three children.
Their love may have ended, but his legacy born of art, passion and pain continues to shape the soul of Chinese cinema.
Sources: K14
