Joyce Godenzi

Gao Lihong was born in 1964 into a complex family background; her father was Australian and her mother Chinese. She lived in Hong Kong from elementary school through university. In secondary school she showed an interest in the performing arts and acted in stage plays. She graduated from a business college with a bachelor's degree, and after graduation worked as a secretary before becoming a fashion model.

In 1984, at the age of 20, Gao entered the Miss Hong Kong pageant and won the championship as well as the Most Photogenic award. After winning, she represented Hong Kong at the Miss Universe pageant held in the United States. At that competition, wearing an Empress Dowager Cixi–style Qing court costume, she placed third in the Best National Costume category. Despite these honors, she did not sign an acting contract with Television Broadcasts Limited (TVB), possibly because her Cantonese was limited and her appearance was considered too Western.

Two years later her Cantonese improved significantly, and she received more acting opportunities. She officially entered the film industry in 1986, making her debut in the black comedy film 《俾鬼捉》, playing Xiao Ling, a modern exorcist. That same year she also appeared in the film 《原振侠与卫斯理》, which starred Zhou Runfa, Zhang Manyu and Hu Huizhong. Aiming to become an all-around female action star, she became a pupil of Sammo Hung and began learning martial arts.

In the following years Gao appeared in many films, including the comedy 《烂赌英雄》 and the action film 《东方秃鹰》, the latter of which earned her a Best Supporting Actress nomination at the 7th Hong Kong Film Awards. In the film 《鬼掹脚》 she played Officer Bai, demonstrating a variety of screen personas. She also co-starred with Sammo Hung in films such as 《皇家女将》, 《龙凤贼捉贼》 and 《黐线枕边人》.

In 1991 Gao Lihong married Sammo Hung and subsequently gradually withdrew from the film industry, producing few works. In 1997 she made a cameo in Sammo Hung’s comedy-action film 《一个好人》. More recently she starred in the romance TV drama 《贴身卧底》 (2017) and the film 《花小楼之捣浆糊》 (2019).

On her personal life: in 1988 she attracted public attention when she jumped into the sea during an incident to rescue a drowning person. Her marriage to Sammo Hung continued for many years; he achieved great success in his career, and Gao has at times shown bravery and a sense of responsibility in public.