Li Lianjie (born April 26, 1963), better known by his stage name
Jet Li, is a
Chinese martial artist (Kung fu),
actor,
Wushu champion, and international film
star. After three years of intensive training, Li won his first national championship for the Beijing Wushu Team. After retiring at age 17, he went on to win great acclaim in
China as an actor making his debut with the film
Shaolin Temple (1982). He went on to star in many critically acclaimed martial arts epic films, most notably the
Once Upon a Time in China series, in which he portrayed
folk hero Wong Fei Hung. His first role in a Hollywood film was as a villain in
Lethal Weapon 4 (1998), but his first Hollywood film leading role was in
Romeo Must Die (2000). He has gone on to star in many Hollywood action films, most recently starring beside
Jackie Chan in
The Forbidden Kingdom (2008), and as the titular villain in
The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor (2008) alongside
Brendan Fraser.
Biography
Early life & career as an athlete
Li was born
Li Lianjie in
Beijing, People's Republic of
China. His father died when he was two. Li participated in the sport of
wushu in the non-
sparring event. He began his wushu on the
Beijing Wushu Team, an athletic group organized to perform martial arts forms during the
All China Games. As a member of the team, he received wushu training and went on to win fifteen gold medals and one silver medal in Chinese wushu championships:
- 1974: Youth National Athletic Hi Competition: broadsword form gold medal, optional empty-hand form gold medal, all-round gold medal;
