Joan Chen (
simplified Chinese
Simplification, Simplify, or Simplified may refer to:
Mathematics
Simplification is the process of replacing a mathematical expression by an equivalent one that is simpler (usually shorter), according to a well-founded ordering. Examples include: ...
; 陈冲; born April 26, 1961) is an American actress and film director. She made her film debut in the Chinese film ''Youth'' (1977) before starring in the film (1979). She came to the attention of American audiences for her portrayal of
Wanrong in the
Bernardo Bertolucci historical epic film ''
The Last Emperor'' (1987), which won nine
Academy Awards
The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence in ...
including
Best Picture.
She is also known for her leading roles in ''
Heaven & Earth'' (1993), ''
Golden Gate
The Golden Gate is a strait on the west coast of North America that connects San Francisco Bay to the Pacific Ocean. It is defined by the headlands of the San Francisco Peninsula and the Marin Peninsula, and, since 1937, has been spanned by ...
'' (1994), ''
Red Rose White Rose'' (1994), ''
Saving Face'' (2004), ''
Sunflower'' (2005), and ''
The Home Song Stories'' (2007) with supporting roles in ''
Lust, Caution'' (2007), ''
Tigertail'' (2020), and ''
Dìdi'' (2024). As a filmmaker she directed the feature films ''
Xiu Xiu: The Sent Down Girl'' (1998), ''
Autumn in New York'' (2000), ''
English'' (2018) and ''
Hero
A hero (feminine: heroine) is a real person or fictional character who, in the face of danger, combats adversity through feats of ingenuity, courage, or Physical strength, strength. The original hero type of classical epics did such thin ...
'' (2022).
On television, she is most known for her recurring role as
Jocelyn 'Josie' Packard in the
David Lynch
David Keith Lynch (January 20, 1946 – January 16, 2025) was an American filmmaker, visual artist, musician, and actor. Widely considered one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, Lynch was often called a "visionary" and received acclaim f ...
created surrealist drama series ''
Twin Peaks
''Twin Peaks'' is an American Surrealist cinema, surrealist Mystery film, mystery-Horror film, horror Drama (film and television), drama television series created by Mark Frost and David Lynch. It Pilot (Twin Peaks), premiered on American Broad ...
'' (1990–1991). She also portrayed
Madame Chiang Kai-shek in the
HBO
Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...
film ''
Hemingway & Gellhorn'' (2012),
Chabi in the
Netflix
Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...
series ''
Marco Polo
Marco Polo (; ; ; 8 January 1324) was a Republic of Venice, Venetian merchant, explorer and writer who travelled through Asia along the Silk Road between 1271 and 1295. His travels are recorded in ''The Travels of Marco Polo'' (also known a ...
'' (2014–2016) and Lu Mei in the
FX on Hulu series ''
A Murder at the End of the World'' (2023).
Early life
Chen was born in Shanghai, to a family of
pharmacologists.
She and her older brother, Chase, were raised during the
Cultural Revolution
The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a Social movement, sociopolitical movement in the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). It was launched by Mao Zedong in 1966 and lasted until his de ...
. At the age of 14, Chen was discovered on the school rifle range by
Jiang Qing, the wife of leader
Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong pronounced ; traditionally Romanization of Chinese, romanised as Mao Tse-tung. (26December 18939September 1976) was a Chinese politician, revolutionary, and political theorist who founded the People's Republic of China (PRC) in ...
and major
Chinese Communist Party
The Communist Party of China (CPC), also translated into English as Chinese Communist Party (CCP), is the founding and One-party state, sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Founded in 1921, the CCP emerged victorious in the ...
figure, for excelling at marksmanship. This led to her being selected for the Actors' Training Program by the
Shanghai Film Studio in 1975, where she was discovered by veteran director
Xie Jin who chose her to star in his 1977 film
as a deaf mute whose senses are restored by an army medical team. Chen graduated from high school a year in advance, and at the age of 17 entered
Shanghai International Studies University, where she majored in
English.
