Ms Teresa Li Li Hua

1925-2017

Actress

Actor Li Li Hua was born into a family of Peking opera artists – her father was maestro Li Guifang and her mother, Zhang Shaoquan, was famous for her portrayals of old women. Known as “the Eternal Beauty of the Silver Screen”, Li joined Yi Hwa Film Company at age 16 and rose to stardom with Three Charming Smiles (1940). In 1948, she came to Hong Kong, where she continued to be a leading actress in Mandarin films and remained a superstar until the 1970s. Her best-known works include The Awful Truth (1950), The Insulted and Injured (1950), Should They Marry? (1951), General Chai and Lady Balsam (1953) and Blood in Snow (1956). In 1955, Li was cast in the leading role of her first colour film Blood Will Tell (1955). In 1960, she joined Shaw Brothers which cast her in Yang Kwei Fei (1962), Empress Wu Tse-Tien (1963), The Adulteress (1963), Vermilion Door (1965) and The Goddess of Mercy (1967), among other titles. She won Best Actress twice at Taiwan’s Golden Horse Awards, for Between Tears and Laughter (1964) and Storm over the Yang-Tse River (1969). In 1973, Li emigrated to the US, but appeared in King Hu’s The Fate of Lee Khan (1973) and Chang Cheh’s Spiritual Fists (1976), both made in Taiwan. She retired in 1983. In 2015 and 2016, respectively, she was bestowed the Lifetime Achievement honour at the Golden Horse Awards and the Hong Kong Film Awards.