Following the kung fu fighters, Asian actresses pulled themselves up to Hollywood. So far, the most successful of them are Chinese women. Exquisite beauty and mastery of martial arts techniques made them the most touted performers on many film sets in the world.
Michelle Yeo
Born into a Chinese family in Malaysia, she studied ballet since she was four years old, and later continued to study classical dance in London, first at school then at the Royal Royal Academy of Dance. Due to a spinal injury, she had to quit ballet and begin to specialize in dance production.
In 1983, Michelle won the Miss Malaysia contest and represented the country at Miss World. Thanks to this, she appeared in a commercial with Jackie Chan, where she was noticed by the producers of the film company D&B Films.
Like most Chinese actresses, Michelle Yeo's first films were action movies with numerous shootings and martial arts scenes. The movie that brought her fame was "Police Story 3" with Jackie Chan. She performs tricks in many scenic fights herself, although she has never practiced martial arts. Helps her in this ballet training and the help of instructors.
The breakthrough to world fame was for Michelle Yeo the film “Tomorrow Never Dies” in 1997, where she got the role of Chinese spy Wei Lin and the girl Bond. The success was consolidated by Ang Lee's painting “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon”, which was a great success at the world box office. These were one of the first films in American cinema, where the Asian actress played positive roles.
Michelle has starred in television series and films with the most famous Hollywood directors, invariably showing beautiful martial arts techniques. She is the highest paid and most popular Asian actress.
Lucy Lew
Cheerful and a little reckless Chinese woman. The first fame came to her after the TV series "Ellie McBeal" (1998 - 2002), where she played Ling Waugh. For this role, she was nominated for the most prestigious television awards as the best comedian supporting actress.
She was born in the Kunis region of New York, in a Chinese family, she began to study English at the age of five. She received a bachelor's degree from the University of Michigan. In addition to English and Chinese, he also speaks Spanish, Japanese and Italian.
This Asian actress gained world fame thanks to the role of Alex Munday in the films "Charlie's Angels" and "Charlie's Angels: Just Ahead" and O-Ren Ishii "Kill Bill" and "Kill Bill - 2".
Now she plays Dr. Joan Watson in the television series Elementary, based on the works of Conan Doyle. Lucy also produced two films - the documentary Fury of Freedom and the comedy Nicknamed The Cleaner. She began to try herself as a director in some episodes of the films Elementary and Luke Cage.
Zhang Ziyi
Twice she was included in the list of “50 most beautiful people on the planet,” according to People magazine. The Chinese actress Zhang Ziyi was born in Beijing, studied at the dance academy and the country's best theater university - the Central Academy of Drama.
In China, she was recognized after her role in the film by the famous director Zhang Yimou in the film "The Road Home", which received the main award of the Berlin Film Festival. Together with Michelle Yeo, she starred in the movie "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon", which received the Oscar as the best film in a foreign language in 2000. For both Asian actresses, this was the first step towards worldwide fame.
After stunning successes in the films "Rush Hour - 2" and "Memoirs of a Geisha", filmed in Hollywood, now she starred more in Chinese cinema. Zhang is one of the four most popular and highest paid actresses in China.
Maggie Chun
She participated in the Miss World contest at the same time as Michelle Yeo as the runner-up in the Miss Hong Kong contest. She has starred in several famous films with Jackie Chan including Project A: Part 2 and Police Story.
Maggie was born in Hong Kong, she studied at the gymnasium for girls, then the family moved to the UK. At 18, she went on vacation home and stayed there. She worked as a consultant in a beauty salon and as a model.
She starred in the debut film of the famous director Wong Karwai "Until the tears dry." She starred in many films by Chinese and Hong Kong directors. In 2012, Maggie starred in twelve films - this is her record.
This Asian actress was very popular with French directors, starring in several films. In 2009, Quentin Tarantino invited her to the picture "Inglourious Basterds", but during the installation, all the scenes with her participation were cut out.
Li Bingbing
She starred in the highest-grossing American blockbusters Resident Evil: Retribution in the role of Ada Wong, and Transformers: Age of Extinction in the role of Su Yumi, showing the excellent possession of martial arts.
Li was born in Harbin, after graduating from high school she studied for three years at a pedagogical institute, then she entered, in 1993, the Shanghai Theater Institute. The film debut took place in 1999 in the film "Seventeen Years." For her role in the film, she won an award at the Singapore International Film Festival as the best actress.
In the popular film "Forbidden Kingdom", she starred as the witch Ni Chang with the main Chinese stars Jackie Chan and Jet Li. In the colorful historical film "Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Ghostfire," she played Shanguan, a kung fu master.
Li Bingbing, like many Asian actresses, takes an active part in the work of environmental funds. She is the ambassador of Korean culture in China.