Jet Li

Jet Li born April 26, 1963 in Beijing, China. His early years were marked by poverty and hardship. At the age of two, he lost his father, and his mother raised five children alone. This shaped his early understanding of resilience and perseverance.

Lee started school at the age of eight and was the oldest student in his class. Teachers loved him for his active participation in physical education lessons, where he often helped teach classes. After first grade, Jet and his classmates were sent to a sports camp for the summer, where he first began practicing wushu. He later recalled that his entry into the wushu section was accidental and unplanned. At the end of the holidays, all the children were dismissed, but Li was the only one in the group who was strongly recommended to continue his wushu studies. From that moment on, training became daily. His first mentor was Woo Bin, one of the most respected and famous Wushu trainers in China. Jet Li's training was extremely intense. He spent six hours a day on them, working on physical fitness, techniques and forms of Wushu. In addition, he studied the philosophical and mental aspects of martial arts, which was an integral part of his training under Woo Bin.

Having gone through several qualifying stages, in 1972 he entered the National Wushu Championship, where he won the title “The best master“. After this victory, he was released from classes at a regular school, and he began to spend most of his time in the gym, improving his skills.

In 1974, China held a new stage of selection among Wushu athletes, selecting the best. As a result, a national wushu team was formed, which included 30 people, including Li. The team was assigned to represent China in the United States, which was an important event in his life.

During their trip to the United States, the Chinese athletes were accompanied by dozens of CIA agents, State Department employees and police officers. Jet Li's performances caught the attention of the President Richard Nixon, which became an important recognition of his skill.

The trip had a deep impression on him. He was amazed by the luxurious life of the people in the West and noted that the Americans were friendly and seemed unlikely enemies. This culture shock and interaction with Americans began to change his worldview.

Returning to his homeland, Jet Li took part in the first National Wushu Championship among youths in 1974, where he won first place in the all-around and in the combination with the Tao sword. After that, the best martial arts masters in China began to train him.

In 1975, when Lee was only 12 years old, he participated in the qualifying tournament for the Third National Wushu Championship and won five out of five possible disciplines, competing against adult athletes. At this championship in Beijing, he won four gold medals in the all-around, unarmed complex, spear complex and dao sword complex.

In 1976-1977, the Chinese team went on a world tour, demonstrating Wushu techniques in various countries. Jet, as a proven and famous athlete, the Chinese authorities began to invite him to state banquets and meetings with foreign delegations. In 1979, demonstration performances were also organized in Great Britain.

At the National Wushu Competition in 1977, Li took first place in the Dao sword complex and was unattainable among the followers of the “long fist” style. In 1978, he again became a gold medalist in the all-around, unarmed complex and dao sword complex. At the Fourth Chinese Wushu Championship in 1979, Li won in all the same categories.

A difficult childhood and intense training shaped Jet Li's character. He learned to overcome difficulties and always strived for excellence. These qualities helped him not only in sports, but also in life, preparing him for his future film career.

When in 1982 Jet Li received an offer to play the lead role in the film “Shaolin Temple“, he was already a multiple Chinese Wushu champion and a recognized martial artist. The film was a great success and on this wave two more sequels were filmed - “Shaolin Temple 2: Children of Shaolin” (1983) and “Shaolin Temple 3: Shaolin Martial Arts” (1986).

In 1986, Lee made his directorial debut with the problematic film “Born to protect“, but filming had to be stopped after he broke his nose. A Hong Kong film veteran was hired to save the film. Tsui Siu-ming, although he did not receive any director's credit.

Jet moved to the US in an attempt to gain fame in the West, introducing wushu elements into modern films such as “Dragon battle” (1989) and “Master” (filmed in 1989, but not released until 1992), but none of these films were successful. Tsui HarK, who directed “The Master,” soon offered Lee the role of his career, reimagining the popular Chinese folk hero Wong Fei-hong for a series of films.Once upon a time in China” (1991-92). Although Jet was initially criticized for being too young for the role, he received high praise for his understated performance and outstanding kung fu abilities.

Jet Li became a leading actor in films about Chinese folk heroes during the revival of traditional kung fu films in the early 90s. He played Fong Sai Yuk in “Legend” And "The Legend of 2” 1993, Taiji founder Zhang Sanfeng in “Two warriors” (1993), founder of the Hungg Gar school Hong Heigong in “Legend of the Red Dragon” (1996), and the version Bruce Lee in the highly acclaimed remake “Fist of Fury” —"Fist of Legend” (1994). During this period, he moved on to modern action films such as superhero crime action.Black mask” (1996).

Lee made his Hollywood debut playing the villain in the action-comedy sequel Joel Silver "Lethal Weapon 4” (1998) with Mel Gibson, Danny Glover и Joe Pesci. He agreed to play the villain in exchange for the leading role of the hero in Silver's next film.Romeo must die” (2000). The success of the film led to further roles in American films such as “Kiss of the Dragon” (2001) and “Противостояние” (2001), as well as another collaboration with Silver - “From cradle to grave” (2003) and the more serious action drama “Danny Chain Dog” (2005).

Lee turned down a role in wuxia Ang Lee "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” (2000) to support his second wife, actress Nina Li Chi, during her pregnancy. In 2002, he appeared in the groundbreaking film Zhang Yimou "Hero“. This project became the highest-grossing film in the history of Chinese cinema at that time. Lee played another real-life martial arts hero, Huo Yuanjia, in the epic “Fearless” (2006), and at its premiere Jet stated that this would be his last traditional wushu performance. A year later, the action movie “War“, where he played with Jason Statham.

In 2007, Jet Li won the Hong Kong Film Award for his role in “Warlords“. A year later he played in “The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor“, and for the first time collaborated with Jackie Chan in the American adventure film “Forbidden kingdom” .

In 2010, Lee agreed to the offer Sylvester Stallone and starred in the action movie “The Expendables“. He then returned to this role in 2012 (The Expendables of 2) and in 2014 (The Expendables of 3). In addition, he played a dramatic role in the film “Ocean paradise” (2010), where there was not a single action scene.

Jet Li is a practicing Tibetan Buddhist and an ambassador for the Red Cross. In 2007 he created the organization One Foundation, which aims to raise funds for disaster relief in China, improving the welfare of children and promoting philanthropy.

Since 2010, he has been diagnosed with hyperthyroidism, a condition that affects his heart rate and metabolism. Lee has spoken publicly about how the disease affected his health and limited his ability to practice martial arts and participate in filming.

In 2017, he was supposed to appear in the Vin Diesel franchise “XXX: Return of Xander Cage” , but it was replaced Donnie Yen. The same year the short film “Guardians of Martial Arts“, in which Jet took part along with other action stars.

In 2020, Lee played the emperor in the Disney film Mulan, based on the cartoon of the same name.

An action movie was announced in 2024 “Nonstop“, in which Jet Li is scheduled to appear along with Tony JAA, Iko Uaisom и Ma Dong-seok.