Shu Qi

Shu Qi, born Lin Li-hui on April 16, 1976, in Xindian township, Taipei County (now New Taipei City), is a Taiwanese actress and filmmaker. Widely recognized as one of Asia's most successful actors, she has won four Hong Kong Film Awards, two Golden Horse Awards, and an Asian Film Award. She has also served on the main competition juries at the Berlin, Cannes, and Venice film festivals, later expanding her career into directing.

At age 17, Shu relocated to Hong Kong to pursue acting. She began as a softcore modeling figure, appearing in the Chinese edition of Playboy, before being signed by film producer Manfred Wong. Wong managed her early appearances in Hong Kong Category III features, including Sex and Zen II in 1996.

Shu achieved critical recognition in Derek Yee's 1996 feature Viva Erotica, earning Best Supporting Actress and Best New Performer at the 16th Hong Kong Film Awards. She won Best Supporting Actress at the 35th Golden Horse Awards for Portland Street Blues (1998) and transitioned into mainstream cinema with roles in City of Glass, Gorgeous, The Island Tales, and her first collaboration with director Hou Hsiao-hsien, Millennium Mambo (2001).

In 2002, Shu made her American market debut in the French film The Transporter. She gained further recognition for her roles in The Foliage (2004) and Hou's Three Times (2005), which earned her Best Leading Actress at the 42nd Golden Horse Awards. Her filmography expanded with My Wife Is a Gangster 3, Confession of Pain, New York, I Love You, and the box-office success If You Are the One (2008), for which she won a Huabiao Award. She served on juries at the Berlin International Film Festival in 2008 and the Cannes Film Festival in 2009.

Shu later starred in the box-office success Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons (2013), the wuxia feature The Assassin (2015)—winning Best Actress at the Asian Film Awards—and Mojin: The Lost Legend (2015). Her subsequent acting work included My Best Friend's Wedding, The Village of No Return, The Adventurers, Shanghai Fortress, and Resurrection (2025). In 2023, she served on the Venice Film Festival jury, and in 2024 she was invited to join the Actors Branch of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Shu made her directorial debut with the 2025 film Girl, earning Best Director at the Busan International Film Festival and Best New Director at the Hong Kong Film Awards.

Alongside her film career, Shu appeared on the Forbes China Celebrity 100 list several times between 2013 and 2019. She has represented numerous luxury brands, including Kenzo, Frederique Constant, Emporio Armani, Bulgari, Michael Kors, Tom Ford Beauty, Bottega Veneta, and Estée Lauder. In 2016, Shu married Hong Kong actor-director Stephen Fung, whom she met on the set of Bishonen in 1997.