Gu Kailai has been many things to many people: Devoted wife, ambitious lawyer, gracious host, menacing businesswoman and, now, China’s most famous murder suspect.

The wife of ousted Chinese politician Bo Xilai could go on trial in the coming days, after being formally charged with the murder of a British businessman who was a close associate of the Bo family.

Through interviews with Gu’s former associates and biographical details from official Chinese media, a portrait emerges of a woman who rose out of a trying childhood to become a high-flying politician’s wife skilled at turning on the charm when the going was smooth, yet quick to turn hostile when crossed. One account says Gu’s relationship with the victim, Neil Heywood, was tinged with tension at least a decade ago.