Gong Li was born New Year's Eve, December 31, 1965, in Shenyang, Liaoning Province, China. Raised in Jinan, Gong Li is the daughter of an economics professor.

The porcelain beauty always dreamed of becoming a singer, and it was her love of music that led to her applying to China's top music school. Gong Li was rejected from the music school, but was accepted to the Central Drama Academy in Beijing, and graduated in