Li, Jet

Jet Li, or Li Lian-Jie as his real name is, was born on April 26, 1963 in Beijing. Jet Li is one of the most sought after martial arts actors in Hollywood today. At the age of eight he began to learn the art of Wushu, which he learned in a Beijing martial arts school. After three years of hard training, Li won his first national Wushu championship. He won the Chinese Modern Wushu Championship title five times in a row from 1974-1979.

He and his second wife Nina Chi Li have a daughter named Jane who was born on April 19, 2000. He already has two daughters with his first wife, Huang Chiu Yan, a martial arts expert from China whom he met while filming "Shaolin Teple 2". Jet Li has a total of four siblings, two older brothers and two older sisters.

In 1998, Jet Li made his film breakthrough in America and Europe. He starred as a villain with Mel Gibson in the blockbuster Lethal Weapon 4 and made a name for himself in Hollywood. However, his personal breakthrough came in 2000 with the leading role in Romeo Must Die. This was followed by films like Kiss of the Dragon, The One, Born 2 Die, Hero and Unleashed.

In 1998, he was nominated at the MTV Movie Awards for Best Villain for Lethal Weapon 4. In 2000, he was also nominated for Best Fight Scene for Romeo Must Die at the MTV Movie Awards. Jet Li was also voted one of the top 25 Sexiest Men in Showbiz by a poll by E!Online.

Filmography

1979: Shaolin Temple
1982: Shaolin Temple: Monastery of Avengers
1984: Shaolin Temple: Children of Vengeance
1986: Born to Defend (original title: Final Fight)
1986: Shaolin Temple: Power of Shaolin
1989: Dragons of the Orient
1988: Dragon Fight
1990: Once Upon A Time In China
1991: Last Hero - Once Upon a Time in China 2
1992: The Master
1992: Once Upon A Time In China 3
1992: China Swordsman
1993: Iron Tiger
1993: Kung Fu Cult Master
1993: The Enforcer
1993: Claws of Steel
1993: Tai Chi
1994: Jet Li`s Shaolin Kung Fu (documentary)
1994: Fists of Legends
1994: Bodyguard from Beijing (Original title: Bodyguard from Beijing)
1994: Master of Shaolin
1995: High Risk
1995: My Father is a Hero
1996: Black Mask
1996: The Writ of Death
1997: Once Upon A Time In China And America
1998: Contract Killer (original title: Hitman)
1998: Lethal Weapon 4
2000: Romeo Must Die
2001: The One
2001: Kiss of the Dragon
2002: Hero
2003: Born 2 Die (original title: Cradle 2 The Grave)
2005: Unleashed (original title: Danny the Dog)
2006: Fearless
2007: War
2007: The Forbidden Kingdom