Li Lihua 李丽华

Li Lihua was born in Shanghai on July 17, 1924. She was originally from Hebei and the daughter of the famous Peking Opera actress Li Guifang. At the age of 12, she moved to Peking and studied Peking Opera. At the age of 16, she joined Shanghai Yihua Film Company. In 1940, she became famous for starring in "Three Smiles". Later, she starred in 17 films including "Send Off a Thousand Miles to the Lady" in Yihua Film Company. After 1942, she starred in films such as "Spring River's Hate" in Zhonglian and Huaying. In 1946, she starred in the satirical comedy "Fake Phoenix" for Wenhua Film Company. She moved to Hong Kong in 1948 and worked as an actress in film companies such as Greater China, Wing Wah, Great Wall, Fifties, Longma, Shaw Brothers, and Xinhua. She starred in films such as "The World of Lies", "The Missing Date", and "The Money Worshiper". ", "Red Rose", "Red in the Snow", etc. In 1954, she founded Lihua Film Company and shot films such as "Blockbuster". In 1955, she starred in Hong Kong's first color film "Begonia Red". In 1957, she formed the Golden Dragon Film Company with Yan Jun, a well-known actor and director at the time, and produced films such as "The Dragon and the Phoenix". The two later got married and became a screen couple. In 1958, Li Lihua was invited to Hollywood to film "The Flying Tigers" with the famous movie star Victor McCue. However, she refused to shoot a kissing scene with the leading actor and returned to Hong Kong to pursue her career. In 1960, Li Lihua joined Shaw Brothers and starred in many masterpieces, including "Eternal Beauty", "Yang Guifei", "Wu Zetian", "Red Tears", etc. In 1964, she won the Best Actress Award at the 3rd Golden Horse Awards for "Spring Dreams in the Old City"; in 1968, she went to Taiwan to star in "Yangtze River Storm" and won the Best Actress Award at the 7th Golden Horse Awards. In 1978, she starred in the film "A Dream of Red Mansions" and the TV series "A Thousand Years of Holy Sword" in Taiwan. A total of more than 120 films were shot before and after. She retired from acting in 1983 and moved to the United States. In 1993, she won the 30th Golden Horse Awards Memorial Award. Li Lihua passed away in Hong Kong in the early morning of March 19, 2017, at the age of 93.