Chen Peipei, a renowned Chinese martial arts actress with a career spanning six decades, has died aged 78, her family and agent announced, sparking an outpouring of messages of tribute.
of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Mulan The star actress died on Wednesday after a battle with a neurodegenerative disease similar to Parkinson's, her family posted on their Facebook page on Friday, adding that she had donated her brain for medical research.
“Our mother, Cheng Pei-pei, passed away peacefully at home on July 17, surrounded by her loved ones,” the statement said.
Chen's location has not been disclosed, but media reports said she died in San Francisco.
His family revealed that Chen was diagnosed with corticobasal degeneration (a neurodegenerative atypical Parkinson's syndrome) in 2019.
“This is a rare disorder with symptoms similar to Parkinson's disease, but current treatments do not slow its progression,” the researchers added.
They said Chen chose not to make the news public in order to deal with his illness privately and spend the rest of his time with his children and grandchildren.
The family has urged the public to donate to the Brain Support Network, a US-based non-profit organisation to which Cheng's brain has been donated for research into corticobasal degeneration and other rare neurological disorders.
Chen's agent also expressed gratitude on Friday for the love shown by the actress' friends, colleagues and well-wishers.
“Everyone at Supreme Arts Entertainment is deeply saddened by this news. We, along with her children, would like to thank all of Chen's friends, colleagues and supporters for the love they have always shown in her life,” her rep said in a Facebook post.
“We will always miss you,” the post concluded.
Chan began her silver screen career at Shaw Brothers Studios in Hong Kong and is often regarded as the first female action hero, earning her the nickname “Queen of Swords” for her sword-wielding period drama roles.
Her first hit as a martial arts actress was the 1966 film Come drink with me She is best known for playing the role of Madame Wah in the 1993 Hong Kong film Madame Hua. Cheating Scholar.
She won the Best Supporting Actress award at the Hong Kong Film Awards in 2001. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon She appeared as Jade Fox. Mulan, Nimble and Meditation Park.
Well-known mainland actress Tamia Liutao posted her condolences on China's Twitter-like microblogging site Weibo, saying she was saddened to hear of Chen's death and grateful to have met him.
“I will always remember how you affectionately called me 'Tao, Tao…' and how you shared your life experience, wisdom and strength with me,” said Liu, who also starred with him on a Chinese reality TV show.
“No matter where we meet again in the future, we will embrace each other as we used to.”
In a Weibo post, TV presenter Cao Kefan recalled Zheng's “stunning” roles as Jade Fox and Lady Hua and the friendship the pair shared.
“Whenever I met Ms Chen, I was always moved by her laughter. Even when thinking back on the difficult days of the past, she never complained or lamented. We spoke in Shanghainese and she said it reminded her of her childhood,” he said.
