Jet Li

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Li Lianjie (courtesy name Yangzhong; born 26 April 1963), better known by his stage name Jet Li, is a Chinese-born Singaporean martial artist, actor, and philanthropist. After three years of training with acclaimed wushu teacher Wu Bin, Li won his first national championship for the Beijing Wushu Team in 1974, winning the first of five men's national championships. After his retirement from the sport in 1979, he went on to win great acclaim as an actor, making his debut with the Chinese-Hong Kong martial arts film ''Shaolin Temple'' (1982), which instantly catapulted him to stardom in East Asia.

Though continued success followed after two sequels in 1984 and 1986, Li had a major breakthrough across Asia with the ''Once Upon a Time in China'' film series (1991–1993), in which he portrayed Chinese folk hero Wong Fei-hung. He starred in his directorial debut film ''Born to Defence'' (1986), which saw Li, for the first time, playing a character in a period setting. Many of his 1990s martial arts films are regarded as classics of the genre, particularly ''Swordsman II'' (1992), ''Fong Sai-yuk'' (1993), and ''Fist of Legend'' (1994). Before transitioning to Hollywood in the late 1990s, he appeared in several contemporary Hong Kong action films which fused guns and kung fu, most notably ''High Risk'' (1995), ''Black Mask'' (1996), and ''Hitman'' (1998). His movie career in China is credited with reviving wushu in Hong Kong martial arts films during the 1990s, and revitalising the Shaolin Temple. Li is also noted for his contribution to making new wuxia films popular internationally during his career.

Li made his Hollywood debut as a villain in the 1998 buddy cop action film ''Lethal Weapon 4''. His first leading role in a Hollywood film was as Han Sing in ''Romeo Must Die'' (2000). He went on to star in many international action films, including in French cinema with the Luc Besson-produced films ''Kiss of the Dragon'' (2001) and ''Unleashed'' (2005). In 2008, he portrayed the title character villain in ''The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor'' and starred in the US-China co-production ''The Forbidden Kingdom'', which marked his first collaboration with fellow martial arts star Jackie Chan. Between 2010 and 2014, he appeared in the first three films in the ensemble action film series ''The Expendables''. He continued to be active in Hong Kong cinema, appearing in the critically acclaimed film ''Hero'' (2002), ''Fearless'' (2006), which marked his final wushu martial arts film, and ''The Warlords'' (2007). For the latter, he became the highest paid actor in a Chinese-language movie, previously holding the record for his part in ''Hero''.

With a film career spanning more than forty years, Li is regarded as one of the most iconic Chinese film stars and one of the most renowned martial arts stars of his generation. In 2004, he topped ''Forbes'' list of China's richest stars. As a philanthropist, he founded One Foundation in 2007, which was registered in 2011 as the first private charitable fundraising organization in China. He also co-founded ''Taiji Zen'', an online health and wellness program providing instruction in meditation and tai chi. Li was named by ''Time'' as one of the 100 Most Influential People in 2010. Provided by Wikipedia