Jet Li

Jet Li
Li in 2009
Born	Li Lianjie (1963-04-26) 26 April 1963 (age 61) Beijing, China
Nationality	Chinese (until 1997) American (1997–2009) Singaporean (from 2009)
Occupations	Martial artist actor philanthropist film producer director
Years active	1982–present
Spouses	Huang Qiuyan ​ ​ (m. 1987; div. 1990)​ Nina Li Chi ​ (m. 1999)​
Children	4
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese	李連杰
Simplified Chinese	李连杰
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Lǐ Liánjié Wade–Giles Li Lien-chieh IPA [lì ljɛ̌n.tɕjě] Yue: Cantonese Jyutping Lei5 Lin4 Git6 Hong Kong Romanisation Lee Lin Kit IPA [le̬i lɪ̏ŋkìt]
Li Yangzhong
Traditional Chinese	李陽中
Simplified Chinese	李阳中
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Lǐ Yángzhōng Wade–Giles Li Yang-chung IPA [lì jǎŋʈʂʊ́ŋ] Yue: Cantonese Jyutping Lei5 Joeng4 Zung1 Hong Kong Romanisation Lee Yeung Chong IPA [le̬i jœ̏ŋtsʊ́ŋ]
Website	www.jetli.com

Li Lianjie (courtesy name Yangzhong; born 26 April 1963),^[1] better known by his stage name Jet Li, is a Chinese-born Singaporean martial artist, actor and philanthropist. He is widely regarded as one of the most iconic Chinese film stars and one of the most renowned martial arts stars of his generation.^[2][3]

After three years of training with acclaimed wushu teacher Wu Bin, Li won his first national championship for the Beijing Wushu Team. Between 1974 and 1979, he won the title of Men's All-Around National Wushu Champion five times.^[4] After retiring from competitive wushu at age 18, Li went on to win great acclaim in China as an actor, making his debut with the film Shaolin Temple (1982), which instantly catapulted him to stardom in East Asia.^[5] The sequel Kids From Shaolin became 1984's highest-grossing film in China. He went on to star in many critically acclaimed films, most notably as the lead in Zhang Yimou's Hero (2002), Fist of Legend (1994), the first three films in the Once Upon a Time in China series (1991–1993), in which he portrayed folk hero Wong Fei-hung, and Fearless (2006), which is loosely based on the life of Huo Yuanjia. He starred in his directorial debut film Born to Defence (1986). His movie career in China is credited with reviving wushu in Hong Kong martial arts films during the 1990s,^[4] and revitalising the Shaolin Temple.^[6] Li is also noted for his contribution to making new wuxia films popular internationally during his career.^[5]

His first role in a non-Chinese film was as a villain in Lethal Weapon 4 (1998), and his first leading role in a Hollywood film was as Han Sing in Romeo Must Die (2000). He has gone on to star in many international action films, including in French cinema with the Luc Besson-produced films Kiss of the Dragon (2001) and Unleashed (2005). He co-starred in The One (2001) and War (2007) with Jason Statham, The Forbidden Kingdom (2008) with Jackie Chan, the first three of The Expendables films with Sylvester Stallone, and as the title character villain in The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor (2008). He continued to be active in Hong Kong cinema, appearing in The Warlords (2007), by which he became the highest paid actor in a Chinese-language movie, previously holding the record for his part in Hero.^[7] In 2020, he portrayed The Emperor of China in the live-action fantasy drama Disney film Mulan.

After a long movie career, in 2007 Li turned to philanthropy. He founded the One Foundation, an independent fundraising foundation in mainland China which mainly focuses on natural disaster relief, environmental protection, medical treatment, education and poverty problems. Since the start of the foundation, Li has been involved with recovery efforts in seven disasters, including the 2008 Sichuan earthquake, the 2008 Typhoon Morakot in Taiwan, and the 2013 Lushan earthquake in Ya’an, Sichuan.^[8][9][10] Li also subsequently founded Taiji Zen, an online health and wellness program providing instruction in meditation and tai chi.^[11]