Joan Chen
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| Joan Chen 陳冲 | |
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| Birth name | Chén Chōng |
| Born | April 26, 1961 (age 45) Shanghai, China |
| Other name(s) | Chen Chong |
| Notable roles | Zhao Xiaohua in Little Flower Empress Wanrong in The Last Emperor Josie Packard in Twin Peaks Mama in Heaven & Earth Princess Scarlet/Violet in Temptation of a Monk Wang Jiao-Rui in Red Rose, White Rose Mo's Mother/Elder Mo in Jasmine Women Hwei-Lan Gao in Saving Face Betty in Americanese |
- This is a Chinese name; the family name is Chen.
Joan Chen Chong (Traditional Chinese: 陳冲; Simplified Chinese: 陈冲; Mandarin Pinyin: Chén Chōng; Cantonese: 陳沖/Chan Chung; Cantonese IPA: [tsʰɐn tsʰʊŋ]; Jyutping: can4 cung1; Yale: chan4 chung1) (born as Chen Chong on April 26, 1961, in Shanghai, China) is a Chinese American actress, film director, screenwriter and producer, best known for her roles in The Last Emperor, Twin Peaks, Red Rose, White Rose, Saving Face, and for directing the feature film Xiu Xiu: The Sent Down Girl.
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[edit] Early life and career
Born into a family of doctors (her grandparents were educated at Oxford and her parents were trained at Harvard),[1] Chen Chong grew up during the Cultural Revolution. At age 14, Chen was discovered on the school rifle range by Mao Zedong's wife Jiang Qing, as she was excelling at marksmanship, and was 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 Youth (青春, Qīngchūn)[2] as a deaf mute whose senses are restored by an Army medical team. She soon enrolled in the prestigious Shanghai Institute of Foreign Languages, at age 17 (one year before one could go), where she majored in English.[3]
[edit] Acting career
Chen Chong first became famous in China for her performance in Zhang Zheng's Little Flower (小花) in 1979 for which she won the Hundred Flowers Award (百花), in which she played a revolutionary's daughter in pre-Maoist China, who falls in love with the wounded soldier she and her mom took care. Little Flower was her second movie and earned her to be dubbed "the Elizabeth Taylor of China" by Time magazine, for having achieved stardom while still a teenager.[4] In addition, Chen is famous in China for her role in the 1979 film Hearts for the Motherland (海外赤子) (aka Overseas Compatriots or A Loyal Overseas Chinese Family), which depicts an overseas Chinese family that returned to China from southeast Asia out of their patriotic feelings but encountered political troubles during the Cultural Revolution. The songs, I Love You, China (我爱你中国) and High Flies the Petrel, both appeared in the film through the voice of the heroine played by Chen Chong, are perennial favorites of serious music lovers in China.
At age twenty, Chen moved to the United States where she studied film at California State University, Northridge. In 1989, she became a naturalized citizen of the United States.
Her first Hollywood movie was Tai-Pan, filmed on location in China. She went on to star in Bernardo Bertolucci's The Last Emperor in 1987 and the David Lynch/Mark Frost television series Twin Peaks. In 1994 she came back in Shanghai to star in critically acclaimed Stanley Kwan's Red Rose, White Rose (紅玫瑰白玫瑰) opposite Winston Chao and Veronica Yip.
She directed critically acclaimed Xiu Xiu: The Sent Down Girl (Chinese: 天浴; pinyin: Tiān Yù) in 1998 and Autumn in New York in 2000. She has also appeared in many other movies in China, Hollywood, Taiwan, and Hong Kong.
She has appeared in the Asian American independent films, Saving Face and Americanese.
[edit] Personal life
Born into a family of doctors, Chen married her second husband, cardiologist Peter Hui, on January 18, 1992. She was formerly married to actor Jimmy Lau from 1985 to 1990. Joan and her current husband have 2 daughters and live in San Francisco, but spend part of every year in Shanghai, China with Joan's family, so their daughters can be familiar with Chinese culture.
During her early years in California Chen attended California State University, Northridge.
