Joan Chen | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
a.jpg) Chen in 2012 | |||||||||||
| Born | 陳沖 (Chen Chong) (1961-04-26)April 26, 1961 (age 64) Shanghai, China | ||||||||||
| Occupations | Actress, director | ||||||||||
| Years active | 1975–present | ||||||||||
| Spouses | |||||||||||
| Children | 2 | ||||||||||
| Chinese name | |||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 陳冲 | ||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 陈冲 | ||||||||||
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Joan Chen (simplified Chinese; 陈冲; born April 26, 1961) is a Chinese-born American actress and film director. She is the recipient of numerous accolades, including fourTaipei Golden Horse Awards and anAACTA Award. She made her film debut in the Chinese filmYouth (1977) before starring in the filmLittle Flower [zh] (1979). She came to the attention of American audiences for her portrayal ofWanrong in theBernardo Bertolucci historical epic filmThe Last Emperor (1987), which won nineAcademy Awards includingBest Picture.
She is also known for her leading roles inHeaven & Earth (1993),Golden Gate (1994),Red Rose White Rose (1994),Saving Face (2004),Sunflower (2005), andThe Home Song Stories (2007) with supporting roles inLust, Caution (2007),Tigertail (2020), andDìdi (2024). As a filmmaker she directed the feature filmsXiu Xiu: The Sent Down Girl (1998),Autumn in New York (2000),English (2018) andHero (2022).
On television, she is most known for her recurring role asJocelyn 'Josie' Packard in theDavid Lynch created surrealist drama seriesTwin Peaks (1990–1991). She also portrayedMadame Chiang Kai-shek in theHBO filmHemingway & Gellhorn (2012),Chabi in theNetflix seriesMarco Polo (2014–2016) and Lu Mei in theFX on Hulu seriesA Murder at the End of the World (2023).
Chen was born in Shanghai, to a family ofpharmacologists.[1] She and her older brother, Chase, were raised during theCultural Revolution. At the age of 14, Chen was discovered on the school rifle range byJiang Qing, the wife of leaderMao Zedong and majorChinese Communist Party figure, for excelling at marksmanship. This led to her being selected for the Actors' Training Program by theShanghai Film Studio in 1975, where she was discovered by veteran directorXie Jin who chose her to star in his 1977 filmYouth [fr][2] 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 enteredShanghai International Studies University, where she majored inEnglish.[3]
Chen performed alongsideLiu Xiaoqing,Tang Guoqiang andGe Cunzhuang in Zhang Zheng's (simplified Chinese:张铮;traditional Chinese:張錚;pinyin:Zhāng Zhēng)Little Flower [zh] in 1979, for which she won theHundred Flowers Award for Best Actress.[4] 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 "theElizabeth Taylor of China" byTime magazine for having achieved stardom while still a teenager.[2]
In addition, Chen was in the 1979 filmHearts for the Motherland [zh]. The film directed by Ou Fan (欧凡;歐凡;Ōu Fán) and Xing Jitian (邢吉田;Xíng Jítián) depicts anoverseas Chinese family that returns to China from Southeast Asia out of their patriotic feelings but encounter political troubles during theCultural Revolution. The songs, "I Love You, China" and "High Flies the Petrel" (高飞的海燕;高飛的海燕;Gāofēi de Hǎiyàn), sung by Chen's character, are perennial favorites in China. In 1981, Chen starred inAwakening (苏醒;甦醒;Sūxǐng), directed byTeng Wenji [zh].
At age 20, Chen moved to the United States, where she studiedfilmmaking atCalifornia State University, Northridge. Her first Hollywood movie wasTai-Pan, filmed on location in China. In 1985, she appeared in the American television showMiami Vice as May Ying, former wife ofMartin Castillo and husband to Ma Sek in the episode "Golden Triangle (Part II)". She went on to portray the Last EmpressWanrong inBernardo Bertolucci'sThe Last Emperor, which won 9Academy Awards in 1988, includingBest Picture.[5] She then starred in theDavid Lynch/Mark Frost television seriesTwin Peaks asJosie Packard. She starred alongsideRutger Hauer in 1989'sThe Blood of Heroes, written and directed byDavid Webb Peoples. In 1993, she co-starred inOliver Stone'sHeaven & Earth. She portrayed two different characters inClara Law'sTemptation of a Monk: a seductive princess ofTang dynasty, and a dangerous temptress. She shaved her head on-screen for the role. The award-winning film was adapted from a novel byLilian Lee.
