Celebrity Biographies
Donnie Yen Bio, Age, Wife, Kids, Martial Arts, Movies, And Ip Man 4
BIOGRAPHY OF DONNIE YEN
Donnie Yen was born as Yen Tze-dan (also known as Donnie Yen Ji-dan) on July 27, 1963. He is an actor, martial artist, director, producer, action choreographer, stuntman and world tournament of wushu several times. champion.
Yen is credited by many for helping to popularize Wing Chun. He played Wing Chun grandmaster Ip Man in the 2008 film Ip Man, which was a box office hit. This led to an increase in the number of people taking up Wing Chun, which led to the opening of hundreds of new Wing Chun schools in mainland China and other parts of Asia.
Ip Chun, the eldest son of Ip Man, even mentioned that he was grateful to Yen for making his family’s art popular and allowing his father’s legacy to be remembered. He also gained international recognition for playing Chirrut Îmwe in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016) and Xiang in xXx: Return of Xander Cage (2017).
Donnie Yen is one of the biggest action stars in Hong Kong. Yen has demonstrated skill in an array of martial arts, being well versed in Tai Chi, Boxing, Kickboxing, Jeet Kune Do, Hapkido, Taekwondo, Karate, Muay Thai, Wrestling, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Judo, Wing Chun and Wushu. One of Asia’s most popular movie stars in the early 2000s, Yen is still one of Asia’s highest paid actors. Yen earned HK$220 million ($28.4 million) from four films and six commercials in 2013.
AGE OF DONNIE YEN
Donnie Yen was born on July 27,1963 in Guangzhou, China. He turns 56 in 2019.
DONNIE YEN WIFE
Donnie Yen met his first wife, Leung Zing-ci, in 1990. The couple began dating in 1993. After three months of dating, they secretly married in the United States in November 1993. The marriage ended completed in less than a year. After their divorce was finalized, Leung realized she was pregnant with their son, Jeff, who was born in 1995.
He then married former beauty queen Cissy Wang after three months of dating, who is 18 years younger than him. The couple have two children, Jasmine and James. According to the multi-talented entertainer, he would rather be called unprofessional than upset his wife by taking scenes that would involve activities in the bedroom. He added that he had forced himself to avoid any scenes related to intimacy since his marriage to Cissy. Adding that he goes out of his way to spend quality time with his wife, this guy claimed that Cissy is his proverbial pillow and all her pain goes away once she’s around him.
Yen said he is a huge fan of the MMA Ultimate Fighting Championship organization and has watched nearly every UFC event available. In various interviews, he has mentioned that he would have loved competing in the Ultimate Fighting Championship if he hadn’t had a recurring shoulder injury.
DONNIE YEN KIDS
Donnie Yen’s children include Jasmine Yen (born in 2004 (15 years old)), James Yen (born in 2007 (12 years old)) and Man-Zeok Yen (born in 1995 (24 years old)).
DONNIE YEN YOUNG
Donnie Yen was born in Guangzhou, China. His mother, Bow-sim Mark, is a Fu-style Wudangquan (internal martial arts) and Tai Chi grandmaster, while his father, Klyster Yen, is a newspaper editor. When he was two, his family moved to Hong Kong and then to the United States, settling in Boston when he was 11. Her younger sister, Chris Yen, is also a martial artist and actress, and appeared in the 2007 film Adventures. from Johnny Tao: Rock Around the Dragon.
Under her mother’s influence, Yen developed an interest in martial arts and began experimenting with various styles, including t’ai chi and other traditional Chinese martial arts. Yen then took up kung fu at the age of nine. Yen focused on serious wushu practice at the age of fourteen after dropping out of school. His parents worried that he was spending too much time in the Boston combat zone, so they sent him to Beijing for a two-year training program with the Beijing Wushu team. When Yen decided to return to the United States, he took a detour to Hong Kong, where he met action choreographer Yuen Woo-ping. Yen finally started taekwondo around the age of sixteen.
Yen also came from a family of musicians. His mother is a soprano, in addition to being a martial arts teacher in Boston, while his father is a violinist. From an early age, his parents taught him to play musical instruments, including the piano. He also knows hip-hop and breakdance.
