Joan Chen facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Joan Chen
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Joan Chen in 2012
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Born |
陳沖 (Chen Chong)
April 26, 1961 Shanghai, China
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Occupation | Actress, director | ||||||||||
Years active | 1975–present | ||||||||||
Spouse(s) |
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Children | 2 | ||||||||||
Chinese name | |||||||||||
Traditional Chinese | 陳冲 | ||||||||||
Simplified Chinese | 陈冲 | ||||||||||
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Joan Chen (born April 26, 1961) is a Chinese-American actress and film director. In China, she performed in the 1979 film Little FlowerThe Last Emperor. She is also known for her roles in Twin Peaks, Red Rose White Rose, Saving Face, and The Home Song Stories, and for directing the feature film Xiu Xiu: The Sent Down Girl.
and came to the attention of American audiences for her performance in the 1987 filmContents
Early life
Chen was born in Shanghai, to a family of pharmacologists. She and her older brother, Chase, were raised during the Cultural Revolution. At the age of 14, Chen was discovered on the school rifle range by Jiang Qing, the wife of leader Mao Zedong and major Chinese Communist Party figure, for excelling at marksmanship. This led to her being selected for the Actors' Training Program by the Shanghai Film Studio in 1975, where she was discovered by veteran director Xie Jin who chose her to star in his 1977 film Youth as a deaf mute whose senses are restored by an army medical team. Chen graduated from high school a year in advance, and at the age of 17 entered Shanghai International Studies University, where she majored in English.
Career
Early career in China
Chen performed alongside Tang Guoqiang in Zhang Zheng's (simplified Chinese: 张铮; traditional Chinese: 張錚; pinyin: Zhāng Zhēng) Little Flower in 1979, for which she won the Hundred Flowers Award for Best Actress. Chen portrayed a pre-Maoist revolutionary's daughter, who, reunited with her brother, a wounded Communist soldier, later learned that his doctor was her biological mother. Little Flower was her second film and she soon achieved the status of China's most-loved actress; she was dubbed "the Elizabeth Taylor of China" by Time magazine for having achieved stardom while still a teenager.
In addition, Chen was in the 1979 film Hearts for the Motherlandsimplified Chinese: 欧凡; traditional Chinese: 歐凡; pinyin: Ōu Fán) and Xing Jitian (Chinese: 邢吉田; pinyin: Xíng Jítián) depicts an overseas Chinese family that returns to China from Southeast Asia out of their patriotic feelings but encounter political troubles during the Cultural Revolution. The songs, "I Love You, China" and "High Flies the Petrel" (simplified Chinese: 高飞的海燕; traditional Chinese: 高飛的海燕; pinyin: Gāofēi de Hǎiyàn), sung by Chen's character, are perennial favorites in China. In 1981, Chen starred in Awakening (simplified Chinese: 苏醒; traditional Chinese: 甦醒; pinyin: Sūxǐng), directed by Teng Wenji .
. The film directed by Ou Fan (Hollywood breakout
At age 20, Chen moved to the United States, where she studied filmmaking at California State University, Northridge.
Her first Hollywood movie was Tai-Pan, filmed on location in China. In 1985 she appeared in the U.S. television show Miami Vice as May Ying, former wife of Martin Castillo and husband to Ma Sek in the episode "Golden Triangle (Part II)". She went on to star in Bernardo Bertolucci's The Last Emperor in 1987 and the David Lynch/Mark Frost television series Twin Peaks as Josie Packard. She starred alongside Rutger Hauer in 1989's The Blood of Heroes, written and directed by David Webb Peoples. In 1993 she co-starred in Oliver Stone's Heaven & Earth. ..... She shaved her head on-screen for the role. The award-winning film was adapted from a novel by Lilian Lee.
In 1994 she co-starred with Steven Seagal in the action-adventure On Deadly Ground; she returned to Shanghai to star in Stanley Kwan's Red Rose White Rose opposite Winston Chao, and subsequently won a Golden Horse Award and a Hong Kong Film Critics Society Award for her performance. In 1996, she was a member of the jury at the 46th Berlin International Film Festival.
Tired of being cast as an exotic beauty in Hollywood films, Chen moved into directing in 1998 with the critically acclaimed Xiu Xiu: The Sent Down Girl, adapted from the novella Celestial Bath (Chinese: 天浴; pinyin: Tiān Yù) by her friend Yan Geling. She later directed Autumn in New York, starring Richard Gere and Winona Ryder, in 2000.
