The Evolution of Jet Li

Born: April 26, 1963 in Beijing, China
Birth Name: Li Lian Jie
Height: 5' 6¼" (1.68 m)

Jet Li born Li Lian Jie in Beijing, China. He started training at the Beijing wushu academy (wushu is China's national sport, largely a performance version of various martial art styles) at age eight. He won five gold medals in the Chinese championships, his first when he was only 11. In his teens, he was already a national coach, and before he was 20 he had starred in his first movie: Shaolin Temple (1982), which started the 1980s Kung-Fu boom in mainland China. He relocated to Hong Kong, where he was the biggest star of the early 1990s Kung-Fu boom. His first directorial effort was Born to Defend (1986).

Won Chinese national championship in the acrobatic martial art wushu when he was 11; his prize was a trip to Washington D.C. to meet President Richard Nixon.
He studies English with a tutor for 4 hours a day.
Jet & wife Nina Li Chi became parents to a 6 lb. 13 oz. daughter, Jane. [April 2000]
Was originally cast in the role of the character Li Mu Bai in Ang Lee's martial arts blockbuster Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000), but turned it down. The decision was prompted by a promise to his wife Nina Li Chi that he would not work while she was pregnant. The role of Li Mu Bai went to actor Yun-Fat Chow. Li said this himself during an appearance on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (1992) promoting Kiss of the Dragon (2001).
Other than providing voice-overs for Kit Yun in Rise to Honor (2003), he also did the motion-capture for his fight scenes.
Injured his foot while escaping the tsunami that followed a 9.0 earthquake in the Indian Ocean. Li and his four year old daughter were on vacation in the Maldives on December 26th, 2004. The two were in the lobby of their hotel when the wave came ashore. Scooping up his daughter and running for higher ground, a piece of furniture hit his foot, causing the injury.
In 2009, he renounced his US citizenship. He was thought to have taken up Singaporean citizenship, although Singaporean authorities did not initially provide any confirmation of this. On 28 July 2009, the chairman of One Foundation (the charity fund of Li) announced that Jet Li had indeed become a Singaporean citizen. He was said to have chosen Singapore for its education system for his two younger daughters.
His Mandarin name is Li Lianjie. His Cantonese name is Lei Lin-Git (or Lee Lin-Kit).
Has played both real life legend Huo Yuan Jia (in Fearless (2006)) and his semi-fictional student Chen Zhen (in Fist of Legend (1994)).
Sustained bruised ribs while filming the fight stunts with Anthony Anderson for Romeo Must Die (2000).
One of 105 people invited to join AMPAS in 2008.
He worked with director Jing Wong on four films: Last Hero in China (1993), The Evil Cult (1993), The New Legend of Shaolin (1994) and High Risk (1995).
He worked with director Hark Tsui on five films: Once Upon a Time in China (1991), Once Upon a Time in China II (1992), The Master (1989), Once Upon a Time in China III (1992) and Flying Swords of Dragon Gate (2011).
Has played both an attempted assassin of the First Emperor of China (Hero (2002)), and the First Emperor of China (The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor (2008)).
In 2009, he launched his own fitness program, Wuji. The programme consists of elements of martial arts, yoga and pilates; Adidas launched a special clothing line for it that bears the initials of "JL".
In his free time he likes to play badminton and table tennis, ride his bicycle, read and meditate. He collects rare Tibetan beads. He says he is never bored in his free time.
In 2013, he revealed that he suffers from hyperthyroidism and has been dealing with the issue for the past three years. Since his heart rate can hit 130~140 at rest, Li takes medication to control his heart rate and has been advised not to do any sort of exercise. In 2016, he stated that he had recovered from his illness and that accepting fewer film offers was due to his charity work and not because of his health conditions.
Lana Wachowski and Lilly Wachowski originally wrote the role of Seraph in Matrix Reloaded (2003) and The Matrix Revolutions (2003) with him in mind. He turned it down based on his belief that the role was not one which required his skills and that the films were iconic and stunning enough without adding his name to the cast list.
He was originally cast as Xiang in xXx: Return of Xander Cage (2017), but dropped out for undisclosed reasons. Donnie Yen replaced him.
In July 2001, Li agreed to produce and star in an action film with Jackie Chan which was to be released in 2002 or 2003, but no further news of their collaboration surfaced until 2006. That was The Forbidden Kingdom (2008).
He was considered for the role of The Amazing Yen in Ocean's Eleven (2001).
He has been a "philanthropic ambassador" of the Red Cross Society of China since January 2006. He contributed 500,000 yuan (US$62,500) of box office revenues from Fearless (2006) to the Red Cross' psychological sunshine project, which promotes mental health.
As a Buddhist, believes that the difficulties of everyday life can be overcome with the help of religious philosophies. He thinks that fame is not something he can control; therefore, he does not care about it.
He was offered the part of Deacon Frost in Blade (1998), but opted to do Lethal Weapon 4 (1998) instead.
He was originally set to star in The Art of War (2000).
According to Li, everything he has ever wanted to tell the world can be found in three of his films: the message of Hero (2002) is that the suffering of one person can never be as significant as the suffering of a nation; Unleashed (2005) shows that violence is never a solution; and Fearless (2006) tells that the biggest enemy of a person is himself. Li thinks that the greatest weapon is a smile and the largest power is love.
He founded Taiji Zen in 2011, along with co-founder Executive chairman Jack Ma. Taiji Zen is a lifestyle company with the mission of spreading "Health and Happiness for All" through a balance of physical wellness and mental fitness. Taiji Zen combined the martial art of Taijiquan (a.k.a. T'ai Chi Chuan) with mindfulness-based practices such as meditation. It packaged these art forms into several different classes and online programs.
He was originally going to star in Crime Story (1993). While the film was still in pre-production, his agent Jim Choy was gunned down by the Triads. The incident caused Li to opt out of making a movie about organized crime, as he was afraid of attracting the wrong attention, so he chose to do Tai Chi Master (1993) instead.
About Wushu, he said that he believes the essence of martial arts is not power or speed but inner harmony, and considers it a sad development that today's Wushu championships place greater emphasis on form than on the essence of being a martial artist. He believes Wushu now lacks individuality and competitors move like machines, whereas according to his views Wushu should not be considered a race where the fastest athlete wins. He would like to see Wushu as a form of art, where artists have a distinctive style. Li blames the new competition rules that, according to him, place limitations on martial artists.
He nearly died during the 2004 Boxing Day Tsunami but both he and his daughters just barely escaped with only minor injuries.

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