[edit] Awards & nominations
- Hundred Flowers Awards
- 1980: won for Best Actress -- Little Flower (小花)
- Asian American International Film Festival
- 1994: won for Best Actress -- Red Rose, White Rose (紅玫瑰白玫瑰)
- 1998: won for Best Director -- Xiu Xiu: The Sent Down Girl (天浴)
- 1998: won for Best Screenplay Adapted from Another Medium (shared with co-writer Yan Geling) -- Xiu Xiu: The Sent Down Girl (天浴)
- 1995: nominated for Best Actress -- Red Rose, White Rose (紅玫瑰白玫瑰)
- 1995: won for Best Actress -- for her year-round performances
- 1998: nominated for the Golden Berlin Bear -- Xiu Xiu: The Sent Down Girl (天浴)
- Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival
- 1998: won the Jury Award -- Xiu Xiu: The Sent Down Girl (天浴)
- Paris Film Festival
- 1999: won the Special Jury Prize -- Xiu Xiu: The Sent Down Girl (天浴)
- 1999: nominated for the Grand Prize -- Xiu Xiu: The Sent Down Girl (天浴)
- Mons International Festival of Love Films
- 1999: won the Grand Prize -- Xiu Xiu: The Sent Down Girl (天浴)
- 1999: won the International Freedom Award -- Xiu Xiu: The Sent Down Girl (天浴) [2]
- 2000: nominated for Best First Feature Over $500,000 (shared with co-producer Alice Chan Wai-Chung) -- Xiu Xiu: The Sent Down Girl (天浴)
- 2000: nominated for Best Director -- Xiu Xiu: The Sent Down Girl (天浴)
[edit] Trivia
- In 1992 People magazine chose her as one of the 50 most beautiful women in the world.
- Chen inspired indie rock band Xiu Xiu, named after her film Xiu Xiu: The Sent Down Girl.
[edit] Selected filmography (as actress)
| Year | Title | Role | Director/Series creator | Other notes |
| 1977 | Youth (青春, Qīngchūn) | Shen Yamei | Xie Jin | |
| 1979 | Little Flower (小花, Xiǎo Huā) | Zhao Xiaohua | Zhang Zheng | |
| Hearts for the Motherland (海外赤子, Hǎiwài Chìzǐ) | Huang Sihua | Ou Fan, Xing Jitian | ||
| 1981 | Awakening (甦醒, Sūxǐng) | Su Xiaomei | Teng Wenji | |
| 1985 | MacGyver (TV series) (1.2 The Golden Triangle) | Lin | Paul Stanley | guest appearance |
| 1986 | Goodbye My Love (惡男, È Nán) | Ling Ti | Frankie Chan | |
| Tai-Pan | May-May | Daryl Duke | ||
| 1987 | The Last Emperor | Empress Wanrong | Bernardo Bertolucci | |
| 1989 | The Blood of Heroes | Kidda | David Peoples | |
| 1990-1991 | Twin Peaks (TV series) | Jocelyn "Josie" Packard | David Lynch, Mark Frost | regular |
| 1991 | Wedlock | Noelle | Lewis Teague | |
| 1992 | Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me | Josie Packard | David Lynch | scenes deleted |
| 1993 | Heaven & Earth | Mama | Oliver Stone | |
| Temptation of a Monk (誘僧, Yòu Sēng) | Princess Scarlet/Violet | Clara Law | ||
| Tales from the Crypt (TV series) (5.4 Food for Thought) | Connie | Rodman Flender | ||
| 1994 | Golden Gate | Marilyn | John Madden | |
| Red Rose, White Rose (紅玫瑰白玫瑰, Hóng Méigui Bái Méigui) | Wang Jiao-Rui | Stanley Kwan | ||
| On Deadly Ground | Masu | Steven Seagal | ||
| 1995 | The Hunted | Kirina | J.F. Lawton | |
| Wild Side | Virginia Chow | Donald Cammell | ||
| Judge Dredd | Ilsa Hayden | Danny Cannon | ||
| 1996 | Precious Find | Camilla Jones | Philippe Mora | |