Career
1979–1984: Early career in China
Chen performed alongside
Liu Xiaoqing,
Tang Guoqiang and
Ge Cunzhuang in Zhang Zheng's () in 1979, for which she won the
Hundred Flowers Award for Best Actress. Chen portrayed a pre-
Maoist revolutionary's daughter, who, reunited with her brother, a wounded Communist soldier, later learned that his doctor was her biological mother. ''Little Flower'' was her second film and she soon achieved the status of China's most-loved actress; she was dubbed "the
Elizabeth Taylor
Dame Elizabeth Rosemond Taylor (February 27, 1932 – March 23, 2011) was an English and American actress. She began her career as a child actress in the early 1940s and was one of the most popular stars of classical Hollywood cinema in the 19 ...
of China" by
''Time'' magazine for having achieved stardom while still a teenager.
In addition, Chen was in the 1979 film . The film directed by Ou Fan () and Xing Jitian () depicts an
overseas Chinese
Overseas Chinese people are Chinese people, people of Chinese origin who reside outside Greater China (mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan). As of 2011, there were over 40.3 million overseas Chinese. As of 2023, there were 10.5 milli ...
family that returns to China from Southeast Asia out of their patriotic feelings but encounter political troubles during the
Cultural Revolution
The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a Social movement, sociopolitical movement in the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). It was launched by Mao Zedong in 1966 and lasted until his de ...
. The songs, "
I Love You, China" and "High Flies the Petrel" (), sung by Chen's character, are perennial favorites in China. In 1981, Chen starred in ''Awakening'' (), directed by .
1985–1999: Hollywood and ''Twin Peaks''
At age 20, Chen moved to the United States, where she studied
filmmaking
Filmmaking or film production is the process by which a Film, motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, beginning with an initial story, idea, or commission. Production then continues through screen ...
at
California State University, Northridge. Her first Hollywood movie was ''
Tai-Pan'', filmed on location in China. In 1985, she appeared in the American television show ''
Miami Vice'' as May Ying, former wife of
Martin Castillo and husband to Ma Sek in the episode "
Golden Triangle (Part II)". She went on to portray the Last Empress
Wanrong in
Bernardo Bertolucci's ''
The Last Emperor'', which won 9
Academy Awards
The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence in ...
in 1988, including
Best Picture. She then starred in the
David Lynch
David Keith Lynch (January 20, 1946 – January 16, 2025) was an American filmmaker, visual artist, musician, and actor. Widely considered one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, Lynch was often called a "visionary" and received acclaim f ...
/
Mark Frost television series ''
Twin Peaks
''Twin Peaks'' is an American Surrealist cinema, surrealist Mystery film, mystery-Horror film, horror Drama (film and television), drama television series created by Mark Frost and David Lynch. It Pilot (Twin Peaks), premiered on American Broad ...
'' as
Josie Packard. She starred alongside
Rutger Hauer in 1989's ''
The Blood of Heroes'', written and directed by
David Webb Peoples. In 1993, she co-starred in
Oliver Stone
William Oliver Stone (born ) is an American filmmaker. Stone is an acclaimed director, tackling subjects ranging from the Vietnam War and American politics to musical film, musical Biographical film, biopics and Crime film, crime dramas. He has ...
's ''
Heaven & Earth''. She portrayed two different characters in
Clara Law's ''
Temptation of a Monk'': a seductive princess of
Tang dynasty
The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, c=唐朝), or the Tang Empire, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907, with an Wu Zhou, interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dynasty and followed ...
, and a dangerous temptress. She shaved her head on-screen for the role. The award-winning film was adapted from a novel by
Lilian Lee.
In 1994, she co-starred with
Steven Seagal
Steven Frederic Seagal ( ; born April 10, 1952) is an American actor, producer, screenwriter, martial artist, and musician. A 7th-Dan (rank), dan Black belt (martial arts), black belt in aikido, he began his adult life as a martial arts instru ...
in the action-adventure ''
On Deadly Ground''. She also returned to Shanghai to star in
Stanley Kwan's ''
Red Rose White Rose'' opposite
Winston Chao, and subsequently won a
Golden Horse Award and a
Hong Kong Film Critics Society Award for her performance. In 1996, she served as a jury member at the
46th Berlin International Film Festival.
Tired of being cast as an exotic beauty in Hollywood films, Chen moved into directing in 1998 with the critically acclaimed ''
Xiu Xiu: The Sent Down Girl'', adapted from the novella ''Celestial Bath'' () by her friend
Geling Yan. She later directed ''
Autumn in New York'', starring
Richard Gere and
Winona Ryder, in 2000.
