Jet li Biography

Martial artist, actor. Jet Li Lian Jie was born on April 26, 1963 in Heibei, on the outskirts of Beijing, China. His father died when he was two.

At a young age, Jet Li developed an interest in wushu, the dominant martial art in Mainland China, and enrolled at the Beijing Wushu academy at age eight. He won five gold medals in the Chinese championships, his first when he was only 11 and even performed in front of U.S. President Richard Nixon at the White House as part of a cultural exchange during the 1970's.

After retiring at age 17, Jet Li went on to win great acclaim in China as an actor. He was 19 when he appeared in his first film, Shaolin Temple, the first modern kung fu movie made in China.

After his success in Hong Kong, and establishing a cult following in the U.S., Jet Li established a presence in American films. His first English-speaking role was as a villain in Lethal Weapon 4. His first leading role in a Hollywood movie was the highly acclaimed Romeo Must Die, for which he suffered bruised ribs while filming the fight stunts with Anthony Anderson. In 2006, he released his last wushu epic, Fearless.

Li and Jackie Chan are currently filming The Forbidden Kingdom. Based on the legend of the Monkey King from the Chinese folk novel Journey to the West, it is due out in Apirl 2008.

In 1987, Jet Li married Beijing Wushu Team member Huang Quiyan. They had two children and divorced in 1990.

Li married Nina Li Chi in 1999, a Hong-Kong based actress. He has two children with her as well.

Jet Li was on vacation in the Maldives when the tsunami hit during the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake. At the time, it was widely reported that he had died during the disaster. However, he only suffered a minor foot injury, caused by a piece of floating furniture, while guiding his four-year-old daughter to safety.

source:www.biography.com