| 1997 | Homicide: Life on the Street (TV series) (5.15 Wu's on First?) | Elizabeth Wu | Tim McCann | guest appearance |
| 1998 | The Outer Limits (TV series) (4.24 Phobos Rising) | Major Dara Talif | Helen Shaver | |
| 1999 | Purple Storm (紫雨風暴, Zǐ Yǔ Fēngbào) | Shirley Kwan | Teddy Chan | |
| 2000 | What's Cooking? | Trinh Nguyen | Gurinder Chadha | |
| 2004 | Jasmine Women (茉莉花开, Mòlìhuā Kāi) | Mo's Mother/Elder Mo | Hou Yong | |
| Saving Face | Hwei-Lan Gao | Alice Wu | ||
| 2005 | Sunflower (向日葵, Xiàngrìkuí) | Xiuqing | Zhang Yang | |
| 2006 | Americanese | Betty Nguyen | Eric Byler | |
| 2007 | The Home Song Stories | Tony Ayres | ||
| The Sun Rises Again (当太阳再次升起, Dang taiyang zai ci shengqi) | Jiang Wen | post-production | ||
| Tonight at Noon | Joan | Michael Almereyda | post-production | |
| K-Town Super Frog | Evelyn | Robert Logevall | post-production | |
| Lust, Caution (色戒, Sè Jiè) | Mrs. Yi | Ang Lee | post-production |
[edit] Filmography (as director)
| Year | Title | Writer | Cast | Other notes |
| 1998 | Xiu Xiu: The Sent Down Girl (天浴, Tiān Yù) | Yan Geling, Joan Chen | Li Xiaolu, Lopsang | also producer, executive producer and co-writer |
| 2000 | Autumn in New York | Allison Burnett | Richard Gere, Winona Ryder, Anthony LaPaglia |
[edit] Filmography (as writer)
[edit] References
- ^ Richard Corliss. "West To East." TIME (USA). Volume 153: Issue 13. April 5, 1999.
- ^ Lisa Odham Stokes. "Sensuously Elegant: An Interview with Joan Chen." Asian Cult Cinema (USA). Issue 48. October-December 2005. p.51-61.
- ^ Tom Kagy."Heavenly And Hearthy." Goldsea Asian American Daily. August 1992.
- ^ Lisa Odham Stokes. "Sensuously Elegant: An Interview with Joan Chen." Asian Cult Cinema (USA). Issue 48. October-December 2005. p.51-61.
[edit] Bibliography
- Tom Kagy. "Heavenly And Hearthy." Goldsea Asian American Daily. August 1992.
- Richard Corliss. "West To East." TIME (USA). Volume 153: Issue 13. April 5, 1999.
- Richard Corliss. "Joan of Art." TIME (USA). April 5, 1999.
- Steven Schwankert. "The Sent Down Girl." Beijing Scene. Volume 5: Issue 8. May 7, 1999.
- Michael Sragow. "Joan Chen: Guerilla Director." Salon.com. May 27, 1999.
- Franz Lidz. "Joan Chen Interview: Whether it's China or Hollywood, this actress/director tells it like it is." Interview. August 2000.
- Michelle Caswell. "An Interview with Joan Chen." Asia Source. November 2000.
- "Empress and Enigma." China Daily. October 25, 2003.
- Lisa Odham Stokes. "Sensuously Elegant: An Interview with Joan Chen." Asian Cult Cinema (USA). Issue 48. October-December 2005. p.51-61.
[edit] External links
- Joan Chen at the Internet Movie Database
- Joan Chen at the Chinese Movie Database
- Joan Chen at Yahoo!Movies
- Joan Chen at All Movie Guide
- Joan Chen at Art and Culture
Categories: 1961 births | Living people | American film actors | American film directors | American television actors | Cal State Northridge alumni | Chinese American actors | Chinese celebrities | Chinese film directors | Female film directors | Naturalized citizens of the United States | People from San Francisco | People from Shanghai | Asian American filmmakers
