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Donnie Yen is a Hong Kong actor, martial artist, film director, producer, action choreographer and multiple time world wushu tournament champion. Yen is one of Hong Kong’s top action stars. Yen is one of Hong Kong’s top action stars. Yen has displayed skill in an array of martial arts, being well versed in Tai Chi, Boxing, Kickboxing, Jeet Kune Do, Hapkido, Taekwondo, Karate, Muay Thai, Wrestling, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Judo, Wing Chun, and Wushu. One of the most popular film stars in Asia of the early 2000s, Yen is consistently one of the highest paid actors in Asia.

Birth Name

Donnie Yen Ji-dan

Nicknames

Donnie Yen

Profession

Actor, Film Director, Producer, Martial Artist

Personal Life

Birthday / Date of Birth

Donnie Yen was born on the July 27, 1963 in Yuexiu District, Guangzhou, China.

Age

He is currently 55 years old.

Sun Sign

Leo

Nationality

Hong Kongese

Ethnicity

Asian

Education

Donnie Yen attended Wu Shu Academy.

Family Details

  • Father – Klyster Yen (Newspaper Editor)

  • Mother – Bow-sim Mark (Martial Artist, Tai Chi Grandmaster)
  • Siblings – Chris Yen (Sister) (Martial Artist, Actress)

Marital Status

Married

Girlfriend / Spouse

Donnie Yen dated –

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  • Joey Meng (Late 90’s) – Yen and Joey, a Hong Kong actress dated somewhere in the late 90’s but there is not much information about the relationship.
  • Leung Zing Ci (1993-1994) – Yen and Leung met in 1990 but started dating in 1993. The couple secretly got married after dating for only three months, but the marriage did not last long as it ended in less than a year. They have one child together, a son Jeff born in 1995.

  • Cissy Wang (2003-Present) – Yen and Cissy have been married for 15 years. They have 2 children together, Jasmine and James.

Physical Statistics

Height

  • In feet – 5 feet 8 inches
  • In centimeters – 173 cm
  • In meters – 1.73 m

Weight

  • In Kilograms – 75 kg
  • In Pounds – 166 lbs

Body Build

Athletic

Eye Color

Black

Hair Color

Black

Sexuality

Straight

Professional Statistics

Famous For

Appearing in film and TV roles such as Ip Man, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, xXx: Return of Xander Cage, Drunken Tai Chi and Tiger Cage, Legend of the Fist: The Return of Chen Zhen, Fist of Fury, Shanghai Knights, Seven Swords among others.

Film Debut

Donnie Yen made his theatrical film debut in the 1984 film Drunken Tai Chi.

Television Debut

In 1989, he made his TV show debut as Dickson Kwan on the TV show File Noir.

Brand Endorsements

Donnie Yen has endorsed Jacob & Co, Spirit of Hong Kong Awards & Resorts World Sentosa.

Awards & Nominations

YearAwardCategoryNominated WorkResult
1993Hong Kong Film AwardsBest Supporting ActorOnce Upon a Time in China 2Nominated
2002Taurus World Stunt AwardsBest FightIron MonkeyNominated
2003Golden Horse AwardsBest Action ChoreographyThe Twins EffectWon
2004Hong Kong Film AwardsBest Action ChoreographyWon
2006Hong Kong Film AwardsBest Action ChoreographySPL: Sha Po LangWon
2007Hong Kong Film AwardsBest Action ChoreographyDragon Tiger GateNominated
Golden Bauhinia AwardsBest Action ChoreographyWon
Golden Horse AwardsBest Action ChoreographyFlash PointWon
2008Hong Kong Film AwardsBest Action ChoreographyWon
Taurus World Stunt AwardsBest Action in a Foreign Language FilmWon
2009Beijing College Student Film FestivalBest ActorIp ManWon
Hong Kong Film AwardsBest ActorNominated
Huabiao Film AwardsOutstanding Abroad ActorWon
2010Hundred Flowers AwardsBest ActorBodyguards and AssassinsNominated
2011Hong Kong Film AwardsBest Action ChoreographyLegend of the Fist: The Return of Chen ZhenNominated
3rd Macau International Movie FestivalBest ActorThe Lost BladesmanWon
Golden Horse AwardsBest Action ChoreographyDragonWon
2012Hong Kong Film AwardsBest Action ChoreographyNominated
2014Hong Kong Film AwardsBest Action ChoreographySpecial IDNominated
8th Asian Film AwardsAsian Outstanding ActorN/AWon
2015Youku Night Awards2014’s Most Influential ActorN/AWon
15th Huading AwardsBest ActorThe Monkey KingWon
Hong Kong Film AwardsBest Action ChoreographyKung Fu JungleWon
2017Foshan Film AwardsBest ActorN/AWon
Lifetime Achievement AwardN/AWon

Donnie Yen Favorites

  • Favorite Actor – Bruce Lee
  • Favorite Martial Arts Actor – Jet Li
  • Favorite Jeans – Levi’s

Donnie Yen Net worth

Donnie Yen net worth is estimated to be $40 million dollars as of 2019.

Social Media Profiles

Some Lesser Known Facts About Donnie Yen

  • Donnie and his family moved to Hong Kong when he was just 2 years of age. The family then moved to Boston Massachusetts when he was 11 years of age.
  • His mother was instrumental in his learning martial arts because she pioneered it in America.
  • As a teenager, he displayed rebellious tendencies like spending time in the notorious combat zone.
  • His parents sent him to Beijing to remove him from the streets because of the crowds he was hanging around.
  • He trained in martial arts in China at the Wushu Academy.
  • Jackie Chan actually requested that Yen is included in the movie Shanghai knights as his nemesis.
  • The movie Hero propelled him to “biggest action star status” and it actually remains one of the most successful foreign language movies released in the U.S.
  • His performance in the movie An Empress and Her Warriors was very impressive and got him very good reviews.
  • His trademark moves are his kicking techniques which result in very realistic fight scenes.
  • He tends to work with artists who actually practice martial arts in real life in his movies.
  • He can speak fluent English, Cantonese and Mandarin and a bit of Korean and Shanghainese.
  • His wife was the former “Miss Chinese Toronto” in the year 2000, she also participated in Miss Chinese International Pageant in 2001.
  • He has an injury on his shoulder from the movie Mismatched Couple which affects him to date.
  • He has turned down quite a number of roles in a number of Hollywood films including Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life, The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, The Expendables, The Man with the Iron Fists, Rush Hour, among others.
  • In the mid-1990s, his film career hit a bump when roles became less and he started doing TV roles.
  • In the year 2000, he started taking on work overseas as a director and an actor so as to learn how other markets operate.
  • The 2008 movie Ip Man was the break he needed because he started getting bigger roles for directing and producing in China and USA.
  • He has won a number of awards including for the “Best Action Choreography” in 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007 in the Golden Horse Awards and Hong Kong Film Awards as well as the Golden Bauhinia Awards. He also won the 2008  Taurus World Stunt Awards for “Best Action in a Foreign Language Film,” among others.
  • In October 2014, Donnie Yen was invited to be a guest speaker in front of a crowd of 20,000 youths for WE Day Vancouver, where he spoke about the hardships he faced growing up and how he overcame difficulties to become the reigning martial arts star.
  • In 2015, Yen visited refugee camps in Thailand, bringing donations and gifts for the refugees. Donnie Yen is also an ambassador for the international charity known as Save the Children.
  • Visit her official website @ donnieye.com.
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