Jet Li biography
Jet Li is a famous Chinese and Singaporean film actor, film producer, and martial artist. His most famous films include "Kiss of the Dragon" (2001), "Hero" (2002), "Unleashed" (2005), and "The Expendables" (2010). Net worth: $250 million.
Childhood and Early Life
Jet Li (real name Li Lianjie) was born on April 26, 1963, in Beijing into a large family. Jet Li had two elder brothers and two elder sisters. His father died before Jet turned two, leaving the family to face difficult times.
During competitions, famous coaches noticed the boy and began developing his athletic abilities. One coach even bought food for Jet's family since they couldn't afford meat, which was essential for proper muscle development.

During award ceremony I was standing on the highest podium step and still was shorter than second and third place winners.
In 1977 the young man became a champion in Dao sword competitions. Later, Jet Li became a master in several wushu styles while also studying other Chinese martial arts and mastering the main types of wushu weapons.
Acting career
Li Lianjie's sports fame led him into the film industry - first in China, then in Hong Kong. The future actor received his stage name «Jet Li» in 1982 in the Philippines, when an advertising company said his real name was too complicated to pronounce. PR specialists stepped in and compared Li's successful career to a skyrocketing aircraft. Posters for the sportsman's debut film «Shaolin Temple» displayed the name Jet Li.
According to Zoomboola.com, in 1998 Jet made his debut in the American action movie «Lethal Weapon 4» with Mel Gibson, Danny Glover, and Joe Pesci. Remarkably, it was the first movie in which the actor played a villain.
Two years later, producer Joel Silver invited Jet to play a leading role in the film «Romeo Must Die», which also starred the now-deceased singer Aaliyah. The film became a real blockbuster and Jet Li received a residual payment of $2.4 million. Despite Jet Li's poor English, his performance as the Chinese mafia member was highly praised by critics.

However, Jet eventually starred in several other significant films. In 2001 he starred in high-budget action films «The One» (his first time starring alongside Jason Statham) and «Kiss of the Dragon» with Bridget Fonda. One of Jet Li's most remarkable roles came in Zhang Yimou's fantasy drama «Hero», where he played the Nameless assassin hired by the king.

In 2005 Jet Li took on a serious dramatic role in the film «Unleashed», where he starred as a man raised in harsh conditions. Although Jet used his martial arts skills in this film, this project was much different from his other works due to its higher dramatic content.


Initially, Jet was set to star alongside Vin Diesel in the adventure action film «XXX: Return of Xander» (2017), but he was replaced by Donnie Yen.
In November 2017, the short film «Gong Shou Dao» was released. In the film, the main hero fought with different martial arts masters. Besides Jet Li, the film starred Jack Ma, Wu Jing (who appeared in Shaolin), and Jacky Heung (star of action films Fearless and The Warlords).
Personal life of Jet Li
In 1987, Jet married Huang Qiuyan, a member of the Beijing Wushu Team. They had two daughters together - Si and Taimi. In 1990 the couple separated.

In 2009, Jet Li renounced his previously granted US citizenship. In July 2009, the actor became a citizen of Singapore. Jet chose this country for its high-quality education system, which he felt was necessary for his younger daughters.


Social activities
Since 2006, Jet has served as a philanthropic ambassador for the Red Cross Society of China. He donated 500,000 yuan ($62,500) to the foundation using proceeds from his film Fearless (2006). In spring 2007, Jet launched his own nonprofit foundation called The One Foundation, supporting international disaster relief and suicide prevention efforts.
Jet Li today
These days, the actor has scaled back his film work but took on the role of the emperor in Disney's live-action "Mulan" remake, which premiered in 2020.In late 2019, following a lengthy illness, Jet Li posted a photo on Instagram where fans noted he looked noticeably younger and more upbeat. However, the actor hasn't revealed what caused this positive transformation.