Bai Ling

Bai Ling (; born October 10, 1966) Subsequently, Bai spent some time in a mental hospital.

Soon after her release from the hospital, in 1981, Bai joined People's Art Theater of Chengdu, and became a professional actress. Her performance as a young man in the stage play Yueqin and Little Tiger drew the attention of movie director Teng Wenji (滕文骥), which gained her first movie role in On the Beach (1985), as a village girl who becomes a factory worker and struggled against her father's will for her to marry her cousin.

She temporarily moved to New York in 1991 to attend New York University's film department as a visiting scholar, but later obtained a special visa that allowed her to remain in the United States until she became a U.S. citizen in 1999.

Career

Bai began her acting career in China, appearing in several Chinese feature films. In 1984, she made her film debut as a fishing village girl in the movie On the Beach (海滩). Later, she filmed several other movies, including Suspended Sentence (缓期执行), Yueyue (月月), and Tears in Suzhou (泪洒姑苏) without much attention. She became famous after playing a girl with a psychological disorder who has an affair with her doctor, in the film The Shining Arc (弧光), directed by Zhang Junzhao (张军钊), her most highly acclaimed role in the Chinese film industry. In 1991, Bai moved to the United States, where she appeared in a number of American films and television shows including the legendary soap opera Guiding Light alongside actress Melina Kanakaredes.

Bai's first major American film role was in The Crow (1994), where she played the half sister and lover of the main villain, Top Dollar. In 1997, she played the lead female role, opposite Richard Gere, in the American film Red Corner. The New York Times praised Bai Ling's performance, saying that she gave the film "not only grace, but also substantial gravity". For her role in Red Corner, she received the National Board of Review Freedom for Breakthrough Female Performance and the San Diego Film Critics Society Award for Best Actress. The film was critical of human rights abuse in China, and as a result, Bai Ling's Chinese citizenship was revoked. She later became a U.S. citizen.

Bai was named one of Peoples 50 Most Beautiful People in the World in 1998. She shaved off her hair, which was longer than 36 in (90 cm) for her role in Anna and the King, and is widely known in Thailand as "Tuptim", her character's name from the film, though the film is officially banned because of its depiction of the King of Siam. She filmed scenes for Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith (2005) as Senator Bana Breemu, but her role was cut during editing. She claimed that this was because she appeared in the June 2005 issue of Playboy magazine, whose appearance on newsstands coincided with the movie's May 2005 release, but director George Lucas denied this, stating that the cut had been made more than a year earlier. Her scenes were included in the deleted scenes feature of the DVD release.

In 2004, Bai made a comeback to Chinese cinema, co-starring with Hong Kong actress Miriam Yeung in independent filmmaker Fruit Chan's horror thriller Dumplings. Her portrayal of the villainous local chef Aunt Mei in the film earned her the 2005 Hong Kong Film Award for Best Supporting Actress, and led to her renewed popularity among the Chinese film audience. In the same year, she also received critical acclaim for her performance in another independent movie, The Beautiful Country, co-starring Nick Nolte, and directed by Hans Petter Moland.

Later in 2005, Bai was a member of the official jury at the 55th Berlin International Film Festival. On television, she was a cast member on the VH1 program called But Can They Sing?. Also in 2005, Bai guest-starred in season two of Entourage in which she played a love interest of Vincent Chase (Adrian Grenier).

In 2007, she starred as Coco in the film adaptation of the controversial Chinese contemporary novel Shanghai Baby, which premiered at Cannes Film Festival, and also guest-starred in one episode ("Stranger in a Strange Land") of the show Lost. Since 2007, she has appeared in a number of films, including Love Ranch, Crank: High Voltage, and A Beautiful Life, although she became more well known for her red-carpet appearances and outrageous fashions.

In 2013, Bai enjoyed a career resurgence with the movie The Gauntlet (a.k.a. Game of Assassins), which earned her the Best Actress award at the Los Angeles Cinema Festival of Hollywood, and at the 2014 Asians On Film Festival. Also, for Speed Dragon, she received the Best Feature Film Award at the New York International Independent Film and Video Festival. In late 2014, Bai starred alongside David Arquette in The Key, Jefery Levy's adaptation of the novel by Jun'ichirō Tanizaki. In October 2014, Bai was a member of the jury in the "India Gold 2014" section of the Mumbai Film Festival.

