--- name: "Gua Ah-leh" canonical: "https://film.one/person/gua-ah-leh" fi1m_id: "gua-ah-leh" imdb_id: "nm0013833" tmdb_id: 57057 wikidata_id: "Q8979556" roles: ["Actor"] born: "2 June 1944" reviewed_on_fi1m: 2 average_fi1m_score: 82 average_as: "actor" average_over: 2 updated: "2026-10-04T04:28:06.547509+00:00" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Gua Ah-leh ## Identity Gua Ah-leh - **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/gua-ah-leh - **Type:** Person - **Fi1m ID:** gua-ah-leh - **IMDb ID:** nm0013833 - **TMDB ID:** 57057 - **Wikidata ID:** Q8979556 - **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gua_Ah-leh, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q8979556, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0013833/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/57057 Actor. Born 2 June 1944 in Changsha, Hunan, China. ## Details - **Work:** Actor - **Born:** 2 June 1944, Changsha, Hunan, China - **Active:** 1993–1994 - **Also known as:** Rose Kuei Ya-lei, Ah Lei Gua, Kwei Ya-lei, Ya-lei Kuei, Gua Ah-Leh, Gua Ah-Lei, Ah-Lu Qui, Guiya Lei, Grace Guei, Ah-Leh Gua, Yalei Gui, Rose Kuei - **Frequently works with:** [Ang Lee](https://film.one/person/ang-lee.md), [James Schamus](https://film.one/person/james-schamus.md), [Sihung Lung](https://film.one/person/lung-sihung.md) - **Average Fi1m score:** 82, as actor, over 2 titles - **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gua_Ah-leh, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q8979556, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0013833/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/57057 ## Streaming the US now - **Tubi:** [*Eat Drink Man Woman*](https://film.one/film/eat-drink-man-woman.md) (82), [*The Wedding Banquet*](https://film.one/film/the-wedding-banquet.md) (81) For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country. ## Fi1m on Gua Ah-leh > Gua Ah-leh makes the mother’s demands in *The Wedding Banquet* difficult to dismiss, even when we feel for the son. We value the sympathy she brings to family roles without asking us to overlook the pressure parents exert. Appearing comfortable takes work in *The Wedding Banquet* (1993), and Gua Ah-leh lets us feel the effort. As Mrs. Gao, opposite Lung Sihung’s Mr. Gao, she gives parental expectations enough feeling to explain why their son cannot simply refuse them. A marriage arranged to satisfy several people could leave the parents looking like obstacles to be removed. Gua makes that reading difficult: the demands are awkward, but the person making them matters. Her performance helps the comedy stay tender when the situation invites a harsher laugh. We felt for Wai-Tung because Gua and Lung make his reluctance to disappoint his parents so understandable. Winston Chao keeps the son’s discomfort clear, and Gua does not make it easy to settle the matter by taking his side against an unfeeling mother. Ang Lee’s broader farce occasionally labours; the cast’s efforts to appear comfortable are more persuasive than the bigger jokes. Gua’s contribution is to keep the family pressure present without making the film feel cruel. That association with mothers can obscure how much work came before it. She began with a leading role as Lu Yiping in *The Rain of Sorrow* (1965), followed by Taiwanese leads through the 1970s. Lee cast her again as Madame Liang in *Eat Drink Man Woman* (1994), while her later work included maternal parts across film and television in Taiwan, Hong Kong and mainland China. *20 Once Again* (2015), with Gua in the lead as Shen Mengjun, is a useful reminder that supporting the family ensemble has not been her only job. She has described spending about half a year preparing a role, repeatedly reading the lines to find the character. In *The