2000–present: International acclaim
In the middle of the 2000s, Chen made a comeback in acting and began to work intensely, alternating between English and Chinese-language roles. In 2004, she starred in
Hou Yong's
family saga
The family saga is a genre of literature which chronicles the lives and doings of a family or a number of related or interconnected families over a period of time. In novels (or sometimes sequences of novels) with a serious intent, this is often ...
''
Jasmine Women'', alongside
Zhang Ziyi, in which they played multiple roles as daughters and mothers across three generations in Shanghai. She also starred in the
Asian-American comedy ''
Saving Face'' as a widowed mother, who is shunned by the Chinese-American community for being pregnant and unwed and has come to live with her lesbian daughter. In 2005, she appeared in
Zhang Yang's family saga ''
Sunflower'', as a mother whose husband and son have a troubled father-son relationship over 30 years. She starred in the
Asian American
Asian Americans are Americans with ancestry from the continent of Asia (including naturalized Americans who are immigrants from specific regions in Asia and descendants of those immigrants).
Although this term had historically been used fo ...
independent film ''
Americanese'' and in
Michael Almereyda's ''Tonight at Noon'', the first part of a two part project, scheduled to be released in 2009.
In 2007, Chen was acclaimed for her performance in
Tony Ayres' drama ''
The Home Song Stories''. She portrayed a glamorous and unstable Chinese
nightclub singer who struggles to survive in 1970s Australia with her two children. The performance earned her multiple awards, including the
Australian Film Institute Award for Best Actress and the
Golden Horse Award for Best Leading Actress. The same year saw her co-starring in two other acclaimed films:
Ang Lee
Ang Lee (; born October 23, 1954) is a Taiwanese filmmaker. His films are known for their emotional charge and exploration of repressed, hidden emotions. During his career, he has received international critical and popular acclaim and List o ...
's ''
Lust, Caution'', opposite
Tony Leung Chiu-Wai, and
Jiang Wen's ''
The Sun Also Rises'', opposite
Anthony Wong Chau-Sang, for which she received the
Asian Film Award for Best Supporting Actress.
In 2008, she starred alongside Sam Chow () in ''Shi Qi'' (), directed by Joe Chow (), as a rural mother of a 17-year-old in eastern Zhejiang province. The same year Joan Chen portrayed a factory worker in
Jia Zhangke
Jia Zhangke ( zh, s=贾樟柯, born 24 May 1970) is a Chinese film and television director, screenwriter, producer, actor and writer. He is the founder of Pingyao International Film Festival, dean of the Shanxi Film Academy of Shanxi Media Co ...
's ''
24 City'' once fancied because she resembled Chen herself in the 1979 film ''Little Flower'', but who missed her chance at love. She co-starred in
Bruce Beresford's 2009 adaptation of the autobiography of dancer
Li Cunxin, ''
Mao's Last Dancer'', along with Wang Shuangbao () and
Kyle MacLachlan.
In 2009, Chen starred alongside
Feng Yuanzheng and in the Chinese TV series ''Newcomers to the Middle-Aged'' (), directed by Dou Qi (), in which she played a female doctor facing middle-age problems. She also played the part of goddess
Guan Yin in the 2010 Chinese TV adaptation of ''
Journey to the West
''Journey to the West'' () is a Chinese novel published in the 16th century during the Ming dynasty and attributed to Wu Cheng'en. It is regarded as one of the Classic Chinese Novels, great Chinese novels, and has been described as arguably the ...
'', directed by Cheng Lidong (). In October 2009 Joan Chen was the curator of the first
Singapore Sun Festival, whose theme was "The Art of Living Well". She selected five films for screening during the festival: ''
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly'', ''
Dead Man Walking'', ''
Hannah and Her Sisters
''Hannah and Her Sisters'' is a 1986 American comedy-drama film written and directed by Woody Allen. It tells the intertwined stories of an extended family over two years that begins and ends with a family Thanksgiving#Thanksgiving dinner, Than ...
'', ''
Still Life
A still life (: still lifes) is a work of art depicting mostly wikt:inanimate, inanimate subject matter, typically commonplace objects which are either natural (food, flowers, dead animals, plants, rocks, shells, etc.) or artificiality, human-m ...
'' and ''
Edward Scissorhands''.