In 2017, Bai took part in the short film To Pimp a Butterfly by Rui Cui, which won her second Best Actress win at the Asians On Film Festival. Subsequently, in 2019, after 15 years since their collaboration in Dumplings, director Fruit Chan and Bai worked together again in The Abortionist (墮胎師). For her performance Bai obtained her second nomination at the Golden Horse Film Festival as Best Actress. She also enjoyed a new success in independent horror movies such as Exorcism at 60,000 Feet (2019) and Unspeakable: Beyond the Wall of Sleep (2024). Bai was also awarded in Italy the Milan Gold Awards Best Actress prize for Jack Be Nimble (2022), another horror film.

Personal life On February 14, 2008, Bai was arrested at Los Angeles International Airport for shoplifting. Bai stated it was an "emotionally crazy" day due to the breakup of a relationship, and was ordered to pay a fine and penalties after pleading guilty in March 2008 to disturbing the peace.

In a 2009 interview, Bai claimed that she is from the Moon, where her grandmother lives. "I'm not really in reality. I'm in my own universe and my mind is a million miles somewhere else", she stated, further explaining: "Why I feel like I come from the Moon is because my mother told me I was found somewhere". She believes that when she looks up at the Moon, she can often spot her grandmother there, still living in her childhood home.

In 2011, she appeared in the fifth season of the VH1 reality television series Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew, which documented her recovery from alcohol addiction. In a 2011 interview regarding her public image and troubles over the years, she stated: I accidentally or innocently destroyed the beautiful Bai Ling that everybody loved, that beautiful, talented actress. Instead, the media brought me out as this crazy slut showing her nipples everywhere. I become this character the pop culture Hollywood machine created. Somehow, I become a victim to that image.

Filmography

Film

Year Film Role Notes/ 1984 Hai tan (海滩) Lu Xiao Mei (陆小妹) 1985 Lei sa Gu Su (泪洒姑苏) Wang Lingjuan (王怜娟) 1986 Yue Yue (月月) Yue Yue (月月) 1987 College Student Stories (大学生轶事) Xiao Qian (小钱) Shan cun feng yue (山村风月) Guier (桂儿) 1988 Wu qiang qiang shou (无枪枪手) Yan Hong (严红) 1989 The Shining Arc (弧光) Jing Huan (景唤) Fei fa chi qiang zhe (非法持枪者) Nu Siji 1992 Pen Pals Sharice Escape from China Peasant Woman (voice) 1994 The Crow Myca Dead Funny Norriko 1995 Dead Weekend Amelia A. TV movie Nixon Chinese Interpreter Nobody's Girls: Five Women of the West Mary Bong 1997 Red Corner Shen Yuelin 1998 Somewhere in the City Lu-Lu 1999 Row Your Boat Chun Hua Wild Wild West Miss Mae Lee East Anna and the King Tuptim 2001 Shaolin Soccer Mui (voice) The Breed Lucy Westenra 2002 Face Kim Storm Watch Skylar Point of Origin Wanda Orr TV movie 2003 Taxi 3 Qiu The Extreme Team R.J. Paris Linda/Shen Li 2004 My Baby's Daddy XiXi The Beautiful Country Ling Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow Mysterious Woman She Hate Me Oni Dumplings (餃子) Mei Three... Extremes (三更2) Mei 2005 Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith Senator Bana Breemu Lords of Dogtown Punky Photographer Nomad Gaukhar (voice) Edmond Peep Show Girl 2006 Man About Town Barbi Ling Southland Tales Serpentine 2007 Living & Dying Nadia Coco The Gene Generation Michelle 2008 Toxic Lena The Hustle Han A Beautiful Life Esther Dim Sum Funeral Deedee 2009 Crank: High Voltage Ria 2010 Pai mai chun tian (拍卖春天) Zhang Qian (张倩) Magic Man Samantha Love Ranch Samantha Circle of Pain Victoria Rualan Video The Confidant Black Chain Letter Jai Pham Petty Cash Coco Locked Down Guard Flores The Lazarus Papers Kyo 2011 The Bad Penny Nok 2012 Clash of the Empires Laylan Video Yellow Hill: The Stranger's Tale The Stranger Short 2013 Game of Assassins Kim Lee American Girls Amanda Chen Blood Shed Lucy 2014 The Key Ida Vultures in the Void Deadspeed Short 2015 Terms & Conditions The Bodyguard 6 Ways to Sundown June Lee ABCs of Superheroes Galvana Boned The Mistress Samurai Cop 2: Deadly Vengeance Doggé Sacred Blood Lilly Call Me King Li Soo Everlasting Cristiane 2016 Beyond the Game Tara Shanghai Wang Madame Xin Better Criminal Miss Jasmine Feng 2017 To Pimp a Butterfly Butterfly (Mother) Short Sharknado 5: Global Swarming Mira TV movie Andover Professor Huan Maximum Impact Scanlon 2018 Tang ren jie tan an 2 Aaimali Kunana Dead Ringer April Accidental Diplomats The Translator Short 2019 Exorcism at 60,000 Feet Amanda Speed Dragon Jackie The Final Level: Escaping Rancala Challenger The Abortionist (墮胎師) Jane 2020 The Legion Amirah Airliner Sky Battle Dr. Meili Liu 2021 Venus as a Boy Cleo The Expat NBI Operative Fast Vengeance Lucid Lucy Night Caller Jade Mei Hustle Down Crystal Banking on Christmas Judith Painted Beauty Biyu 2022 Jack Be Nimble Nurse Edmond Lockdown Cherry Pig Killer Brenda 2023 Johnny & Clyde Zhang My Red Neck Neighbor Shumai Buckle Up Scorpio Back Home Mother of Heung Wing Phoenix Scavenger Scalper Jade Mei Mega Ape Dr. Li 2024 The Haunted Studio Cornelia Baba Yaga Scorpio The Keepers of the 5 Kingdoms Kuang The Omicron Killer Nurse Nancy Unspeakable: Beyond the Wall of Sleep Dr. Fenton Down Below Thorn 2025 Werewolf Game Demi

