SAN FRANCISCO — Chen Pei-Pei, the martial arts actor who starred in the Oscar-nominated action film “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,” has died at the age of 78.
Chen died Wednesday at his San Francisco home surrounded by loved ones, his family announced on Facebook. He was diagnosed with a progressive brain disease with symptoms similar to Parkinson's disease and will donate his brain to the Mayo Clinic for medical research, his family said.
Born in Shanghai, China in 1946, Cheng moved to Hong Kong in 1962 and made her feature film debut in the drama “Lovers' Rock” in 1964. Two years later, she got her breakthrough in 1966's “Come Drink With Me.”
According to Variety, Chen moved to California in the 1970s, where she raised her four children and attended business school at the University of California, Irvine. She has appeared in 115 acting films, most recently in the 2020 Disney film “Mulan.”
“Thank you to all of your friends, colleagues and fans for your support of our mother over the years,” Cheng's family wrote on Facebook. “She would have wanted to be remembered as a legendary martial arts queen and a versatile, award-winning actress who worked in film and television for over 60 years, both in Asia and internationally.
“She loved being an actress and despite how hard she worked, she knew how lucky she was to have the profession she did. She was humble, approachable, patient and kind, always generous with her time and always trying to help others in any way she could. She will be truly missed,” the family added.