Later career
In the middle of the 2000s, Chen made a comeback in acting and began to work intensely, alternating between English and Chinese-language roles.
In 2004, she starred in Hou Yong's family saga Jasmine Women, alongside Zhang Ziyi, in which they played multiple roles as daughters and mothers across three generations in Shanghai. She also starred in the Asian-American comedy Saving Face as a widowed mother, who is shunned by the Chinese-American community for being pregnant and unwed and has come to live with her lesbian daughter.
In 2005, she appeared in Zhang Yang's family saga Sunflower, as a mother whose husband and son have a troubled father-son relationship over 30 years. She starred in the Asian American independent film Americanese and in Michael Almereyda's Tonight at Noon, the first part of a two part project, scheduled to be released in 2009.
In 2007, Chen was acclaimed for her performance in Tony Ayres' drama The Home Song Stories. She portrayed a glamorous and unstable Chinese nightclub singer who struggles to survive in 1970s Australia with her two children. The role earned her four awards including the Australian Film Institute Award for Best Actress and the Golden Horse Award for Best Actress. .....
In 2008, she starred alongside Sam Chow (simplified Chinese: 邹爽; traditional Chinese: 鄒爽; pinyin: Zōu Shuǎng) in Shi Qi (Chinese: 十七; pinyin: Shíqī), directed by Joe Chow (simplified Chinese: 姬诚; traditional Chinese: 姬誠; pinyin: Jī Chéng), as a rural mother of a 17-year-old in eastern Zhejiang province. The same year Joan Chen portrayed a factory worker in Jia Zhangke's 24 City once fancied because she resembled Chen herself in the 1979 film Little Flower, but who missed her chance at love.
She co-starred in Bruce Beresford's 2009 adaptation of the autobiography of dancer Li Cunxin, Mao's Last Dancer, along with Wang Shuangbao (simplified Chinese: 王双宝; traditional Chinese: 王雙寶; pinyin: Wáng Shuāngbǎo) and Kyle MacLachlan.
In 2009, Chen starred alongside Feng Yuanzheng and Liu JinshanChinese: 人到中年; pinyin: Rén Dào Zhōngnián), directed by Dou Qi (Chinese: 斗琪; pinyin: Dòu Qí), in which she played a female doctor facing middle-age problems. She also played the part of goddess Guan Yin in the 2010 Chinese TV adaptation of Journey to the West, directed by Cheng Lidong (simplified Chinese: 程力栋; traditional Chinese: 程力棟; pinyin: Chéng Lìdòng).
in the Chinese TV series Newcomers to the Middle-Aged (In October 2009 Joan Chen was the curator of the first Singapore Sun Film Festival, whose theme was "The Art of Living Well". She selected and curated five films for screening during the festival: The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, Dead Man Walking, Hannah and Her Sisters, Still Life and Edward Scissorhands.
In 2010, Chen joined the cast of Leehom Wang's directorial debut Love in Disguise, Alexi Tan's (simplified Chinese: 陈奕利; traditional Chinese: 陳奕利; pinyin: Chén Yìlì) Color Me Love (simplified Chinese: 爱出色; traditional Chinese: 愛出色; pinyin: Ài Chūsè; alongside Liu Ye), Ilkka Järvi-Laturi's Kiss, His First (alongside Tony Leung Ka-fai and Gwei Lun-mei) and veteran acting coach Larry Moss' Relative Insanity (along with Juliette Binoche). In May 2010, she was set to star and direct one of the three parts of the anthology film Seeing Red.
In 2011, she played Secretary Bishop's girlfriend on the television series Fringe episode "Immortality". Chen was cast as the Mongol Yuan Dynasty empress Chabi in the 2014 American television series Marco Polo. Being somewhat unfamiliar with the Mongols, Chen read The Secret History of the Mongol Queens in order to prepare for the role. She also appeared in several episodes of the 2018 Chinese television drama Ruyi's Royal Love in the Palace as Ula Nara Yixiu (the Empress Xiaojingxian).
Personal life
Chen was formerly married to actor Jim "Jimmy" Lau from 1985 to 1990. Chen married her second husband, cardiologist Peter Hui, on January 18, 1992. They have two daughters. They live in San Francisco, California.