In 1994, she co-starred withSteven Seagal in the action-adventureOn Deadly Ground. She also returned to Shanghai to star inStanley Kwan'sRed Rose White Rose oppositeWinston Chao, and subsequently won aGolden Horse Award and aHong Kong Film Critics Society Award for her performance. In 1996, she served as a jury member at the46th Berlin International Film Festival.[6]
Tired of being cast as an exotic beauty in Hollywood films, Chen moved into directing in 1998 with the critically acclaimedXiu Xiu: The Sent Down Girl, adapted from the novellaCelestial Bath (Chinese:天浴;pinyin:Tiān Yù) by her friendGeling Yan. She later directedAutumn in New York, starringRichard Gere andWinona Ryder, in 2000.
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 inHou Yong'sfamily sagaJasmine Women, alongsideZhang Ziyi, in which they played multiple roles as daughters and mothers across three generations in Shanghai. She also starred in theAsian-American comedySaving 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 inZhang Yang's family sagaSunflower, as a mother whose husband and son have a troubled father-son relationship over 30 years. She starred in theAsian American independent filmAmericanese and inMichael Almereyda'sTonight at Noon, the first part of a two part project, scheduled to be released in 2009.
In 2007, Chen was acclaimed for her performance inTony Ayres' dramaThe Home Song Stories. She portrayed a glamorous and unstable Chinesenightclub singer who struggles to survive in 1970s Australia with her two children. The performance earned her multiple awards, including theAustralian Film Institute Award for Best Actress and theGolden Horse Award for Best Leading Actress. The same year saw her co-starring in two other acclaimed films:Ang Lee'sLust, Caution, oppositeTony Leung Chiu-Wai, andJiang Wen'sThe Sun Also Rises, oppositeAnthony Wong Chau-Sang, for which she received theAsian Film Award for Best Supporting Actress.
In 2008, she starred alongside Sam Chow (simplified Chinese:邹爽;traditional Chinese:鄒爽;pinyin:Zōu Shuǎng) inShi Qi (十七;Shíqī), directed by Joe Chow (姬诚;姬誠;Jī Chéng), as a rural mother of a 17-year-old in eastern Zhejiang province. The same year Joan Chen portrayed a factory worker inJia Zhangke's24 City once fancied because she resembled Chen herself in the 1979 filmLittle Flower, but who missed her chance at love. She co-starred inBruce Beresford's 2009 adaptation of the autobiography of dancerLi Cunxin,Mao's Last Dancer, along with Wang Shuangbao (王双宝;王雙寶;Wáng Shuāngbǎo) andKyle MacLachlan.[7]
In 2009, Chen starred alongsideFeng Yuanzheng andLiu Jinshan [zh] in the Chinese TV seriesNewcomers to the Middle-Aged (人到中年;Rén Dào Zhōngnián), directed by Dou Qi (斗琪;Dòu Qí), in which she played a female doctor facing middle-age problems. She also played the part of goddessGuan Yin in the 2010 Chinese TV adaptation ofJourney to the West, directed by Cheng Lidong (程力栋;程力棟;Chéng Lìdòng). In October 2009 Joan Chen was the curator of the firstSingapore 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,Still Life andEdward Scissorhands.[8][9]
In 2010, Chen joined the cast ofWang Leehom's directorial debutLove in Disguise, Alexi Tan's (陈奕利;陳奕利;Chén Yìlì)Color Me Love (爱出色;愛出色;Ài Chūsè; alongsideLiu Ye),[10]Ilkka Järvi-Laturi'sKiss, His First (alongsideTony Leung Ka-fai andGwei Lun-mei)[11] and veteran acting coachLarry Moss'Relative Insanity (along withJuliette Binoche). In May 2010, she was set to star and direct one of the three parts of the anthology filmSeeing Red.[12][13] In 2011, Chen played Secretary Bishop's girlfriend on the television seriesFringe episode "Immortality".[14] Chen was cast as the MongolYuan Dynasty empressChabi in the 2014 American television seriesMarco Polo. Being somewhat unfamiliar with the Mongols, Chen readThe Secret History of the Mongol Queens in order to prepare for the role.[15] She also appeared in several episodes of the 2018 Chinese television dramaRuyi's Royal Love in the Palace as Ula Nara Yixiu (theEmpress Xiaojingxian).