CAREER OF DONNIE YEN
Yen’s first step into the film industry was in 1984, when he landed his first starring role in the 1984 film Drunken Tai Chi. After filming Drunken Tai Chi and Tiger Cage (1988), Yen played his breakthrough role in as General Nap-lan in Once Upon a Time in China II (1992), which included a fight scene between his character and Wong Fei-hung (played by Jet Li). Yen had a starring role in the 1993 movie Iron Monkey. Yen and Li appeared together again in the 2002 movie, Hero, where Yen played a spear fighter (or Qiang) who fought with the character of Li, an anonymous swordsman. The film was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at the 2003 Oscars
In 1997, Yen started production company Bullet Films and made his directorial debut in Legend of the Wolf (1997) and Ballistic Kiss (1998), in which he played the title character. At 34, Yen nearly went bankrupt. Films produced by his own production company and directed by him were critically acclaimed, but did not do well at the box office. Yen was forced to borrow money from loan sharks and his production team to get by.
Yen later returned to the United States, where he was invited to choreograph fight scenes in Hollywood films, such as Highlander: Endgame (2000) and Blade II (2002). His choreography and skills impressed the directors and they invited him to make guest appearances in both films. In 2002, Jet Li was filming the movie Hero and insisted to the director that he wanted Yen to play the role of Sky, his adversary, due to Yen’s martial arts ability. Li personally invited Yen back from Hollywood to star in the film, marking the second time the two actors have appeared on screen together since Once Upon a Time in China II ten years earlier. In 2003, Yen played the antagonist against Jackie Chan in Shanghai Knights.
Yen choreographed most of the fighting animations in the 2004 video game Onimusha 3, which featured actors Takeshi Kaneshiro and Jean Reno. Yen continued to be active in Hong Kong cinema in the 2000s, starring Chu Zhaonan in Tsui Hark’s wuxia epic Seven Swords, and Ma Kwun in Wilson Yip’s brutal crime drama SPL: Sha Po Lang in 2005. .
Both films premiered at the 2005 Toronto International Film Festival. Later that year, Yen co-starred with Nicholas Tse and Shawn Yue in Wilson Yip’s Dragon Tiger Gate, an adaptation of Wong Yuk’s manhua series -long Oriental Heroes. Yen also worked as an action choreographer in Stormbreaker, with Alex Pettyfer. Yen continued to work with Wilson Yip in Flash Point (2007), in which he played the lead character and served as producer and action choreographer for the film. He won Best Action Choreography at the Golden Horse Film Awards and the Hong Kong Film Awards for his performance in Flash Point.
In 2008, Yen starred in Ip Man, a semi-biographical account of Ip Man, Bruce Lee’s Wing Chun master. Ip Man marked Yen’s fourth collaboration with director Wilson Yip, reuniting him with his SPL co-stars: Sha Po Lang, Sammo Hung and Simon Yam. Ip Man became the biggest box office hit to date with Yen in the lead role, grossing HK$25 million in Hong Kong and 100 million yuan in China.
In August 2011, while Yen was vacationing with his family in the United States, he reportedly received an invitation from producer Avi Lerner to star in The Expendables 2. It was stated that Yen was considering the offer, had numerous films under hand, and would wait to decide if he liked the script.] Yen later revealed to Hong Kong media that he had turned down the role.
In 2011, Yen revealed that he was venturing into other film genres and had taken on two consecutive comedy roles, in All’s Well, Ends Well 2011 and All’s Well, Ends Well 2012, and would work with Carina Lau in the first. and Sandra Ng in the latter. Both films achieved huge critical and box office success and proved Yen’s versatility as an actor. Yen took a six-month hiatus in the latter half of 2011 after filming The Monkey King 3D, explaining that he wanted to spend more time with his family and be with his children more often as they grow up.
In 2012, Yen returned to the movie industry and started filming Special ID, in which he played the lead role, an undercover cop, and also acted as an action choreographer. In 2013, it was reported that Donnie Yen would star in The Iceman Cometh 3D, a sci-fi action film about time travel that was filmed in 3D. Yen has confirmed that MMA will be used in the two aforementioned films.
In February 2013, The Weinstein Company confirmed that it had purchased the rights to Crouching Tiger, the sequel to Hidden Dragon, and approached Yen to play the male lead. In March 2013, Hong Kong magazines published photos of Harvey and Bob Weinstein traveling to Hong Kong to meet Yen and persuade him to accept the offer. It was reported that Yen was considering the role and said, “The first is that my schedule this year is very busy. The second is that the first film is already such a classic. I’m afraid of the pressure, that the original cannot be surpassed.
In May 2013, at the annual Cannes Film Festival, the Weinstein Company announced that Yen would play the lead role of Silent Wolf in the Crouching Tiger sequel, titled Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny, alongside the star from female action Michelle Yeoh reprising her role as Yu Shu Lien, and with director Yuen Woo-ping, Yen’s mentor. It was revealed that the film would be shot in English and Mandarin to appeal to the international market.