During her early years in California, Chen attended California State University, Northridge. In 1989, she became a naturalized citizen of the United States. On April 9, 2008, Chen wrote an article entitled "Let the Games Go On" for the Washington Post objecting to the politicization of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.
Charitable work
In May 2008, Chen appeared alongside James Kyson Lee, Silas Flensted, and Amy Hanaialiʻi Gilliom in a public service announcement for the Banyan Tree Project campaign to stop HIV/AIDS-related stigma in Asian & Pacific Islander communities.
In October 2008, Chen made the cover of Trends Health magazine alongside actresses Ke Lan (Chinese: 柯蓝) and Ma Yili (Chinese: 马伊琍) to promote the Chinese Pink Ribbon Breast Cancer Prevention campaign.
On January 8, 2010, Chen attended, alongside Nancy Pelosi, Nicole Kidman, and Joe Torre, the ceremony to help Family Violence Prevention Fund break ground on a new center located in the Presidio of San Francisco intended to combat violence against women and children. During the ceremony, Chen performed an excerpt from the documentary play The Thumbprint of Mukhtar Mai (presented as part of "Seven").
On January 15, 2010, Chen was set to appear, along with other Asian American personalities, in a series of videos supporting the Center for the Pacific Asian Family.
Filmography
Actress
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
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1977 | Youth 青春 |
Shen Yamei / 沈亞妹 | |
1979 | Little Flower 小花 |
Zhao Xiaohua / 赵小花 | Hundred Flowers Award for Best Actress Yugoslavia Film Festival Award for Best Actress |
Hearts for the Motherland 海外赤子 |
Huang Sihua / 黃思華 | aka Overseas Compatriots, A Loyal Overseas Chinese Family | |
1981 | Awakening 甦醒 |
Su Xiaomei / 蘇小梅 | |
1985 | Dim Sum: A Little Bit of Heart | Young M.J. player | |
1986 | Goodbye My Love 惡男 |
Ling Ti | |
Tai-Pan | May–May | ||
1987 | The Night Stalker | Mai Wing | |
The Last Emperor | Wan Jung / 婉容 | ||
1989 | The Blood of Heroes | Kidda | Alternate title: The Salute of the Jugger |
1991 | Wedlock | Noelle | |
1992 | Turtle Beach | Minou | |
Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me | Jocelyn 'Josie' Packard | Scene deleted – see Twin Peaks: The Missing Pieces | |
1993 | Temptation of a Monk 誘僧 |
Princess Hong'e (Scarlet) / 公主紅萼 Lady Qingshou (Violet) / 青绶夫人 |
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Heaven & Earth | Mama | ||
1994 | Golden Gate | Marilyn | |
On Deadly Ground | Masu | ||
Red Rose White Rose 紅玫瑰,白玫瑰 |
Wang Jiao-Rui / 王嬌蕊 | Golden Horse Award for Best Actress HKFCS Award for Best Actress Nominated — HKFA for Best Actress |
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1995 | The Hunted | Kirina | |
Wild Side | Virginia Chow | ||
Judge Dredd | Ilsa Hayden | ||
1996 | Precious Find | Camilla Jones | |
1999 | Purple Storm 紫雨風暴 |
Shirley Kwan | |
2000 | What's Cooking? | Trinh Nguyen | |
2004 | Jasmine Women 茉莉花开 |
Mo's Mother / 茉的母亲 Mo / 茉 |
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Saving Face | Hwei-Lan Gao | ||
Avatar | Madame Ong | ||
2005 | Sunflower 向日葵 |
Xiuqing / 秀清 | |
2006 | Americanese | Betty Nguyen | |
2007 | The Home Song Stories 意 |
Rose Hong / 洪玫瑰 | Golden Horse Award for Best Actress IF Award for Best Actress TFF Award for Best Actress AFI Award for Best Actress FCCA Award for Best Actress Nominated — AF Award for Best Actress Nominated — APS Award for Best Actress |
..., Caution 色,戒 |
Mrs. Yee / 易太太 | ||
The Sun Also Rises 太阳照常升起 |
Dr. Lin / 林大夫 | AF Award for Best Supporting Actress | |
2008 | The Leap Years | Li-Ann (age 49) | |
