Jet Li Biography

Early Life

Born on 26th April 1963, from Li Qingquan and Zhang Feng Lan, Jet Li spent his childhood in the city of Beijing, China. He grew up along with two other siblings, brother, and a sister. He lost his father at the age of two.

From his early age, he was interested in martial art and at the age of 8, was admitted to a school where he could learn the martial art. He also took part in National Games of the People’s Republic of China at the age of 11, where he won his first national championship. He was one of the members of Beijing Wushu Team.

His great talent in the martial art Jet Li got a chance to tour 45 different nations. He also performed for the U.S. President Richard M. Nixon. He won the title of National Wushu Championship title in 1974.

Career

After receiving popularity in the field of martial art, he was signed to a Chinese movie in 1982. He made his acting debut in the action movie “Shaolin Temple.”  It was one of the successful movies of that year. He was also listed as a promising actor in the China.

He has played several Chinese movies in his lifetime. Among which Once Upon a Time in China, Kiss of the Dragon, My Father is Hero are some of his hit films.

In the year 1998, he made Hollywood debut in Lethal Weapon 4, where he portrayed the role of a villainous character. He got a lead role in Hollywood movie Romeo Must Die in 2000. The movie was one of the box office hit movies where he is seen opposite Aaliyah, a singer, and actress.

He was also awarded Hong Kong Film Award for Best Actor for the movie The Warlords. It was his first film which focused on dramatics rather than martial arts. He has also appeared alongside Jackie Chan in films like The Forbidden Kingdom and The Founding of the Republic.

He has teamed with actor Jason Statham in three different movies which include War, The Expendables and The One. He last featured in the movie The Expendables 3 in 2014. Moreover, he was to play the movie “The XXX: Return of Xander Cage” along with Vin Diesel but due to his bad health condition Donnie Yen replaced him.

Personal Life

Jet Li was married to Huang Qiuyan, Beijing Wushu Team Member, and Kids from Shaolin co-star, in 1987. From their marriage, he has two daughters, Si and Taimi. This couple divorced in 1990.

Later in 1999, he got married to Nina Li Chi, Hong Kong-based actress. This couple is blessed with two daughters, Jane and Jada.

Li is suffered from Hyperthyroidism in 2013 and has been dealing with this issue for past three years. For better health result, he is spending most of his time meditating, reading books, playing light games such as tennis table and badminton.

Net Worth

Jet Li earned name and fame both in Hollywood movies and Chinese movies. Due to which he has successfully collected an estimated net worth of $210 million.