Nina Li

Li Zhi was born on December 31, 1961, in Shanghai. Both of her parents were students at a conservatory of music and were assigned to work in northwest China after graduation. When she was three years old, her parents divorced; she lived with her father and was later sent to Shanghai to live with her grandmother.

In 1981 Li Zhi moved to Hong Kong with her father and began her life there. Two years later, in 1983, she went to San Francisco, USA, and enrolled at the University of San Francisco to study business economics, beginning her time as an overseas student. She returned to Hong Kong in 1986 and entered the Miss Asia beauty pageant, winning the championship. At the Asia-Pacific level she also won the Best National Costume, Most Photogenic, and Miss Peace awards, and placed in the top five in the final.

Thanks to her strong showing in the pageants, Li Zhi entered the Hong Kong entertainment industry and became one of ATV’s “Three Treasures.” Her acting career began in 1986 with her first film, directed by Lan Nai-cai, titled “Yuan Zhenxia and Wisely” (《原振侠与卫斯理》). She gradually received more acting opportunities. In 1987 she teamed with Wong Bak-ming in a film directed by Derek Yee called “Seven-Year Itch” (《七年之痒》). In 1988 she co-starred with Chow Yun-fat in “Tiger on Patrol” (《老虎出更》) and “Love of Uneven Feet” (《长短脚之恋》), and she co-starred with Cherie Chung and Eric Tsang in “Extramarital Affair” (《婚外情》), marking the steady consolidation of her acting career.

In 1989 Li Zhi co-starred with Leslie Cheung in “The New Best Partners” (《新最佳拍档》). That September she met Jet Li on the set of the film “Dragon in the Horizon” (《龙在天涯》). In 1990 she and Michelle Reis co-starred in Wong Jing’s film “Perfect Ten” (《靓足100分》). At the peak of her career she took a number of prominent roles, including appearances in “A Chinese Ghost Story III: The Path of the Tao” (《倩女幽魂3：道道道》, 1991) and “Twin Dragons” (《双龙会》, 1992). She officially announced her retirement from acting in 1992 and stepped back from the entertainment industry to focus on business investments.

After leaving show business, Li Zhi went into commerce, investing in real estate in Shandong, founding a company and serving as its chairwoman. Reports say she encountered setbacks in her investments and accumulated nearly HK$100 million in debt; to help her, her friend Jet Li reportedly signed on to multiple film projects to help pay off those debts.

Regarding her personal life, Li Zhi married Jet Li in Los Angeles in 1999. The couple has two daughters. In 2007, to provide a better educational environment, Li Zhi relocated her family to Singapore and purchased a luxury home at a high price.