All God's Children Can Dance | Evelyn | ||
Shi Qi 十七 |
Mother / 母亲 | SIFF Press Prize for Most Attractive Actress | |
24 City 二十四城记 |
Gu Minhua / 顾敏华 | ||
2009 | Mao's Last Dancer | Niang / 娘 | |
2010 | Love in Disguise 恋爱通告 |
Joan | |
Color Me Love 爱出色 |
Zoe | ||
2011 | 1911 辛亥革命 |
Empress Longyu / 隆裕 | |
2012 | White Frog | Irene Young | |
Passion Island 熱愛島 |
Johanna / 祖安娜 | ||
Let It Be 稍安勿躁 |
Niu Jie / 牛姐 | ||
Double Xposure 二次曝光 |
Dr. Hao / 郝医生 | ||
2014 | For Love or Money 露水红颜 |
Xu's Mother | |
Twin Peaks: The Missing Pieces | Jocelyn 'Josie' Packard | ||
2015 | You Are My Sunshine 何以笙箫默 |
Pei Fangmei | |
Lady of the Dynasty 王朝的女人·楊貴妃 |
Consort Wu | ||
Cairo Declaration 開羅宣言 |
Soong Ching-ling | ||
2019 | Sheep Without a Shepherd | Laoorn | |
2020 | Tigertail | Yuan | |
Ava | Toni | ||
TBA | Under the Light | Completed |
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
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1983 | Matt Houston | Miss Taipei | Episode: "Target: Miss World" |
1984 | The New Mike Hammer | Ti | Episode: "Hot Ice" |
Knight Rider | Su-Lin | Episode: "Knight of the Drones" | |
1985 | Miami Vice | May Ying | Episode: "Golden Triangle" |
Double Dare | Lily Chang | Episode: "Hong Kong King Con" | |
American Playhouse | Mei Lai | Episode: "Paper Angels" | |
MacGyver | Lin | Episode: "The Golden Triangle" | |
1988 | HeartBeat | Cathryn | Episode: "Pilot" |
1989 | Wiseguy | Maxine Tzu | Episode: "All or Nothing" |
1990–1991 | Twin Peaks | Jocelyn 'Josie' Packard | TV series — Series regular (2 seasons) |
1992 | Nightmare Cafe | Cafe Customer | Episode: "Nightmare Cafe" |
Strangers | The Girl | TV movie | |
Children of the Dragon | Jin-Juan | Miniseries | |
Shadow of a Stranger | Vanessa | TV movie | |
1993 | Tales from the Crypt | Connie | Episode: "Food for Thought" |
1997 | Homicide: Life on the Street | Elizabeth Wu | Episode: "Wu's on First?" |
Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child | Princess Jade (voice) | Episode: "Aladdin" | |
1998 | The Outer Limits | Major Dara Talif | Episode: "Phobos Rising" |
1999 | In a Class of His Own | Linda Ching | TV movie |
2009 | Newcomers to the Middle-Aged 人到中年 |
Tian Wenjie / 田文洁 | TV series |
2010 | Journey to the West 西游记 |
Guan Yin / 观音 | |
2011 | Fringe | Reiko | Episode: "Immortality" |
2012 | Hemingway & Gellhorn | Madame Chiang Kai-shek | HBO TV movie |
Heroes of Sui and Tang Dynasties 隋唐英雄 |
Empress Dugu / 独孤后 | TV series | |
2013 | Serangoon Road | Patricia Cheng | 10 episodes |
Meng's Palace 海上孟府 |
Er Jie / 二姐 | TV series | |
2014–2016 | Marco Polo | Chabi | 20 episodes |
2017 | Twin Peaks | Jocelyn 'Josie' Packard | Episode: "Part 17"; archive footage |
2018 | Ruyi's Royal Love in the Palace | Ula Nara Yixiu | 6 episodes |
2023 | A Murder at the End of the World | Lu Mei |
Director
Year | English Title | Chinese title | Notes |
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1998 | Xiu Xiu: The Sent Down Girl | 天浴 (Tiān Yù) | Golden Horse Award for Best Director Mons International Love Film Festival Grand Prize National Board of Review International Freedom Award Paris Film Festival Special Jury Prize FLIFF Jury Award for Best Drama Nominated — Golden Bear Award Nominated — Paris Film Festival Grand Prize |
2000 | Autumn in New York | ||
2012 | Shanghai Strangers | 非典情人 (Fēidiǎn qíngrén) | short film — post-production (also known as 爱在非典的日子) |
2018 | English | 英格力士 | |
2022 | Hero | 世间有她 |
Writer
Year | English Title | Chinese title | Notes |
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1998 | Xiu Xiu: The Sent Down Girl | 天浴 (Tiān Yù) | Golden Horse Award for Best Screenplay Adapted from Another Medium shared with Geling Yan |
