Fan Bingbing’s top 5 most iconic film and TV roles
From X-Men to The Empress of China, we look at five of the Chinese superstar’s most memorable acting roles
Fashion icon, movie star and red carpet queen Fan Bingbing celebrates her 38th birthday on September 16.
The Chinese actor may have endured a tough 2018 when she was dogged by allegations of tax evasion, eventually agreeing to repay US$129 million in overdue taxes, but she remains mainland China’s most famous contemporary cinematic icon – just witness the acclaim (and awards) for her performance in the widely celebrated I Am Not Madame Bovary.
Occasionally derided by critics – her blink-and-you'll-miss-it cameo in Iron Man 3 was much ridiculed – Fan is both immensely popular and has earned the title “master” in China, an honour usually only given to men, for her dedication and attitude towards her craft.
Here are five of Fan’s most iconic roles that helped earn her that title.
Li Xuelian – I Am Not Madame Bovary
Fan won a clutch of awards – at the Asian Film Awards, China Film Director’s Guild Awards and Golden Rooster Awards – for her role in this satire by Feng Xiaogang about a wife betrayed by her husband, accused of being a prostitute, and having to endure the headache of dealing with China's state bureaucracy. It is arguably Fan’s most mature work and she deserved the praise.
Wu Zetian – The Empress of China
Fan was so iconic in this lavish 2014/15 TV drama that the Chinese government censored the programme’s many revealing costumes. Apparently worried about all the cleavage on show – something accurate to the Tang dynasty setting, however – the series was temporarily taken off the air and when it returned shots of its female cast were awkwardly cropped above the chest. Fan was ravishing as Empress Wu Zetian and her presence helped make the programme the highest rated of the year.