In 2014, Chen served as a jury member at the71st Venice International Film Festival.[16] In the same year, Chen presided over the jury for the51st Golden Horse Awards.[17] In 2023 she played a caring and compassionate mother to a rebellious teenager in thecoming of age comedy-dramaDìdi directed bySean Wang. Angi Han ofThe Hollywood Reporter 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".[18] For her performance she was nominated for theIndependent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Performance.[19]
In 1981, Chen left China to study at theState University of New York at New Paltz, before transferring to theCalifornia State University, Northridge.[citation needed]
From 1985 to 1990, Chen was married to actor Jim "Jimmy" Lau.[citation needed]
In 1989, she became anaturalized citizen of the United States.[citation needed]
On January 18, 1992, Chen married her second husband,cardiologist Peter Hui. They have two daughters.[20] They live in San Francisco, California.[citation needed]
On April 9, 2008, Chen wrote an article entitled "Let the Games Go On" forThe Washington Post objecting to the politicization of the2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.[21]
In May 2008, Chen appeared alongsideJames Kyson Lee, Silas Flensted, andAmy Hanaialiʻi Gilliom in a public service announcement for the Banyan Tree Project campaign to stop HIV/AIDS-related stigma in Asian & Pacific Islander communities.[22][23]
In October 2008, Chen made the cover ofTrends Health magazine alongside actresses Ke Lan (Chinese:柯蓝) and Ma Yili (Chinese:马伊琍) to promote the ChinesePink Ribbon Breast Cancer Prevention campaign.[citation needed]
On January 8, 2010, Chen attended, alongsideNancy Pelosi,Nicole Kidman, andJoe Torre, the ceremony to helpFamily Violence Prevention Fund break ground on a new center located in thePresidio of San Francisco intended to combat violence against women and children. During the ceremony, Chen performed an excerpt from the documentary playThe Thumbprint ofMukhtar Mai (presented as part of "Seven").[24][25][26]
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.[27]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1977 | Youth | Shen Yamei | |
| 1979 | Little Flower | Zhao Xiaohua | |
| Hearts for the Motherland | Huang Sihua | ||
| 1981 | Awakening | Su Xiaomei | |
| 1985 | Dim Sum: A Little Bit of Heart | Young M.J. player | |
| 1986 | Goodbye My Love | Ling Ti | |
| Tai-Pan | May–May | ||
| 1987 | The Night Stalker | Mai Wing | |
| The Last Emperor | Wanrong | ||
| 1989 | The Salute of the Jugger | Kidda | AkaThe Blood of Heroes |
| 1991 | Wedlock | Noelle | |
| 1992 | Turtle Beach | Minou | |
| Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me | Jocelyn 'Josie' Packard | Scene deleted – seeTwin Peaks: The Missing Pieces | |
| 1993 | Temptation of a Monk | Princess Hong'e (Scarlet) Lady Qingshou (Violet) | |
| Heaven & Earth | Mama | ||
| 1994 | Golden Gate | Marilyn | |
| On Deadly Ground | Masu | ||
| Red Rose White Rose | Wang Jiao-Rui | ||
| 1995 | The Hunted | Kirina | |
| Wild Side | Virginia Chow | Also associate producer | |
| Judge Dredd | Ilsa Hayden | ||
| 1996 | Precious Find | Camilla Jones | |
| 1999 | Purple Storm | Shirley Kwan | |
| 2000 | What's Cooking? | Trinh Nguyen | |
| 2004 | Jasmine Women | Mo's Mother / Mo | |
| Saving Face | Hwei-Lan Gao | ||
| Avatar | Madame Ong | ||
| 2005 | Sunflower | Xiuqing | |
| 2006 | Americanese | Betty Nguyen | |