2012 | Shanghai Strangers | 非典情人 (Fēidiǎn qíngrén) | short film — post-production (also known as 爱在非典的日子) |
2022 | Hero | 世间有她 (Shìjiān yǒu tā) |
Producer
Year | English Title | Chinese title | Notes |
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1995 | Wild Side | Associate producer | |
1998 | Xiu Xiu: The Sent Down Girl | 天浴 (Tiān Yù) | Producer, Executive producer Nominated — Independent Spirit Award for Best First Feature Over $500,000 shared with Alice Chan Wai-Chung |
2012 | Shanghai Strangers | 非典情人 (Fēidiǎn qíngrén) | short film — post-production (also known as 爱在非典的日子) |
Other media
- 2008: "Shanghai," narrator—an audio walking tour by Louis Vuitton and Soundwalk
Awards and nominations
Year | Award | Category | Film | Result |
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1980 | Hundred Flowers Awards | Best Actress | Little Flower | Won |
Yugoslavia International Film Festival | Best Actress | Won | ||
1994 | Asian American International Film Festival | Asian Media Award for significant contribution to Asian American media | Won | |
Golden Horse Awards | Best Actress | Red Rose, White Rose | Won | |
1995 | Hong Kong Film Awards | Best Actress | Nominated | |
Hong Kong Film Critics Society Awards | Best Actress | Won | ||
1998 | Golden Horse Awards | Best Director | Xiu Xiu: The Sent Down Girl | Won |
Best Screenplay Adapted from Another Medium shared with Geling Yan | Won | |||
Berlin International Film Festival | Golden Berlin Bear | Nominated | ||
Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival | Jury Award | Won | ||
1999 | Paris Film Festival | Grand Prize | Nominated | |
Special Jury Prize | Won | |||
Mons International Love Film Festival | Grand Prize | Won | ||
National Board of Review | International Freedom Award | Won | ||
2000 | Independent Spirit Awards | Best First Feature Over $500,000 shared with Alice Chan Wai-Chung | Nominated | |
2005 | San Diego Asian Film Festival | Lifetime Achievement Award | Won | |
2007 | Golden Horse Awards | Best Actress | The Home Song Stories | Won |
Hawaii International Film Festival | Achievement in Acting | Won | ||
Asia Pacific Screen Awards | Best Performance by an Actress | Nominated | ||
Inside Film Awards | Best Actress | Won | ||
Torino Film Festival | Best Actress | Won | ||
Australian Film Institute Awards | Best Actress | Won | ||
2008 | Film Critics Circle of Australia Awards | Best Actress | Won | |
Asian Film Awards | Best Actress | Nominated | ||
Best Supporting Actress | The Sun Also Rises | Won | ||
Shanghai International Film Festival | Press Prize for Most Attractive Actress | Shi Qi | Won | |
2020 | Huading Awards | Best Supporting Actress | Sheep Without a Shepherd | Nominated |
Macau International Movie Festival | Best Actress | Nominated |
Other recognition
- In 1992 People magazine chose her as one of the 50 most beautiful women in the world.
- Chen inspired indie rock band Xiu Xiu, named after her film Xiu Xiu: The Sent Down Girl.
- Chen was chosen by Goldsea as Number 45 on its compilation of "The 120 Most Inspiring Asian Americans of All Time".
Articles and interviews
- "The Last Empress", by C. Mark Jacobson. Interview. December 1987. p. 146-147.
- "In Praise of Actors: Joan Chen", by Peter Rainer. American Film. Volume 15: Issue 8. May 1990. p. 32.
- "Chen Reaction", by Alison Dakota Gee. Movieline (USA). December 1993. p. 54-59, 88.
- "Reel Poetry", by Kevin Berger. San Francisco (USA). July 2000. p. 51.
- "Sensuously Elegant: An Interview with Joan Chen", by Lisa Odham Stokes. Asian Cult Cinema (USA). Issue 48. October–December 2005. p. 51-61.
See also
In Spanish: Joan Chen para niños