It was also revealed at the Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon II press conference that The Weinstein Company had secured the rights to Akira Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai, was planning a remake, and was negotiating with Yen, George Clooney, and Zhang Ziyi to star in the movie. movie. Donnie Yen declined the offer due to scheduling conflicts for the filming of Ip Man 3.
At the end of March 2015, Ip Man 3 was announced. Yen reprized his role as the titular character, Bruce Lee’s martial arts master Ip Man. Retired boxer and former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson has been confirmed to join the cast. Donnie Yen mentioned that he was a big fan of Mike Tyson, watched many of his professional boxing fights, and was thrilled to work with him. Mike Tyson told a press conference that he was a big fan of Donnie Yen and had watched the first two Ip Man films more than three times each and was honored to be invited for the final part of the trilogy.
Principal photography for Ip Man 3 began on March 25, 2015, and the completed film was released in December 2015 in parts of Asia and globally in early 2016 to generally favorable reviews.
In 2016, Yen starred in the Star Wars anthology film Rogue One as Chirrut Îmwe, the blind, short-lived Zatoichi-like warrior. On February 12, 2016, it was confirmed that Yen would replace Jet Li as Xiang in the upcoming action movie xXx: The Return of Xander Cage.
For the promotion of xXx: Return of Xander Cage, Paramount focused its marketing efforts on Donnie Yen in China and most parts of Asia, placing him at the top of movie billboards ahead of Vin Diesel, and shared clips and reviews of Yen’s performance in the film on popular Chinese social media site Weibo. Paramount’s efforts have worked very well in China. xXx was number one in its opening weekend with $61.9 million and crossed the $100 million mark in just six days with $22.2 million coming from Valentine’s Day alone after rave reviews praising Donnie Yen’s performance swept across Chinese social media, driving moviegoers to the cinema.
Yen’s performance in Rogue One and xXx: Return of Xander Cage received overwhelmingly positive responses from critics and general audiences. For Return of Xander Cage, numerous media sites, including Variety, Los Angeles Times, Screen Anarchy, and Budomate, praised Yen’s performance and credited it as the highlight of the film and stealing all of the scenes he stands in. find. In the case of Rogue One, other than praise from critics, Yen’s performance was also applauded by audiences around the world. In an official poll on the Star Wars web page, in which more than 40,000 people voted, Yen’s character, Chirrut Îmwe, was voted favorite Rogue One character.
Xander Cage’s XXX Comeback
While Yen was filming xXx: The Return of Xander Cage in Canada, he received many offers from Hollywood studios and directors. At the same time, Hong Kong director Wong Jing personally flew to Canada to invite Yen to star in his film Chasing the Dragon, a remake of the award-winning film To be Number One. Yen eventually accepted the offer and played an untraditional villainous role with limited fight scenes and the opportunity to work alongside Andy Lau.
In September 2017, Chasing the Dragon was released to overwhelmingly positive reviews from critics, citing Yen’s versatility as an actor and his incredible portrayal of the late Ng Sek Ho, the film’s title character. Chasing the Dragon was also a huge hit with audiences in most parts of Asia. In Hong Kong, Chasing the Dragon was ranked among the Top 5 Hong Kong Films of 2017.
In 2017, Yen received a call from old friend Jet Li and Alibaba CEO Jack Ma about a potential collaboration on a martial arts short film known as Gong Shou Dao – to promote a new form of Taiji as an Olympic sport in the future. Donnie Yen was on vacation with his wife to celebrate their anniversary, but canceled his plans to take part in the film. Yen refused any salary for this participation in GSD because he said that “friendship is not measured by money” and that he hopes that his participation can help promote Chinese martial arts to a global audience. . In return, Jet Li and Jack Ma surprised Yen and his wife Cissy by helping celebrate their wedding anniversary on set. GSD’s full 20-minute short film was released on November 11 – China’s Singles Day, debuting on Youku and Jet Li’s official Facebook page, garnering a total of over 100 million views worldwide. Chinese netizens praised Yen’s speed and technique in the film, with most viewers (over 190,000) voting Yen as the short’s highlight. At the end of 2017, Yen started filming Big Brother.
