Cao Cuifen (born 6 April 1944) is a Chinese actress. She is best known for her performance in the film ''

Raise the Red Lantern ''Raise the Red Lantern'' is a 1991 period drama film directed by Zhang Yimou and starring Gong Li. It is an adaptation by of the 1990 novella '' Raise the Red Lantern'' (originally ''Wives and Concubines'') by Su Tong. A Chinese-Hong Kong c ...

''.

Early life

Cao Cuifen was born in

Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

on April 6, 1944. She was admitted to the

Beijing Film Academy Beijing Film Academy (BFA; zh, first=s, s=北京电影学院, labels=no) is a municipal public college in Beijing, China. It is affiliated with the City of Beijing and co-funded by the Beijing Municipal People's Government, the National Radio ...

prep school in 1960 and the undergraduate program in 1962. She left the academy due to the

Cultural Revolution The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a Social movement, sociopolitical movement in the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). It was launched by Mao Zedong in 1966 and lasted until his de ...

and did not return until 1973.

Career

Cao started in her first film, ''Civil War'', when she was 29. In order to support her film career, she decided against having children. She starred in ''

'' and ''

Shanghai Family Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...

'' in 1991, working on the films back to back. In 1995, she starred in the film, '' Orphan Tears'', which she won several awards for her performance.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

*
Cao Cuifen
at the Hong Kong Movie Database {{DEFAULTSORT:Cao, Cuifen 1944 births Living people Actresses from Shanghai Beijing Film Academy alumni 20th-century Chinese actresses 21st-century Chinese actresses