Li Lihua

Li Lihua was born in Shanghai, China, on July 17, 1924. Her parents were both Peking opera performers, and she inherited their talent and passion for acting. She made her film debut in 1940 with the movie Three Smiles, which was a huge success and made her an instant star. She moved to Hong Kong in 1948 and joined the Shaw Brothers Studio, where she became one of the most popular and versatile actresses of her generation. She starred in various genres of films, such as historical dramas, romances, comedies, and martial arts. Some of her notable films include The Magnificent Concubine (1962), which won the technical prize at the Cannes Film Festival, Empress Wu (1963), which was nominated for the Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival, and China Doll (1958), which was her first and only Hollywood film. She also won several awards for her acting, such as the Golden Horse Award for Best Actress in 1965 and 1983, and the Lifetime Achievement Award in 1997. She also received the Order of Brilliant Star from the Taiwanese government in 2004. She retired from acting in 1978 and moved to the United States, where she lived a quiet and peaceful life. She died of natural causes on March 19, 2017, in Hong Kong, at the age of 92. She was buried in Po Fook Hill Ancestral Hall, where many other prominent figures of the Hong Kong film industry are also laid to rest. She was married to actor and director Yan Jun from 1957 until his death in 1980. They had no children, but she adopted a daughter named Li Ming in 1981. She was also a devout Buddhist and a generous philanthropist. She donated millions of dollars to various charities and causes, such as education, health care, disaster relief, and animal welfare. She was widely respected and admired by her fans, colleagues, and friends, who remembered her as a graceful, elegant, and kind-hearted woman.