MOVIES THE DONNIE YEN
1. Ip Man 2008
2. 14 Blades 2010
3. Ip Man 2 2010
4. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story 2016
5. Ip Man 3 2015
6. xXx: The Return of Xander Cage 2017
7. Dragon 2011
8. SPL: Sha Po Lang 2005
9. Fist Legend: The Return of Chen Zhen 2010
10. Special Issue 2013
11. Kung Fu Killer 2014
12. Iceman 2014
13. In The Line Of Duty 4 1989
14. Drunken Tai Chi 1984
15. The Monkey King 2014
16. Flashpoint 2007
17. Iron Monkey 1993
18. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: The Sword of Destiny 2016
19. Wing Chun 1994
20. Once Upon a Time in China II 1992
22. Blade II 2002
23. Legend of the Wolf 1996
24. Hero 2002
25. Bodyguards and Assassins 2009
26. Dragon Tiger Gate 2006
27. The Lost Bladesman 2011
28. Shanghai Knights 2003
29. An Empress and the Warriors 2008
30. Painted Skin 2008
31. Tiger Cage 2 1990
32. Seven Swords 2005
33. À la poursuite du dragon 2017
34. Master Z: Ip Man Legacy 2018
35. Highlander: Endgame 2000
36. Gong Shou Dao 2017
36. Butterfly and Sword 1993
37. New Dragon Gate Inn 1992
38. Heroes Among Heroes 1993
39. Incompatible Couples 1985
40. Iceman: The Time Traveler 2018
41. Iron Monkey 2 1996
42. All’s Well Ends Well 2012
43. Ballistic Kiss 1998
44. Satan Returns 1996
45. L’effet Twins II 2004
46. Sainte Vierge Vs. The Evil Dead 1991
45. Shanghai Affair 1998
47. Revenge of the Kung Fu Master 1994
48. Founding of a Republic 2009
49. Cheetah on Fire 1992
NET WORTH OF DONNIE YEN
Donnie Yen is a Chinese actor, martial artist, director, and choreographer who has a net worth of $40 million.
DONNIE YEN MARTIAL ARTS
Donnie Yen’s mother, Bow-sim Mark, is a Fu Style Wudangquan (Internal Martial Arts) and Tai Chi Grandmaster. Yen describes himself as a mixed martial artist. He learned Tai Chi from an early age under the tutelage of his mother.
He then wanted to learn Taekwondo as a teenager, earning a 6th Dan in the process. At the time, the Beijing Wushu team had a scout in the United States and invited Yen to Beijing, China, where he began training at the Beijing Sports Institute, the same facility where the champion turned actor Jet Li trained; this is where the two first crossed paths.
Upon returning to the United States, Yen won gold medals in various wushu competitions. Yen then discovered and sought knowledge of other styles of martial arts; He would later earn black and purple belts in Judo and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, respectively, and studied the art of parkour, wrestling, Muay Thai, Kickboxing, and boxing under various coaches.
His exposure to mixed martial arts (MMA) increased when he returned to the United States from 2000 to 2003. While getting his start in Hollywood, he also took time to learn the different forms of martial arts . Yen’s progress was evident upon his return to Asia, where he implemented his newfound knowledge of MMA, featured in films such as SPL: Sha Po Lang (2005), Flash Point (2007) and Special ID.
DONNIE YEN IP MAN 4
Ip Man 4 is an upcoming Hong Kong biographical martial arts film directed by Wilson Yip and produced by Raymond Wong. It is the fourth in the Ip Man film series based on the life of the Wing Chun grandmaster of the same name and features Donnie Yen reprising the role. The film began production in April 2018 and ended in July of the same year.
Plot
Ip Man arrives in San Francisco, USA, where his student, Bruce Lee, has upset the local martial arts community by opening a Wing Chun school.
Ip Man 4 News
Donnie Yen Ji-dan will play Wing Chun grandmaster Ip Man for the last time when the latest installment of the hugely popular martial arts franchise hits the big screen in December.
Fans were saddened by the news, but many said they were still looking forward to the series finale that made Yen a household name when the original Ip Man became a huge hit in 2008.
The Hong Kong martial arts star has confirmed on social media that he will be donning the ‘cheongsam’ for the final time in Ip Man 4, set to hit cinemas in Hong Kong, Taiwan and China on December 20.
DONNIE YEN NEW MOVIE
Mulan is an upcoming 2020 American historical war drama film directed by Niki Caro, with the screenplay by Elizabeth Martin, Lauren Hynek, Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver, and produced by Walt Disney Pictures. The film is based on the Chinese legend of Hua Mulan and is a live-action adaptation of Disney’s 1998 animated film of the same name. The film stars Liu Yifei as the eponymous character, alongside Donnie Yen, Jason Scott Lee, Yoson An, Gong Li, and Jet Li in supporting roles.
Donnie Yen will play Commander Tung, a mentor to Mulan.