Cheng Pei Pei, a trailblazer for women in Asian martial arts cinema and a star of the 2000 blockbuster “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,” died on July 17 in the San Francisco Bay Area. She was 78.
Her representatives at Echelon Talent Management confirmed her death in a statement. She was diagnosed in 2019 with a neurodegenerative disease similar to Parkinson’s, they said.Ms. Cheng was born on Jan. 6, 1946, in Shanghai. Trained in ballet and traditional Chinese dance, she began her acting career in Hong Kong in 1964 and became one of the stars of the wuxia genre of martial arts films. Her breakout role was in the mid-’60s kung fu classic “Come Drink With Me.”
- Refrigerate or Leave Out? The Truth About Mayonnaise Storage
Mayonnaise feels harmless—until it isn’t. One wrong storage habit, and that creamy favorite can turn into a silent […]
- BREAKING: 3 police officers shot at gas station while they were hav…See more
Sirens shattered the quiet afternoon. Three officers, gunned down in seconds, never saw the ambush coming. Chaos […]
“Our mom Cheng Pei Pei wanted to be remembered for who she was: the legendary ‘Queen of Martial Arts,’” her family said in a statement. “She loved being an actress and knew, even with her hard work, how fortunate she was to have the career she had.”
Ms. Cheng moved to the United States in the 1970s, where her four children were born.
She played the villain Jade Fox in “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,” featuring in some of the film’s most memorable fight scenes.
Ms. Cheng chose to keep her medical condition private, her management said.
She donated her brain to the Brain Support Network, a nonprofit organization that supports people diagnosed with neurodegenerative disorders.