Thursday Asian: Bai Ling

Bai Ling (meaning "White Spirit") was born in Chengdu, China, on October 10, 1970, during that country's Cultural Revolution. Her father was a music teacher, and her mother was a dancer and stage actress. As a result of their creative professions, the government cruelly treated Bai Ling's parents, and so the infant Bai Ling was sent to Szechwan to be raised by her grandmother.

"I had heard about how people struggle and how hard it is to get into acting. But I did not care because it's something I love." -Bai Ling

Bai Ling came to the United States looking to work in Western cinema. After small parts in The Crow and Nixon, Ling had an important role in Red Corner, which was, at the same time, her breakthrough in the West and her break with the East. Since then, she's proven herself in nearly every kind of film, from Wild Wild West to Star Wars: Episode III -- Revenge of the Sith.

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