Story | Connie Li Photography | Gucci, Courtesy of Ni Ni
Chinese silver screen idol Ni Ni, along with fellow actor Xiao Zhan, were front and centre at the launch of Gucci’s Year of the Snake campaign. In one shot, she appeared in a red dress, reclining on a sofa with legs crossed. In another, she was relaxing in a car with thick-rimmed sunglasses and glossy red lips. Ni was a picture of laid-back spontaneity, evoking the poise and litheness of a serpent.
Her partnership with Gucci began in 2017 and she became brand ambassador the following year. Her starring role in Gucci’s Year of the Snake campaign underlines her strong Chinese following. The fact that her career took off from a high point is something many career actors can only dream of.
Born on Aug. 8, 1988, with four lucky No. 8s in her birthdate, Ni seems destined to be blessed. Indeed, great fortune knocked when celebrated filmmaker Zhang Yimou tapped her for the lead role as Yo Mo in his blockbuster The Flowers of War, marking her foray into showbiz.
That movie took four years of planning and six months of shooting. Zhang revealed that finding the right actress to play Yu Mo was one of the biggest challenges, because she had to be a Nanjing native who spoke English.
Ni was then still a student majoring in broadcasting and hosting at the Language Communication Department of the Communication University of China, Nanjing. She was also working hard on learning English, hoping to join a local foreign-invested enterprise after graduation.
Despite having zero acting experience, but with fluency in English and standing five-foot-seven with an elegant and memorable face, the Nanjing native managed to land an audition.
To a certain extent, Zhang picked Ni because of her lack of acting experience, because he could then sculpt her into the character he hoped to achieve.
His team worked with her for about two years. Together with other actors, they learned to speak the old Nanjing dialect and Suzhou Pingtan, as well as the mannerisms of Qinhuai riverside courtesans of the 1930s and ’40s. They also learned to play pipa, calligraphy and mahjong. Recalling those glorious days, Ni said: “I was still in the training camp for The Flowers of War 15 years ago. I should say ‘thanks for your hard work’ to me then.”
Her efforts paid off big time when she won the Best New Actor Award at the 6th Asian Film Awards.
Door Opens
“I’m very thankful to The Flowers of War for opening this door,” she said. “It’s been 14 years since my debut, and I feel I’ve been extremely fortunate for all that I’ve gained, despite the ups and downs in between.
The fame as a “Yimou girl” comes with attention. She had work lined up, with movies and TV series and as a brand icon. In 2018 and 2019, she starred in two period dramas—The Rise of Phoenixes and Love and Destiny. In the latter, she excelled in playing the dual roles of Ling Xi, a quick-witted, free-spirited peach blossoms forest phoenix, and the meek, kind and patient Lin Mo. That was her second climactic performance.
Still, her lack of formal training in the performing arts caused self-doubt. “There was an anxious period after working on a TV drama when I felt I couldn’t act,” she said. “Then I summoned the courage to take on theatre.”
She joined the cast of One One Zero Eight, directed by renowned theatre director Stan Lai Sheng-chuan. Coincidentally, she also played dual roles in the play—as contemporary writer Shu Tong and call girl Anna, who spies against the Japanese during the Sino-Japanese War. She was dealing with a much bigger challenge, given the monumental difference between acting on screen and on stage.
She was 30 at that time. She said Lai told her once that theatre was exceptional training, that acting on stage would open her up and she would feel totally different acting on screen from then on. That was exactly what she wanted to do at 30—learn a new way of performing.
Theatre opened her mind, and she fell in love with the stage. She was ecstatic when Lai invited her to act in A Dream Like a Dream in 2022. Lai intended her to play Gu Xianglan B, but she insisted on taking on the more challenging role of Gu Xianglan C. The five shows in 2023 won rave reviews.
In 2024, she appeared in three episodes of a special edition of A Dream Like a Dream, reprising the role of Gu Xianglan C in Shanghai, with the same diligence.
“I give my all when I get a good part and I want to play it well,” she said. “From sound checking to rehearsing, and discussions with the director on emotional expressions, she immersed herself into the play.
“In theatre, there is a feeling of completely dismantling oneself in order to reassemble,” she said. “This is my seventh year in theatre. I feel I’m improving slowly.”
In life, Ni is a homebody who would rather watch movies and play with her cat at home than go out. She likes cats, so netizens have crowned her “cat CEO”.
“We can’t be on edge all the time,” she said. “We need to slow down and completely relax, whether by spacing out or going out. When at home, I love to do nothing, think about nothing—just let the day go by.”
Ni doesn’t like to think of the intense competition in showbiz as “cutthroat”, but that is not to say she doesn’t drive herself hard. “I think it’s better to be intensely competitive with oneself,” she said. “It matters more to me whether I’m improving in acting and achieving unexpected breakthroughs.”
Feeding off Each Other
As a brand spokesperson for Gucci, Ni sets high standards for herself too. While acting and being a brand icon are different ways of expression, they feed off each other and, in essence, are the same.
“I think fashion is a way of life. It gives people confidence, and it’s a way to show personal charm.” Ni invested a great deal of time to understand the brand’s history, story and style. Throughout the years of partnership with Gucci, she has established a rapport with the brand.
“Its style is very free and I like the attitude,” she said. “Every shoot is a good expression of creativity.” Over the years, Ni has faced one challenge after another. By getting to truly know herself, her path in the entertainment business has broadened. How does she feel?
“There are moments of self-doubt,” she admitted. “So I do it the hard way—listen more, think more, see more, recite more. It’s dull, but it has served me well.”
From age 23 to 37, her career development and personal growth are self-evident. How much has she changed over 14 years? “I was a little impulsive and reckless in my younger days, but now I have a bit more gravitas,” she said. “This has to do with age and experience, but I always wear my heart on my sleeve. I speak my mind about likes or dislikes, whether to myself or other people. I’m quite happy-go-lucky, but I can be stubborn about certain things.”
She is now less anxious and more relaxed in life, saying: “I can’t say there is no anxiety about ageing, but whatever will be will be. There is no point conjuring anxiety over age and look.
Photo | JB Lacroix/Wire Image
“People have to accept natural changes. My life now is about self-acceptance. No deliberate effort to surge ahead. Do everything at the right pace and in a down-to-earth manner—self-acceptance, no second-guessing myself and going with the flow.”
“No second-guessing,” she insisted. “Stay positive and solve problems as they arise.”
Becoming positive is a result of natural growth and psychological evolution. Her work this year will be around making movies and acting in theatre.
“I take things as they come,” she said. “Complete what has been lined up and hope to come upon what I like and love to try.” Looking ahead, she wants to say to the “me” in 15 years’ time: “Please keep going.”
After the interview, she prepared to head for the set. When asked what the production was, she quipped: “Confidential.”