In 2010, Chen joined the cast of
Wang Leehom's directorial debut ''
Love in Disguise'', Alexi Tan's () ''Color Me Love'' (; alongside
Liu Ye),
Ilkka Järvi-Laturi's ''Kiss, His First'' (alongside
Tony Leung Ka-fai and
Gwei Lun-mei) and veteran acting coach
Larry Moss' ''
Relative Insanity'' (along with
Juliette Binoche). In May 2010, she was set to star and direct one of the three parts of the anthology film ''Seeing Red''. In 2011, Chen played Secretary Bishop's girlfriend on the television series ''
Fringe'' episode "
Immortality
Immortality is the concept of eternal life. Some species possess "biological immortality" due to an apparent lack of the Hayflick limit.
From at least the time of the Ancient Mesopotamian religion, ancient Mesopotamians, there has been a con ...
". Chen was cast as the Mongol
Yuan Dynasty
The Yuan dynasty ( ; zh, c=元朝, p=Yuáncháo), officially the Great Yuan (; Mongolian language, Mongolian: , , literally 'Great Yuan State'), was a Mongol-led imperial dynasty of China and a successor state to the Mongol Empire after Div ...
empress
Chabi in the 2014 American television series ''
Marco Polo
Marco Polo (; ; ; 8 January 1324) was a Republic of Venice, Venetian merchant, explorer and writer who travelled through Asia along the Silk Road between 1271 and 1295. His travels are recorded in ''The Travels of Marco Polo'' (also known a ...
''. Being somewhat unfamiliar with the Mongols, Chen read ''
The Secret History of the Mongol Queens'' in order to prepare for the role. She also appeared in several episodes of the 2018 Chinese television drama ''
Ruyi's Royal Love in the Palace'' as Ula Nara Yixiu (the
Empress Xiaojingxian).
In 2014, Chen served as a jury member at the
71st Venice International Film Festival. In the same year, Chen presided over the jury for the
51st Golden Horse Awards. In 2023 she played a caring and compassionate mother to a rebellious teenager in the
coming of age
Coming of age is a young person's transition from being a child to being an adult. The specific age at which this transition takes place varies between societies, as does the nature of the change. It can be a simple legal convention or can b ...
comedy-drama ''
Dìdi'' directed by
Sean Wang. Angi Han of ''
The Hollywood Reporter
''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...
'' wrote of her performance, that the "role often trusts her remarkable ability to convey a lifetime’s worth of regret or joy or swallowed anger through a simple gaze". For her performance she was nominated for the
Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Performance.
Personal life
Chen was formerly married to actor Jim "Jimmy" Lau from 1985 to 1990. Chen married her second husband,
cardiologist
Cardiology () is the study of the heart. Cardiology is a branch of medicine that deals with disorders of the heart and the cardiovascular system. The field includes medical diagnosis and treatment of congenital heart defects, coronary artery di ...
Peter Hui, on January 18, 1992. They have two daughters. They live in San Francisco, California.
In 1981, Chen left China to study at the
State University of New York at New Paltz, before transferring to the
California State University, Northridge. In 1989, she became a
naturalized citizen of the United States. On April 9, 2008, Chen wrote an article entitled "Let the Games Go On" for the ''
Washington Post
''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...
'' objecting to the politicization of the
2008 Summer Olympics
The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fro ...
in Beijing.
Charitable work
In May 2008, Chen appeared alongside
James Kyson Lee, Silas Flensted, and
Amy Hanaialiʻi Gilliom in a public service announcement for the Banyan Tree Project campaign to stop HIV/AIDS-related stigma in Asian & Pacific Islander communities.
In October 2008, Chen made the cover of Trends Health magazine alongside actresses Ke Lan () and Ma Yili () to promote the Chinese
Pink Ribbon Breast Cancer Prevention campaign.
On January 8, 2010, Chen attended, alongside
Nancy Pelosi,
Nicole Kidman, and
Joe Torre, the ceremony to help
Family Violence Prevention Fund break ground on a new center located in the
Presidio of San Francisco intended to combat violence against women and children. During the ceremony, Chen performed an excerpt from the documentary play ''The Thumbprint of
Mukhtar Mai'' (presented as part of "Seven").
On January 15, 2010, Chen was set to appear, along with other Asian American personalities, in a series of videos supporting the Center for the Pacific Asian Family.