Television Year Title Role Notes 1993 The Guiding Light Lin Episode: "Episode #1.11946" Homicide: Life on the Street Teri Chow Episode: "And the Rockets' Dead Glare" 1995 The Cosby Mysteries Dr. Valerie Chong Episode: "The Hit Parade" 1998 Touched by an Angel Jean Chang Episode: "The Spirit of Liberty Moon: Part 1 & 2" 2000 Angel Jhiera Episode: "She" The Wild Thornberrys Mother Panda/Mei-Mei (voice) Guest Cast: Season 2–3 2001 The Chris Isaak Show Herself Episode: "Freud's Dilemma" The Monkey King Guanyin Episode: "Part 1 & 2" 2003 Jake 2.0 Mei Ling Episode: "Cater Waiter" 2005 But Can They Sing? Herself Main Cast Entourage Li Lei Episode: "Chinatown" 2007 Lost Achara Episode: "Stranger in a Strange Land" The Unit Princess Episode: "Freefall" 2009 Free Radio Herself Episode: "KDOG" 2011 Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew Herself Main Cast: Season 5 2012 The Unemployment of Danny London Herself Episode: "London's Labyrinth" Hawaii Five-0 Esmeralda Episode: "Popilikia" 2021 Transcendent Realms Shadow Main Cast 2023 Barbee Rehab Chinese Barbee Main Cast Great Kills Bai Main Cast

Documentary Year Title 2016 Enter the Samurai

Video games Year Title Role Notes 2006 Scarface: The World Is Yours Ana Yamada - U-Gin Bar Manager (voice)

Music video appearances Year Title Artist Notes 1998 "Please" Chris Isaak Herself

Discography

Singles "Rehab" (2011) "U Touch Me, I Don't Know U" (2011) "I Love U My Valentine" (2012) "Tuesday Night 8pm" (2012)

Music videos "Rehab" (2011) "U Touch Me, I Don't Know U" (2011) "I Love U My Valentine" (2012) "Tuesday Night 8pm" (2012)