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Li Lianjie (born April 26, 1963), better known by his
stage name Jet Li, is a
Chinese martial artist,
actor,
wushu champion, and international
film star who has currently taken up citizenship and resides in
Singapore. After three years of intensive training with
Wu Bin, Li won his first national championship for the Beijing Wushu Team. After retiring from wushu 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), also with
Mark Dacascos in
Cradle 2 the Grave (2003) and as the titular villain in
The Mummy: Tomb Of The Dragon Emperor (2008) opposite
Brendan Fraser. He is set to star in the upcoming film
The Expendables.
Early life and martial arts career
Li was born Li Lianjie in
Beijing,
People's Republic of China. Li's father died when he was two, leaving the family to struggle on its own, with Li being the youngest of two boys and two girls.