| 2007 | The Home Song Stories | Rose Hong | |
| Lust, Caution | Mrs. Yee | ||
| The Sun Also Rises | Dr. Lin | ||
| 2008 | The Leap Years | Li-Ann (age 49) | |
| All God's Children Can Dance | Evelyn | ||
| Shi Qi | Mother | ||
| 24 City | Gu Minhua | ||
| 2009 | Mao's Last Dancer | Niang | |
| 2010 | Love in Disguise | Joan | |
| Color Me Love | Zoe | ||
| 2011 | 1911 | Empress Longyu | |
| 2012 | White Frog | Irene Young | |
| Passion Island | Johanna | ||
| Let It Be | Niu Jie | ||
| Double Xposure | Dr. Hao | ||
| 2014 | For Love or Money | Xu's Mother | |
| Twin Peaks: The Missing Pieces | Jocelyn 'Josie' Packard | ||
| 2015 | You Are My Sunshine | Pei Fangmei | |
| Lady of the Dynasty | Consort Wu | ||
| Cairo Declaration | Soong Ching-ling | ||
| 2019 | Sheep Without a Shepherd | Laoorn | |
| 2020 | Tigertail | Yuan | |
| Ava | Toni | ||
| 2023 | Under the Light | He Xiuli | |
| 2024 | Dìdi | Chungsing Wang | Also executive producer |
| 2025 | The Wedding Banquet | May Chen | |
| Oh. What. Fun. | Jeanne Wang-Wasserman | ||
| Montreal, My Beautiful (Montréal, ma belle) | Feng Xia | ||
| TBA | Remarkably Bright Creatures | TBA | Post-production |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1983 | Matt Houston | Miss Taipei | Episode: "Target: Miss World" |
| 1984 | The New Mike Hammer | Ti | Episode: "Hot Ice" |
| Knight Rider | Su-Lin | Episode: "Knight of the Drones" | |
| 1985 | Miami Vice | May Ying | Episode: "Golden Triangle" |
| Double Dare | Lily Chang | Episode: "Hong Kong King Con" | |
| American Playhouse | Mei Lai | Episode: "Paper Angels" | |
| MacGyver | Lin | Episode: "The Golden Triangle" | |
| 1988 | HeartBeat | Cathryn | Episode: "Pilot" |
| 1989 | Wiseguy | Maxine Tzu | Episode: "All or Nothing" |
| 1990–1991 | Twin Peaks | Jocelyn 'Josie' Packard | TV series — Series regular (2 seasons) |
| 1992 | Nightmare Cafe | Cafe Customer | Episode: "Nightmare Cafe" |
| Strangers | The Girl | TV movie | |
| Children of the Dragon | Jin-Juan | Miniseries | |
| Shadow of a Stranger | Vanessa | TV movie | |
| 1993 | Tales from the Crypt | Connie | Episode: "Food for Thought" |
| 1997 | Homicide: Life on the Street | Elizabeth Wu | Episode: "Wu's on First?" |
| Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child | Princess Jade (voice) | Episode: "Aladdin" | |
| 1998 | The Outer Limits | Major Dara Talif | Episode: "Phobos Rising" |
| 1999 | In a Class of His Own | Linda Ching | TV movie |
| 2009 | Newcomers to the Middle-Aged | Tian Wenjie | TV series |
| 2010 | Journey to the West | Guan Yin | |
| 2011 | Fringe | Reiko | Episode: "Immortality" |
| 2012 | Hemingway & Gellhorn | Madame Chiang Kai-shek | HBO TV movie |
| Heroes of Sui and Tang Dynasties | Empress Dugu | TV series | |
| 2013 | Serangoon Road | Patricia Cheng | 10 episodes |
| Meng's Palace 海上孟府 | Er Jie | TV series | |
| 2014–2016 | Marco Polo | Chabi | 20 episodes |
| 2017 | Twin Peaks | Jocelyn 'Josie' Packard | Episode: "Part 17";archive footage |
| 2018 | Ruyi's Royal Love in the Palace | Ula Nara Yixiu | 6 episodes |
| 2023 | A Murder at the End of the World | Lu Mei | 6 episodes |
| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Wild Side | Associate producer |
| 1998 | Xiu Xiu: The Sent Down Girl | Director; producer; also co-writer withGeling Yan |
| 2000 | Autumn in New York | |
| 2018 | English | |
| 2022 | Hero | Also writer |
Awards for Joan Chen | |||||||||
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