Wedding Banquet*, that attention is evident in how readily we understand Mrs. Gao’s expectations and the difficulty of refusing her. The risk with such parts is that being recognisably maternal becomes enough; here, the son’s embarrassment and the parents’ hopes keep complicating the joke. Start with *The Wedding Banquet*, with the caveat that its family scenes are more rewarding than its broadest jokes. ## Biography Gua Ah-leh, also credited as Ah-Lei Gua, Kuei Ya-lei and Grace Gua, is a Taiwanese actress and singer. Born in Changsha, Hunan, China, she studied acting at the National Taiwan University of Arts and made her film debut in 1965 in *The Rain of Sorrow*, for which she received the Golden Horse Award for Best Leading Actress. She is known for her roles as Mrs. Gao in *The Wedding Banquet* (1993), for which she won the Golden Horse Award for Best Supporting Actress, and as Madame Liang in *Eat Drink Man Woman* (1994). Other credits include *Miracles: The Canton Godfather* (1989) and the television series *Joy of Life* (2019). She has appeared in over 200 film and television roles since 1965 and has won four Golden Horse Awards and two Golden Bell Awards. *Sources: imdb.com, en.wikipedia.org, taiwancinema.bamid.gov.tw.* ## On Fi1m (2) - *Eat Drink Man Woman* (1994), Fi1m 82, as Madame Liang — [page](https://film.one/film/eat-drink-man-woman.md) - *The Wedding Banquet* (1993), Fi1m 81, as Mrs. Gao — [page](https://film.one/film/the-wedding-banquet.md) ## Complete filmography (106) Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page. - *Dream of Golden Years* (2026), series, as Grandma Yu - *Once Upon A Lie* (2025), Actor - *Palace of Devotion* (2021), series, as Empress Dowager Xiao - *Beneath the Banyan Tree* (2021), as Jia-Rong Woo - *Koali & Rice* (2020), Actor - *Joy of Life* (2019), series, as Matriarch Ming / 明老太君 - *Number One* (2019), as Grandmother - *Peppa Celebrates Chinese New Year* (2019), as Grandma - *Summer's Desire* (2016), as Dean of Luoxi Welfare Institute - *刘海戏金蟾* (2016), series, as 刘母 - *Baby Steps* (2015), as Ma - *20 Once Again* (2015), as Shen Mengjun - *浪子回头* (2013), series, as 杜老太太 - *A Happy Life* (2013), series, as 刘张氏 - *娘心计* (2012), series, Actor - *摩西密码* (2012), series, Actor - *Joyful Reunion* (2012), as Bai Ping - *我和丈母娘的十年战争* (2012), series, as 孙妈妈 - *婆婆来了* (2010), series, as 郑爱儿 - *The Dream of Red Mansions* (2010), series, as 王夫人 - *Return Home* (2007), series, Actor - *徽州女人* (2007), series, as 程春娥 - *The Knot* (2006), as 王碧云（老年） - *Spicy Mother-in-Law and Daughter-in-Law* (2006), series, as Qin Si Ping - *Misty Love In The Palace* (2005), series, Actor - *Qin Emperor Li Shi Min* (2005), series, Actor - *The Emperor in Han Dynasty* (2005), series, as 窦太后 - *汉光武大帝* (2004), series, as 王政君 - *Harmony* (2004), series, as 竺自萍 - *肥猫寻亲记* (2002), series, as Grandma Hua - *Migratory Bird* (2001), as Chen's Mom - *The Orange is Red* (2001), series, as First Wife of Yaohua - *Fleeing by Night* (2000), as Wei's Mother - *傻阿甘* (2000), series, as 妈妈 - *Palace of Desire* (2000), series, as 武则天 - *Intimates* (1997), as Auntie Foon - Aged Wan - *四千金* (1997), series, as 白𬞟/白姨（母亲） - *Tonight Nobody Goes Home* (1996), as Mrs. Chen - *臺灣靈異事件* (1996), series, as 沈德怡 - *Lei Yu* (1996), series, Actor - *Maiden Rosé* (1995), as 周花雕（老年） - *梦断江南* (1994), series, Actor - *Eat Drink Man Woman* (1994), as Madame Liang — Fi1m 82, [page](https://film.one/film/eat-drink-man-woman.md) - *The Wedding Banquet* (1993), as Mrs. Gao — Fi1m 81, [page](https://film.one/film/the-wedding-banquet.md) - *Green Green Grass By The River* (1992), series, as 静芝 - *Forbidden Imperial Tales* (1990), Actor - *Miracles: The Canton Godfather* (1989), as Lady Rose / Ms. Kao - *Journey Across the Mainland* (1988), Actor - *Mother Tragedy* (1988), Actor - *Last Eunuch In China* (1987), as Lai Shi's Mother - *Flag of Honor* (1987), Actor - *Inferno Thunderbolt* (1985), as (archive footage) - *Somewhere My Love* (1984), Actor - *The Lost Generation* (1983), as Kuei Ya-mei - *Rape and Die* (1983), Actor - *Portrait of a Fanatic* (1982), Actor - *A Rescue from Hades* (1982), Actor - *The Anger* (1982), Actor - *Who Is the Killer?