Jade Xu Hui-hui (; born February 9, 1986) is a Chinese-born martial artist, actress, stunt performer, and former wushu taolu competitor, who has resided and competed in Italy and the United States. She is a three-time world champion and is one of the most renowned athletes to represent a European country at the

World Wushu Championships The World Wushu Championships (WWC) is an international sports championship hosted by the International Wushu Federation (IWUF) for the sports of wushu taolu and sanda (sanshou). The tournament has been held biennially since 1991 and is the p ...

. In her acting career, she is best known for portraying Helen Takahama /

Widow A widow (female) or widower (male) is a person whose spouse has Death, died and has usually not remarried. The male form, "widower", is first attested in the 14th century, by the 19th century supplanting "widow" with reference to men. The adjecti ...

in the

Marvel Cinematic Universe The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is an American media franchise and shared universe centered on List of Marvel Cinematic Universe films, a series of superhero films produced by Marvel Studios. The films are based on characters that appe ...

films '' Black Widow'' and ''

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings ''Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings'' is a 2021 American superhero film based on Marvel Comics featuring the character Shang-Chi. Produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, it is List of Marvel ...

'' (both 2021).

Early life

On February 9, 1986, Xu was born in

Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...

, China. Xu's mother was Xu Guan-guan who also served as her coach.Steve Bornfeld,
Jade in the USA: Martial arts champ Jade Xu brings her moves to Las Vegas in Michael Jackson ONE
", ''Vegas Seven'' Fall Arts Preview (August 21, 2013). Xu moved with her family to

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

at the age of nine.King Of Kung Fu: An interview with rising female star Xu Huihui (Jade)
(November 19, 2012).

Career

Competitive Wushu

At the age of six, Xu started practicing wushu. Representing Italy, Xu's international debut was at the

2003 World Wushu Championships The 2003 World Wushu Championships was the 7th edition of the World Wushu Championships. It was held at the Indoor Stadium of the Macau Polytechnic Institute in Macau, China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a c ...

in Macau, where she won a silver medal in daoshu. Two years later, she was a triple medalist in the

2005 World Wushu Championships The 2005 World Wushu Championships was the 8th edition of the World Wushu Championships. It was held at the Quan Ngua Sports Palace in Hanoi, Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the easte ...

in Hanoi, Vietnam, becoming the world champion in daoshu. She was the world champion in the same event two years later at the

2007 World Wushu Championships The 2007 World Wushu Championships was the 9th edition of the World Wushu Championships. It was held at the Olympic Sports Center Gymnasium in Beijing, China from November 11 to November 17, 2007. Nearly 1,000 athletes from 89 IWUF national fed ...

in Beijing, China. This qualified her for the women's daoshu and gunshu combined event in the 2008 Beijing Wushu Tournament where she won the silver medal. Her last major international competition was at the

2009 World Wushu Championships The 2009 World Wushu Championships was the 10th edition of the World Wushu Championships. It was held at the Ricoh Coliseum in Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by populatio ...

in Toronto, Canada, where she was the world champion in gunshu and also won a silver medal in daoshu.

Acting

After retiring from competitive wushu, Xu transitioned to acting. She first starred as Sister Mahjong in '' Tai Chi 0'' and '' Tai Chi Hero'', and in the title role in the Chinese TV series ''The Legend of Wing Chun''. In 2012, Xu was recruited to perform in

Cirque du Soleil Cirque du Soleil (, ; ) is a Canadian entertainment company and the largest contemporary circus producer in the world. Located in the inner-city area of Saint-Michel, Montreal, Saint-Michel, Montreal, it was founded in Baie-Saint-Paul on 16 Jun ...

's '' Michael Jackson: One'' show, in which she plays one of the four central characters. In 2021, she played a Black Widow named Helen in

Marvel Studios Marvel Studios, LLC, formerly known as Marvel Films, is an American film and television production company. Marvel Studios is the creator of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), a media franchise and shared universe of films and television ser ...

' ''Black Widow'' and reprised her role in ''

'', credited simply as "Widow".

Personal life

Xu is married to David Torok, a fellow wushu competitor. They both reside in

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

Filmography

Film

* '' Tai Chi 0'' (2012) - Sister Mahjong * '' Tai Chi Hero'' (2012) - Sister Mahjong * '' Black Widow'' (2021) - Helen Takahama /

(also stunt performer) * ''

'' (2021) - Helen Takahama / Widow (also stunt performer) * ''

The Marvels ''The Marvels'' is a 2023 American superhero film based on Marvel Comics. Produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, it is the sequel to the film '' Captain Marvel'' (2019), a continuation of the telev ...

'' (2023) - Stunt performer * '' Captain America: Brave New World'' (2025) - Stunt performer

Video game

* ''

Mortal Kombat 1 ''Mortal Kombat 1'' is a 2023 fighting game developed by NetherRealm Studios and published by Warner Bros. Games. It is the twelfth main installment in the ''Mortal Kombat'' series, and serves as its second Reboot (fiction), reboot after 2011' ...

'' (2023) - Motion capture performer

References

External links

*
Jade Xu
on

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

Jade Xu's Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Xu, Jade 1986 births Chinese wushu practitioners Sportspeople from Shanghai Italian expatriate actresses in the United States Cirque du Soleil performers Living people 21st-century Chinese actresses Actresses from Shanghai Competitors at the 2008 Beijing Wushu Tournament Italian wushu practitioners Chinese expatriates in the United States Chinese emigrants to Italy World champion wushu athletes