On July 17th, Hong Kong martial arts icon Cheng Pei-pei passed away in the United States. Cheng became well-known to Western audiences for her brilliant performance in the Academy Award-winning film “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” directed by Ang Lee. After her passing, American media reported that she had suffered from a rare neurological disease in her later years, and she had donated her brain for medical research.
The news of Cheng Pei-pei’s death was reported by Variety on the 19th. She was a trailblazer for female martial arts roles, gaining recognition for her portrayal of the antagonist “Jade Fox” in “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.” Her final work was her participation in Disney’s live-action film “Mulan” in 2020.
Director Ang Lee’s “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” won four Oscars, including the Best Foreign Language Film (now known as Best International Feature). The film grossed $213 million worldwide, including $128 million in North America, making it the first foreign language film to surpass $100 million at the North American box office.
Reports indicate that Cheng Pei-pei was diagnosed with Corticobasal degeneration (CBD), a rare neurodegenerative disease similar to Parkinson’s, in 2019. As the disease progresses, more brain cells are damaged, affecting movement, speech, memory, and swallowing. Currently, there is no known treatment to slow the progression of the disease. Cheng Pei-pei had agreed to donate her brain for medical research before her passing.
Born in Shanghai in 1946, Cheng Pei-pei moved to Hong Kong with her family at the age of 16. With a background in ballet and dance, she appeared in numerous martial arts films produced by the Shaw Brothers Studio in Hong Kong. Her breakthrough came in 1966 with the film “Come Drink with Me,” directed by King Hu, establishing her image as a female martial artist in multiple classic works.