Jet Li

Li Lianjie (courtesy name Yangzhong; born 26 April 1963), better known by his stage name Jet Li, is a Chinese-born Singaporean martial artist, actor, and philanthropist. After three years of training with acclaimed wushu teacher Wu Bin, Li won his first national championship for the Beijing Wushu Team at age 11. Between 1974 and 1979, he won the title of Men's All-Around National Wushu Champion five times. After retiring from competitive wushu at age 18, he went on to win great acclaim as an actor, making his debut with the Chinese-Hong Kong martial arts film Shaolin Temple (1982), which instantly catapulted him to stardom in East Asia.

Though continued success followed after two sequels in 1984 and 1986, Li had a major breakthrough across Asia with the Once Upon a Time in China film series (1991–1993), in which he portrayed Chinese folk hero Wong Fei-hung. He continued to appear in Hong Kong films set in old China, such as Swordsman II (1992), Tai Chi Master, Fong Sai-yuk, Fong Sai-yuk II, Kung Fu Cult Master, Last Hero in China (all 1993), and The New Legend of Shaolin (1994). He starred in his directorial debut film Born to Defence (1986), which saw Li, for the first time, playing a character in a period setting. In the 1990s, he appeared in several contemporary action films which fused guns and kung fu, most notably High Risk (1995), Black Mask (1996), and Hitman (1998). He portrayed Chen Zhen in the critically acclaimed film Fist of Legend (1994). His movie career in China is credited with reviving wushu in Hong Kong martial arts films during the 1990s, and revitalising the Shaolin Temple. Li is also noted for his contribution to making new wuxia films popular internationally during his career.

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 first three of The Expendables films with Sylvester Stallone, and portrayed the title character villain in The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor (2008). The US-China co-production The Forbidden Kingdom (2008) marked his first collaboration with fellow martial arts star Jackie Chan. He continued to be active in Hong Kong cinema, appearing in the critically acclaimed film Hero (2002), Fearless (2006), which marked his final wushu martial arts film, and The Warlords (2007). For the latter, he became the highest paid actor in a Chinese-language movie, previously holding the record for his part in Hero.

With a film career spanning more than forty years, Li is regarded as one of the most iconic Chinese film stars and one of the most renowned martial arts stars of his generation. In 2004, he topped Forbes list of China's richest stars. As a philanthropist, he founded the One Foundation in 2007, and subsequently Taiji Zen, an online health and wellness program providing instruction in meditation and tai chi. Li was named by Time as one of the 100 Most Influential People in 2010.