Donnie Yen is an actor, film director, producer, and martial artist from Hongkong. He has acted in films such as Ip Man, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, xXx: Return of Xander Cage, Drunken Tai Chi and Tiger Cage, Legend of the Fist: The Return of Chen Zhen, Fist of Fury, Shanghai Knights, Seven Swords, among others. Donnie has also choreographed the action sequence in movies such as Highlander: Endgame, Shanghai Knights, Flash Point, Legend of the Fist: The Return of Chen Zhen, The Twins Effect, SPL: Sha Po Lang, Bodyguards and Assassins, among others. He is an expert at Wrestling, Wing Chun, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Kickboxing, Tai Chi, Boxing, among other martial arts disciplines. Yen have been involved in a number of philanthropic work like Go.Asia which he co-founded with his wife, donations to refugees, Yen’s Honour Protection Fund among others.
Sun Sign
Leo
Nationality
Education
Donnie Yen attended Wu Shu Academy.
Manager
Donnie Yen is managed by –
- Creative Artists Agency (CAA) (Talent Agency), Los Angeles, California, United States
- Bullet Films Productions (Manager), Aberdeen, Hong Kong
- Rogers & Cowan (Publicist), Los Angeles, California, United States
- Bloom Hergott Diemer Rosenthal Laviolette Feldman Schenkman & Goodman (Legal Representative), Beverly Hills, California, United States
Girlfriend / Spouse
Donnie Yen has dated –
- Joey Meng – Yen and Joey, a Hong Kong actress dated somewhere in the late 90’s but there is not much information about the relationship.
- Leung Zing Ci (1993-1994) – Yen and Leung met in 1990 but started dating in 1993. The couple secretly got married after dating for only 3 months in November 1993, but the marriage did not last long as it ended in less than a year. They have 1 child together, a son Jeff born in 1995.
- Cissy Wang (2003-Present) – Yen and model Cissy Wang got married in 2003. They have 2 children together, Jasmine and James.
Sexual Orientation
Straight
Distinctive Features
Athletic
Brand Endorsements
Donnie Yen has endorsed –
- Jacob & Co
- Spirit of Hong Kong Awards
- Resorts World Sentosa
Best Known For
- Appearing in film and TV roles such as Ip Man, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, xXx: Return of Xander Cage, Drunken Tai Chi and Tiger Cage, Legend of the Fist: The Return of Chen Zhen, Fist of Fury, Shanghai Knights, Seven Swords among others
- Choreographing the action sequences in movies such as Highlander: Endgame, Shanghai Knights, Flash Point, Legend of the Fist: The Return of Chen Zhen, The Twins Effect, SPL: Sha Po Lang, Bodyguards and Assassins among others
- Directing movies such as Legend of the Wolf and Ballistic Kiss
- Being a martial arts expert in disciplines such as Wrestling, Wing Chun, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Kickboxing, Tai Chi, Boxing, among others
First Film
Donnie Yen made his theatrical film debut in the 1984 film Drunken Tai Chi.
First TV Show
He made his TV show debut as Dickson Kwan on the TV show File Noir in 1989.
Personal Trainer
Donnie Yen is extremely fit as evidenced by his mastery of so many martial arts disciplines. He performs various martial art routines, stunts, and exercises as seen on his Instagram posts, all added up to his extremely tough physique.
Donnie Yen Favorite Things
- Actor –
- Martial Arts Actor –
Source –
Donnie Yen Facts
- He and his family moved to Hong Kong when he was just 2 years of age.
- The family then moved to Boston Massachusetts when he was 11 years of age.
- His mother was instrumental in his learning martial arts because she pioneered it in America.
- He has a high level of proficiency in playing the piano.
- His love for music comes from his parents.
- He is a fan of UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship).
- As a teenager, he displayed rebellious tendencies like spending time in the notorious combat zone.
- His parents sent him to Beijing to remove him from the streets because of the crowds he was hanging around.
- He trained in martial arts in China at the Wushu Academy.
- Other than martial arts, Yen is a skilled street dancer as evidenced in the movie Mismatched Couples.
- actually requested that Yen is included in the movie Shanghai knights as his nemesis.
- The movie Hero propelled him to “biggest action star status” and it actually remains one of the most successful foreign language movies released in the U.S.
- His performance in the movie An Empress and Her Warriors was very impressive and got him very good reviews.
- His trademark moves are his kicking techniques which result in very realistic fight scenes.
- He tends to work with artists who actually practice martial arts in real life in his movies.
- He can speak fluent English, Cantonese and Mandarin and a bit of Korean and Shanghainese.
- His sister Chris Yen is also an actress.
- Donnie’s wife was the former “Miss Chinese Toronto” in the year 2000, she also participated in Miss Chinese International Pageant in 2001.
- His wife Cissy is 18 years younger than him.
- He has an injury on his shoulder from the movie Mismatched Couple which affects him to date.
- He is a great fan of Bruce Lee.
- Donnie has been a stunt member in the group ‘Yuen Clan.’
- Growing up, he had the reputation of a street brawler and was part of Chinatown Gang.
- He has no problem working overseas, but he is choosy about which movies he does.
- He has turned down quite a number of roles in a number of Hollywood films including Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life, The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, The Expendables, The Man with the Iron Fists, Rush Hour, among others.
- In the mid-1990s, his film career hit a bump when roles became less and he started doing TV roles.
- In the year 2000, he started taking on work overseas as a director and an actor so as to learn how other markets operate.
- The 2008 movie Ip Man was the break he needed because he started getting bigger roles for directing and producing in China and USA.
- He has won a number of awards including for the “Best Action Choreography” in 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007 in the Golden Horse Awards and Hong Kong Film Awards as well as the Golden Bauhinia Awards. He also won the 2008 Taurus World Stunt Award for “Best Action in a Foreign Language Film.”
- Donnie also has a list of nominations in various awards like Hong Kong Film Awards and Hundred Flowers Awards.
- Follow him on , , and .
Featured Image by Donnie Yen / Instagram
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Facts of Donnie Yen Ji-dan
- Gender Male
- full nameDonnie Yen Ji-dan
- nicknamesDonnie
- birthplaceGuangzhou, Guangdong, China
- nationalityChinese
- net worth$40 Million
- professionActor, Film Director, Producer, Martial Artist
- weight75 kg or 165.5 lbs
- height5 ft 8 in or 173 cm
- hair colorBlack
- eye colorDark Brown
- body type / buildAthletic
- motherBow-sim Mark
- fatherKlyster Yen
- sistersChris Yen