Filmography
Actress
Film
Television
Filmmaker
Awards and nominations
Other media
* 2008: "Shanghai," narrator—an audio walking tour by
Louis Vuitton and Soundwalk
Other recognition
* Chen was named one of the 'Fifty Most Beautiful People' by ''
People
The term "the people" refers to the public or Common people, common mass of people of a polity. As such it is a concept of human rights law, international law as well as constitutional law, particularly used for claims of popular sovereignty. I ...
'' magazine in 1992.
* Chen inspired the American
experimental rock
Experimental rock, also called avant-rock, is a subgenre of rock music that pushes the boundaries of common composition and performance technique or which experiments with the basic elements of the genre. Artists aim to liberate and innovate, wit ...
band
Xiu Xiu, named after her film ''Xiu Xiu: The Sent Down Girl'', according to singer-songwriter
Jamie Stewart.
* Chen was chosen by
Goldsea as Number 45 on its compilation of "The 120 Most Inspiring Asian Americans of All Time".
References
Articles and interviews
* "''The Last Empress''", by C. Mark Jacobson. ''
Interview
An interview is a structured conversation where one participant asks questions, and the other provides answers.Merriam Webster DictionaryInterview Dictionary definition, Retrieved February 16, 2016 In common parlance, the word "interview" re ...
''. December 1987. p. 146-147.
* "''In Praise of Actors: Joan Chen''", by Peter Rainer. ''
American Film''. Volume 15: Issue 8. May 1990. p. 32.
"''Heavenly And Hearthy''" by Tom Kagy. ''Goldsea Asian American Daily''. August 1992.
* "''Chen Reaction''", by Alison Dakota Gee. ''
Movieline'' (USA). December 1993. p. 54-59, 88.
"''Joan of Art''" by Richard Corliss. ''
TIME
Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...
'' (USA). April 5, 1999.
"''West To East''" by Richard Corliss. ''
TIME
Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...
'' (USA). Volume 153: Issue 13. April 5, 1999.
"''Joan Chen: Guerilla Director''" by Michael Sragow. ''
Salon.com''. May 27, 1999.
* "''Reel Poetry''", by Kevin Berger. ''
San Francisco
San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...
'' (USA). July 2000. p. 51.
"''Joan Chen: Whether it's China or Hollywood, this actress/director tells it like it is''" by Franz Lidz. ''
Interview
An interview is a structured conversation where one participant asks questions, and the other provides answers.Merriam Webster DictionaryInterview Dictionary definition, Retrieved February 16, 2016 In common parlance, the word "interview" re ...
''. August 2000. p. 80-81.
"''An Interview with Joan Chen''" by Michelle Caswell. ''
Asia Source''. November 2000.
"''Is Joan Chen Done with Hollywood?''"''Goldsea Asian American Daily''. January 28, 2003.
by Malinda Lo. ''
Curve
In mathematics, a curve (also called a curved line in older texts) is an object similar to a line, but that does not have to be straight.
Intuitively, a curve may be thought of as the trace left by a moving point. This is the definition that ...
''. Volume 15: Issue 4. June 2005.
"''The Face Behind'' Saving Face" by Kenny Tanemura. ''
Asian Week''. June 3, 2005.
* "''Sensuously Elegant: An Interview with Joan Chen''", by Lisa Odham Stokes. ''Asian Cult Cinema'' (USA). Issue 48. October–December 2005. p. 51-61.
"''The Many Faces of Joan Chen''." by Glen Schaefer. ''
The Province
''The Province'' is a daily newspaper published in Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid format in British Columbia by Pacific Newspaper Group, a division of Postmedia Network, alongside the ''Vancouver Sun'' broadsheet newspaper. Together, they ...
''. October 3, 2007.
External links
*
*
Joan Chenat Art and Culture
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chen, Joan
1961 births
Living people
20th-century Chinese actresses
20th-century American actresses
21st-century Chinese actresses
21st-century American actresses
American actresses of Chinese descent
American film actresses
Film directors from California
American film directors of Chinese descent
American television actresses
American women film directors
American writers of Chinese descent
California State University, Northridge alumni
Chinese emigrants to the United States
Chinese women film directors
Chinese film actresses
Film directors from Shanghai
Members of the Committee of 100
Chinese television actresses
Screenwriters from Shanghai
Actresses from Shanghai
Naturalized citizens of the United States
Screenwriters from California
Best Actress AACTA Award winners
Best Supporting Actress Asian Film Award winners