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Bai Ling (meaning "White Spirit")
was born in Chengdu, China, on October 10, 1970. Her father was a music
teacher, and her mother was a dancer and stage actress, but she was
primarily raised by her grandmother after Ling's parents ran afoul of
Chinese authorities during the Cultural Revolution.
While Bai Ling sang in her school choir as a child, it wasn't until she
turned 14 and became a "soldier" in the People's Liberation Army that she
took to the stage; she was put in a performance troupe sent to entertain
soldiers in Tibet for three years. Like her parents before her, Bai Ling
clashed with authority, and she was accused of insubordination for using
tobacco and alcohol. By the end of her army service, Bai Ling suffered
from depression and was hospitalized.
Her breakdown notwithstanding, Bai Ling had found that she could express
herself through acting. She joined the Szechwan Theater Company after her
recovery, and she soon caught the eye of a number of progressive and
traditional Chinese directors. She was cast in film roles ranging from a
peasant girl to a pop star, including her most acclaimed early role in the
contemporary Chinese drama Hu guang (a.k.a. Arc Light) in 1988, where she
played a woman suffering from mental illness. The next year, Bai Ling took
part in the infamous Tiananmen Square protests, which further alienated
her from the Chinese government.
At age 21, Bai Ling came to America as a visiting scholar at NYU's film
school and took classes at the Lee Strasberg Institute. It was supposed to
be a temporary move, but Bai Ling was eager to learn English so that she
could break into American films, and she was issued a special visa and
allowed to stay in the United States due to her actions at Tiananmen
Square. Making her American film debut, Bai Ling played a villain in
1994's dark thriller The Crow and in 1995 she played a Chinese interpreter
in Oliver Stone's biopic Nixon.
Bai Ling's English-language breakthrough came in 1997 when she played a
Chinese lawyer in Red Corner, opposite Richard Gere. The film was an
indictment of the Chinese judicial system and human rights abuses;
although she knew she would suffer repercussions from her participation,
Bai Ling felt that the evils going on in her country needed to be exposed.
Sure enough, Red Corner was banned in China and North Korea. Bai Ling's
contracts to appear in upcoming Chinese films were torn up and her
passport was revoked. However, the National Board of Review gave Bai Ling
a Breakthrough Performance award; more importantly, Uncle Sam gave her
U.S. citizenship in 1999.
Once her relocation was made permanent, Bai Ling appeared in a number of
big Hollywood productions. 1999 saw her in Wild Wild West and Anna and the
King (for which she had to cut her waist-length hair). More recently,
she's been seen in The Beautiful Country (2004), My Baby's Daddy (2004),
Spike Lee's She Hate Me (2004), and Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow
(2004), starring Jude Law, Gwyneth Paltrow and Angelina Jolie.
Bai Ling has a small role as a senator in the highly anticipated Star
Wars: Episode III -- Revenge of the Sith (2005), and will also appear in
Man About Town (2005), starring Ben Affleck. Bai Ling lives in Marina del
Rey, California, and is dating singer/actor Chris Isaak. |
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62 Pickup (2008) .... Suzy
Wong
Razor (2007/I) .... Mary Wong
Shanghai Baby (2007) .... Coco
"Lost" .... Achara (1 episode, 2007)
- Stranger in a Strange Land (2007) TV Episode .... Achara
Living & Dying (2007) (as Bai Ling) .... Nadia
Toxic (2007) .... Lena
The Gene Generation (2006) .... Michelle
Southland Tales (2006) (as Bai Ling) .... Serpentine
Man About Town (2006) .... Barbi Ling
Edmond (2005) .... Peep-Show Girl
"Entourage" .... Li Lei (1 episode, 2005)
- Chinatown (2005) TV Episode .... Li Lei
Lords of Dogtown (2005) (as Bai Ling) .... Punky Photographer
... aka American Knights (Philippines: English title)
... aka Dogtown Boys (Germany)
Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005) (uncredited)
.... Senator Bana Breemu
... aka Revenge of the Sith (USA: short title)
... aka Star Wars III: Revenge of the Sith (USA: DVD box title)
... aka Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith (USA: promotional title)
Nomad (2005/II) (voice) .... Gaukhar
... aka Nomad (USA: informal English title)
Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (2004) (as Bai Ling) ....
Mysterious Woman
Gaau ji (2004) .... Mei, the cook
... aka Dumplings (International: English title)
Saam gaang yi (2004) .... Mei (segment "Dumplings")
... aka Three, Monster (South Korea)
... aka Three... Extremes (International: English title)
She Hate Me (2004) (as Bai Ling) .... Oni
The Beautiful Country (2004) .... Ling
My Baby's Daddy (2004) (as Bai Ling) .... XiXi
"Jake 2.0" .... Mei Ling (1 episode, 2003)
- Cater Waiter (2003) TV Episode (as Bai Ling) .... Mei Ling
Paris (2003) (as Bai Ling) .... Linda/Shen Li
The Extreme Team (2003) .... RJ
... aka The X-Team (USA: TV title)
Taxi 3 (2003) (as Bai Ling) .... Qiu
Point of Origin (2002) (TV) .... Wanda Orr
... aka In the Heat of Fire (Europe: English title: DVD title)
Storm Watch (2002) (as Bai Ling) .... Skylar
... aka Code Hunter (UK) (USA: video title)
... aka Virtual Storm (UK: DVD title) (USA)
Face (2002) .... Kim
The Breed (2001) .... Lucy Westenra
Siu lam juk kau (2001) (voice) .... Mui
... aka Shao lin zu qiu (Hong Kong: Mandarin title)
... aka Shaolin Soccer (International: English title)
The Lost Empire (2001) (TV) .... Kwan Ying
... aka Monkey King - Ein Krieger zwischen den Welten (Germany)
Row Your Boat (2000) .... Chun Hua
"Angel" .... Jhiera (1 episode, 2000)
... aka Angel: The Series (USA)
- She (2000) TV Episode (as Bai Ling) .... Jhiera
Anna and the King (1999) (as Bai Ling) .... Tuptim
Wild Wild West (1999) (as Bai Ling) .... Miss East
Somewhere in the City (1998) .... Lu Lu
"Touched by an Angel" .... Jean Chang (2 episodes, 1998)
- The Spirit of Liberty Moon: Part 1 (1998) TV Episode (as Bai Ling)
.... Jean Chang
- The Spirit of Liberty Moon: Part 2 (1998) TV Episode (as Bai Ling)
.... Jean Chang
Red Corner (1997) (as Bai Ling) .... Shen Yuelin
Nixon (1995) .... Chinese Interpreter
Dead Weekend (1995) (TV) .... Amelia A
"The Cosby Mysteries" .... Dr. Valerie Chong (1 episode, 1995)
- The Hit Parade (1995) TV Episode .... Dr. Valerie Chong
Dead Funny (1994) .... Norriko
The Crow (1994) (as Bai Ling) .... Myca
"Homicide: Life on the Street" .... Lin Chang (1 episode, 1993)
... aka Homicide (USA: informal short title)
- And the Rockets' Dead Glare (1993) TV Episode (as Bai Ling) ....
Lin Chang
Hu guang (1988) .... Jing Huan
... aka Arc Light (USA)
Shan cun feng yue (1987) |
