Top 10 Famous Women of Old Shanghai

The old Shanghai period refers to the years from the 1920s to 1940s, it was a glamorous time when many famous female stars shined in history sky. Although most of the well-known ladies during that time have passed away, many of them are still in the memory of present people for their charm and beauty.

Below are the 10 most famous and charming ladies in old Shanghai.

1. Shangguan Yunzhu (上官云珠)

Shangguan Yunzhu, born in 1920 in Jiangsu province, was a famous actress in the 1930s and 1940s. She made her first film debut in the 1940s and soon rose to fame in movie industry. Lots of of her films became classic ones in China’s film history. Her well-known films include “Crow and the Sparrow” “Myriad of Lights” and “Spring River Flows East“.

2. Gong Qiuxia (龚秋霞)

Gong Qiuxia was born in 1916 in Jiangsu province.She began her film career by acting the leading role in her film debut “Father Mother Son Daughter”. The later film “Four Daughters” helped her get the nickname “Big Sister” in film circles. In the 1930s, she was regarded as one of the three excellent Mandarin popular music singers with Zhou Xuan and Bai Hong. Check top tracks of Gong Qiuxia at Youtube. She died in 2004 in Hong Kong.

3. Qin Yi (秦怡)

Once regarded as one of the most beautiful actresses in China, Qin Yi is known to the public as a glamorous and dazzling superstar. Born in 1922 in Shanghai, Qin Yi is a Chinese film and stage actress during the 1940s. She is considered one of “Four Actresses” in old China. Qin was talented and impressed audiences deeply for starring in as many as 35 films, over 30 stage operas and 8 TV dramas.Her representative films include “Far Away Love” and “Woman Basketball Player No. 5”.

4. Li Minghui (黎明晖)

Li Minghui (1891 –1967) famous singer in old Shanghai, She is the daughter of Li Jinhui, a great Chinese composer and songwriter. She started to perform on stage from 12 years old  and gradually become a very popular singer, actress and film star. Her song “Drizzling Rain” was the first pop song in Chinese history.

5. Wang Renmei (王人美)

Wang Renmei (1914 -1987) was a famous performing artist.The famous movie “Song of the Fisherman” helped her become a household figure.Her performance features outgoing and bold acting and this attracted many movie-goers.Her other films include “Children of Troubled Times” and “Wild Roses”.

6. Pan Yuliang (潘玉良)

Pan Yuliang (1899–1977) was a famous Chinese painter to paint in the Western style.She went to study painting in Paris and back to the country in 1929. She painted some modernist works which caused controversy criticism in China during the 1930s, she then moved to Paris in 1937 to live and work there for the following 40 years. Much of her work is very valuable and collected by some famous museums.

7. Zhang Ailing (张爱玲)

Zhang Ailing (English name Eileen Chang), born in Shanghai in 1920, was a influential Chinese writer. Her works usually touch upon the relationships between men and women and are regarded to be among the best Chinese literature.Her most important works include “The Golden Cangue”, “Love in a Fallen City”  and “Lust, Caution”. Zhang left the mainland China in 1952 and later lived in the US and translated some Chinese works into English. She died  in 1995 in Los Angles.

8. Ruan Lingyu (阮玲玉)

Ruan Lingyu (1910–1935), was a famous Chinese film actress in silent film period in the 1930s.She was very beautiful and was among the “Four Beauties” in early Minguo period. She first appeared in 1927 film “Husband and Wife in Name”.And later starred in many well-known films such as “Wild Flowers”, “The Goddess” and “New Women”. Due to many public issues and some intense private problems, Ruan poisoned herself in Shanghai in 1935, at the age of 25.

9. Hu Die (蝴蝶)

Hu Die, born in 1908, was a film actress from the late 1920s to the 1960s. She starred China’s first sound film “The Singsong Girl“. She had performed in more than 100 films during his half-century performing career. Her excellent performance earned her reputation of the first Film Queen in 1933 when she was 25. She moved to Canada in 1975 and died in 1989.

10. Zhou Xuan (周旋)

Zhou Xuan, born  in 1920, was a popular Chinese singer and film actress. She become one of China’s seven great singing stars in the 1930s and then began her acting career. Her major film “Street Angel” was called one of the top 10 classic Chinese films from the twentieth century. Zhou Xuan was also selected as China’s most outstanding actress.Her other major films include “Daughter of the Fisherman” and “Dream of the Red Chamber”.  She died in 1957 in Shanghai.