Jet Li

Vital Statistics: Jet Li was born in Beijing, on April 26th,1963. Named Li Lian Jie (Mandarin) or Li Nin Kit (Cantonese). Li, the youngest in his family, has 2 brothers and 2 sisters. His father died in 1965, and his mother died in 2002. He is married to former Miss Asia (1986), and acclaimed movie star Nina Li Chi. He has 2 daughters from a previous marriage, and 2 daughters with Nina Li.

Early Martial Arts Training: Li began formal training in Wushu age 8 at Beijing's Amateur Sports School. At 11, he won gold at the Chinese national championships. He joined Beijing's professional Wushu team, traveling the globe for five years, and he performed before President Richard Nixon and Henry Kissinger on the White House lawn.

Martial Arts Style: Wushu which is the Chinese national sport and a discipline of martial arts known for it's performance style, rather than a mode of fighting.

Martial Arts Achievements: 1974 All Around Champion - Chinese National Wushu Championships. At 11 years old he was the youngest All Around Champion ever. He went on to win the title a total of 5 consecutive times.

Movies & Accomplishments: Jet made his first movie at age 19, the classic "Shaolin Temple." He has gone on to make over 30 movies, including the amazing "Once Upon A Time In China" films. More movies:

• Jet Li's Latest Release Unleashed debuted in the No.3 spot at the US box office taking in an estimate of $3,774,000 on Friday May 13th, 2005. View this Video Clip of Unleashed
• Cradle 2 the Grave (2003)
• Hero (2002)
• The One (2001)
• Kiss of the Dragon (2001)
• Romeo Must Die (2000)
• Lethal Weapon 4 (1998)

Trivia - Recent News: Jet Li was vacationing in Maldives on December 26th, 2004 when the unbelieveable tsunami hit the area following a 9.0 earthquake in the Indian Ocean. Li and his four year old daughter escaped serious injury by running for higher ground when the lobby of their hotel was hit when the wave came ashore. Li did injure his foot on a piece of furniture floating in the water.

Interviews: Excellent interview of Jet Li by Lorraine Hahn of TalkAsia. This interview reveals the inner Jet Li, a man of character and purpose, and who is committed to his family and to being a strong role model for children and teens.