* (1982), Actor - *Sergeant Hsiung* (1982), Actor - *Burn Phoenix Burn* (1982), Actor - *The Jade Badger* (1982), as Lady Shang - *Phoenix the Raider* (1982), Actor - *The Woman Who Eats People* (1982), Actor - *Woman Police* (1982), Actor - *Escape to Freedom* (1982), Actor - *The Women Soldiers* (1981), Actor - *The Casino* (1981), Actor - *Consolidated Dougherty* (1981), Actor - *Phoenix the Ninja* (1981), as Happy Fairy - *The King of Gambler* (1981), Actor - *The Coldest Winter in Peking* (1981), Actor - *Errant Love* (1981), as Chung Tsui-wei - *Evening News* (1980), as Lin Ko-Ching - *The Legend of Chu Liu Hsiang* (1980), Actor - *Unmarried Mothers* (1980), as Madam Pai - *Poor Chasers* (1980), Actor - *Flower Just Smile in the Spring Breeze* (1980), Actor - *A Girl Without Sorrow* (1979), Actor - *Love in Chilly Spring* (1979), Actor - *A Title Rewon* (1979), Actor - *The Funny Couple* (1979), Actor - *Walking in the Sunset* (1978), Actor - *Immortal Warriors* (1978), Actor - *Love's Many Faces* (1978), Actor - *The Diary of Di-Di* (1978), Actor - *Triumph Of Two Kung-Fu Arts* (1977), Actor - *The Chinese Amazons* (1975), Actor - *Who is to Blame?* (1973), Actor - *Love in the Storm* (1973), Actor - *Everything Is Going My Way* (1972), Actor - *The True and False Wife* (1971), as Hsu Mu Cheng - *You Can't Tell Him* (1971), Actor - *Devil yielded to God* (1970), Actor - *The Ripening* (1970), Actor - *Home, Sweet Home* (1970), Actor - *A Test of Love* (1970), as Pai Chieh-Chun - *Glass Eyeball* (1969), Actor - *Man Ghost Fox* (1969), Actor - *The Winter* (1969), as A Chin - *I Didn't Dare to Tell You* (1969), Actor - *Love Is Thicker Than Wine* (1967), as Hsu Hsiao-Ching - *The Rain of Sorrow* (1965), as Lu Yi-ping - *The Story of Daniel*, Actor - *One More Good Day*, Actor - *Grannies' Heist*, Actor ## Gallery - ![Gua Ah-leh](https://film.one/media/person/83353/gallery-606024f8325d.jpg) Gua Ah-leh — CatchPlayMovies, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b2/%E6%AD%B8%E4%BA%9E%E8%95%BE.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled) - ![Gua Ah-leh](https://film.one/media/person/83353/gallery-a529b5eba438.jpg) Gua Ah-leh — Image via TMDB - ![Gua Ah-leh](https://film.one/media/person/83353/gallery-ffc4945b300e.jpg) Gua Ah-leh — Image via TMDB - ![Gua Ah-leh](https://film.one/media/person/83353/gallery-2bbe1668a24a.jpg) Gua Ah-leh — Image via TMDB - ![Gua Ah-leh](https://film.one/media/person/83353/gallery-dd9fa1382b9d.jpg) Gua Ah-leh — Image via TMDB - ![Gua Ah-leh](https://film.one/media/person/83353/gallery-1526ccba211a.jpg) Gua Ah-leh — Image via TMDB - ![Gua Ah-leh](https://film.one/media/person/83353/gallery-02652b01639f.jpg) Gua Ah-leh — Image via TMDB ## Awards ### Other awards — 4 won - Golden Horse Award for Best Supporting Actress 1993: Golden Horse Award for Best Supporting Actress (won), for *The Wedding Banquet* - Golden Horse Award for Best Supporting Actress 1978: Golden Horse Award for Best Supporting Actress (won), for *The Diary of Di-Di* - Golden Horse Award for Best Leading Actress 1970: Golden Horse Award for Best Leading Actress (won), for *Home, Sweet Home* - Golden Horse Award for Best Leading Actress 1966: Golden Horse Award for Best Leading Actress (won), for *The Rain of Sorrow* *From Wikidata, which records wins more completely than nominations.* --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/gua-ah-leh