Jet Li (as he would later be known) was born in Beijing, China. His father died when he was two and his mother who was very protective sent him to the wushu academy at the age of eight.
Jet Li participated in the sport of wushu in the non-sparring event. He began his martial arts career as a member of the Beijing Wushu team, an athletic group organized to perform martial arts during the All China Games. As a member of the team, he received martial arts training and went on to win fifteen gold medals and one silver medal in Chinese wushu championships:
* 1974 ¡ª Youth National Athletic Competition: broadsword form gold medal, optional empty-hand form gold medal, all-round gold medal;
* 1975 ¡ª Third Chinese Wushu Championships: long fist form gold medal, spear form silver medal;
* 1977 ¡ª National Wushu Competition: long-fist form gold medal, broadsword form gold medal;
* 1978 ¡ª National Wushu Competition: long-fist form gold medal, optional empty-hand form gold medal, broadsword form gold medal, all-round gold medal;
* 1979 ¡ª Fourth Chinese Wushu Championships: long-fist form gold medal, optional empty-hand form gold medal, broadsword form gold medal, sparring form gold medal, all-round gold medal.
All his optional empty-hand form medals were won with a form called fanzi yingzhuaquan (·×Óú—צÈ, Fanzi eagle claw). His success led to the PRC declaring Jet Li to be a "National Treasure".
The fame gained by his sports winnings led to a career as a martial arts film star, beginning in mainland China and then continuing into Hong Kong. After his success in Hong Kong, Jet Li established a presence in American films, beginning with his portrayal of a villain in Lethal Weapon 4. His first lead role in a Hollywood movie was in Romeo Must Die.
Some of his more famous Chinese films include:
* the Shaolin Temple series (1, 2 and 3), which are considered to be the films which sparked the rebirth of the real Shaolin Temple in Dengfeng, China;
* the Once Upon a Time in China series (Chinese title: Wong Fei Hung), about the legendary Chinese folk hero;
* Fist of Legend (Chinese title: Jing Wu Ying Xiong), a remake of Bruce Lee's Chinese Connection (Jing Wu Men in Chinese, named after the martial arts school);
* the Fong Sai-Yuk films, about another Chinese folk hero. As one might expect from a martial artist of his caliber, he performs most of his own stunts.
Jet Li starred in the 1995 movie, Shu dan long wei, known in English as "Courage of a Mouse and Power of a Dragon". The movie, known in the US as either High Risk or Meltdown, portrays Jet Li as a cop who becomes disillusioned after his wife is murdered by crimelords. Along the way, he pairs up with a wacky sell-out actor, Frankie (played by Jacky Cheung), and proceeds to engage in a series of violent battles in a high-rise building. The setting is similar to that of Die Hard (interesting note is that the Chinese title for Die Hard is Fo Dan Wei Long literally translate to "Courage of a tiger and power of a dragon" a play on word).
In July 2001, Jet Li and Jackie Chan agreed to produce and star in an action movie which was to be released in 2002 or 2003, but there has since been no news of their collaboration. In 2002, the film Hero was released in the Chinese market. This film was both a commercial and critical success.
Li took a big risk with the 2005 action drama, Unleashed (a.k.a. Danny the Dog) where he portrays an adult with the mentality of a child who has been raised like an animal. A somber film with more depth than had been previously seen in Li's films, it co-starred dramatic actors, Bob Hoskins and Morgan Freeman.
According to Shenzhen Daily newspaper, Jet Li has announced his retirement from martial arts films after the film Fearless, known as Huo Yuanjia in Chinese, named after the real-life founder of Jing Wu Men who reportedly defeated foreign boxers and Japanese martial artists in publicized events at a time when China's power was seen as eroding. Together with the film Fist of Legend, Li has portrayed both Chen Zhen, the fictional student and avenger of Huo Yuanjia, as well as Huo Yuanjia himself.
"I stepped into the martial arts movie market when I was only 16. I think I have proved my ability in this field and it won't make sense for me to continue for another five or 10 years. Huo Yuanjia is a conclusion to my life as a martial arts star." ¡ª Jet Li
Li's latest film, Rogue, began principal photography in the spring of 2006, re-teaming Jet Li with actor Jason Statham and action choreographer Corey Yuen.
In May 2006, there was an official announcment that Jackie Chan will be making a movie together with Jet Li, they are both working on a script at the moment. The film is scheduled to be ready to start filming in early 2007, after Chan finished his project with Chris Tucker, Rush Hour 3.
In 1987 Jet Li married Beijing Wushu Team member and Shaolin Temple series co-star Huang Qiuyan, with whom he had two children. They divorced in 1990. Since 1999, he has been married to Nina Li Chi (born Li Zhi), a Shanghai-born, Hong Kong-based actress. He has two children with her as well.
Jet Li was in the Maldives when the tsunami hit during the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake. Although it was widely reported at the time that he had died during the disaster, he only suffered a minor foot injury, caused by a piece of floating furniture, whilst he was guiding his daughter to safety.
