Jet Li: A Biography

by James Robert Parish

Jet Li is part of a crew of new Asian stars taking Hollywood by storm. Along with Chow Yun-Fat, Michelle Yeoh, Jackie Chan, and Maggie Cheung, Jet Li has kicked and punched his way out of the cult-film underground and into mainstream superstardom. With his performance in The One, Li becomes the first to prove his power as the top-billed draw. Jet Li, the first book published in English about the thirty-eight year-old "Gene Kelly of the action film," follows him from his days in Hong Kong as an extraordinarily successful actor in classics like Once Upon a Time in China and his overlooked work as a director and producer. Special attention is given to his Hollywood debut alongside Mel Gibson in Lethal Weapon 4; his recent star turns in the gangland fable Romeo Must Die and the sci-fi blockbuster The One. Jet Li looks at the actor's fiercely protected private life and explains the broad appeal of Hollywood's new Bruce Lee to fans of all ages—from Hong Kong chop-socky cultists to Blockbuster families, to the new Hollywood that has eagerly embraced him. A complete filmography of Jet Li's screen work in Hollywood and Asia as well as 30 never before published color and black-and-white photographs are included.

Genres: Biography, Film

224 pages, Paperback

First published June 25, 2002

About the author

James Robert Parish, a former entertainment reporter, publicist, and book series editor, is the author of many published major biographies and reference books on the entertainment industry including Whitney Houston: We Will Always Love You; The Hollywood Book of Extravagance; It’s Good to Be the King: The Seriously Funny Life of Mel Brooks; The Hollywood Book of Breakups; Fiascos: Hollywood’s Iconic Flops; The Hollywood Book of Love; Jet Li; The Encyclopedia of Ethnic Groups in Hollywood; The Hollywood Book of Death; Gus Van Sant; Whoopi Goldberg; Rosie O’Donnell’s Story; The Unofficial “Murder, She Wrote” Casebook; Today’s Black Hollywood; Let’s Talk! America’s Favorite TV Talk Show Hosts; Prison Pictures from Hollywood; Prostitution in Hollywood Films; The Great Cop Pictures; Ghosts and Angels in Hollywood Films; Pirates and Seafaring Swashbucklers on the Hollywood Screen; Gays and Lesbians in Mainstream Cinema; Hollywood’s Great Love Teams; and The Fox Girls. Mr. Parish is a frequent oncamera interviewee on cable and network TV for documentaries on the performing arts. The author resides in Studio City, California.

Reviews

[Kenny · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked this book. It had a lot of good information. It covered his whole life and movie career. I got a little bored sometimes but I kept chugging on. I learned a lot about Jet Li and his humble beginnings. I also learned about his rise to stardom. I learned about how he succeeded at a very young age. Overall, this book was very informative and really helped me understand his life. He is an international hero. I was happy I had the time to read this book and learn more about Jet Li, because I knew very little about him. Thank you.

[Elizabeth Medina · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Jet Li...this was a good read!