Ministry of Culture

• Birth Name: 林立慧
• Born: April 16, 1976
• Birthplace: New Taipei City (Northern Taiwan)
• Did you know that…?
• Before her career took off, Shu Qi was once a model and dabbled in the adult film industry. In 2005, she received the Best Actress Award from the prestigious Golden Horse Award in Taiwan for her three roles in Hou Hsiao-hsien's (侯孝賢) "Three Times (最好的時光),” and has since established her status as a mainstream actress.

As a prolific actress who successfully transitioned from a model to a film star, Shu Qi (舒淇) has made over 80 films and 5 TV series in 20 years. She was a panel member of the 58th Berlin International Film Festival, and she served in the panel for the Cannes Films Festival in 2009.

The award-winning actress entered the showbiz industry at the age of 17 to help improve her family's financial situation. Shu set off to Hong Kong aloneand started her career as a model.

Shu made her first screen appearance with an R-rated film in Hong Kong and was labeled as an adult film actress. It was not until starring alongside Leslie Cheung (張國榮) in the 1996 film "Viva Erotica (色情男女)” did she rise to fame by winning the Best Supporting Actress title at the 16th Hong Kong Film Awards.

Among all the directors she worked with, renowned director Hou Hsiao-hsien played the most important role in her film career. As the protagonist in Hou's 2001 film "Millennium Mambo (千禧曼波)” and 2005 film "Three Times,” her performance in the two films garnered her two nominations for the Best Actress Award at the Cannes Festival.

Her latest role as a female assassin in Hou's 2015 film "The Assassin (刺客聶隱娘)” was another career breakthrough. In her first performance in martial arts and with only 9 lines of dialogue, Shu had to express her emotions through body language and facial expression. She was once again nominated for Best Actress at Cannes for the challenging role.

As a successful actress now, her rise to acclaim was not easy. From starring in commercial releases to art films, Shu continues to sharpen her acting skills, stating that: "I have never regretted that I appeared in adult films before, and I will put back on all the clothes that I had taken off one by one.”