Joan Chen
About
Biography
Filmography
Family & Companions
Biography
Striking Chinese-born leading lady who became a star in her native country at age 14 when she was whisked from an athletic rifle team to star in a film sponsored by Mao Tse-tung's wife. Chen subsequently proved very popular in several other Chinese films, acquiring the sobriquet of "the Chinese Elizabeth Taylor." One of her best-remembered films during this time was "Little Flower" (1978), in which she played a deaf-mute girl, cured by acupuncture, whose first words are "Long live Chairman Mao!." The winner of many awards in China, Chen made her US debut with a small role in Wayne Wang's "Dim Sum: a Little Bit of Heart" (1985). Given her star status at home, she was an appropriate choice for the lead role, opposite Bryan Brown, in the English-language film "Tai-Pan" (1986), the first significant collaboration between an American filmmaker and the Chinese government.
Chen came to international prominence as the highly sexed, opium-addicted empress in Bernardo Bertolucci's "The Last Emperor" (1987). Film roles have been sporadic since, but she attracted further attention as the duplicitous and mysterious mill owner Josie Packard on TV's cult soap opera "Twin Peaks" (ABC, 1990-91), and contributed to Hollywood's increasing interest in Asian subject matter with her role as the heroine's mother in "Heaven and Earth" (1993). Trying her hand in more mainstream territory, she also served as Steven Seagal's leading lady (an Eskimo, no less) in his blood-spattered action-pic call for environmental awareness, "On Deadly Ground" (1994) and co-starred with Sylvester Stallone in "Judge Dredd" (1995).
Recognizing that good roles were not coming her way and also the industry's emphasis on youth, Chen returned to school and earned her bachelors degree in film production. Utilizing what she learned, she collaborated with novelist Yan Geling in adapting the novella "Tian Yu/Celestial Bath" as her first feature, "Xiu Xiu: The Sent-Down Girl" (1998). In addition to co-writing, Chen produced and directed the drama about a teenager who embraces a governmental opportunity to train to lead a female cavalry unit and then comes to realize that circumstances have changed. Working with the gifted cinematographer Lu Yue, Chen created a gorgeous looking and well-acted character study about love. She ran afoul of the Chinese government, though, for shooting the film in remote areas without proper government clearance. As a result, she was fined $50,000 and banned from working in China for one year. Undaunted, the hyphenate set about developing additional directing projects.
Filmography
Director (Feature Film)
Cast (Feature Film)
Writer (Feature Film)
Producer (Feature Film)
Cast (Special)
Life Events
1976
Chinese feature film debut, "Youth" (at age 14)
1978
Cast in Zhang Zheng's "Little Flower," as a revolutionary's daughter in pre-Maoist China
1980
Starred in "Awakening"
1981
Last Chinese feature film before moving the the USA, "Peking Encounter", produced with partial US involvement
1981
Moved to the USA at age 19
1985
American feature acting debut, "Dim Sum: A Little Bit of Heart"
1985
TV acting debut on "American Playhouse" in "Paper Angels"
1987
Won international acclaim in Bernardo Bertolucci's "The Last Emperor"
1990
Played Josie Packard on the David Lynch/Mark Frost cult drama, "Twin Peaks" (ABC)
1993
Portrayed two different characters in Clara Law's "Temptation of a Monk," a seductive princess and a dangerous temptress
1993
Played the mother of a Vietnamese girl in Oliver Stone's "Heaven and Earth"
1994
Returned to Shanghai to star in Stanley Kwan's critically acclaimed "Red Rose, White Rose"
1998
Feature directorial debut, "Xiu Xiu: The Sent Down Girl"; also co-produced and co-scripted; film was banned by the Chinese government in 1999, after the filmmakers decided not to wait for permits before shooting in Tibet
2000
Helmed first US feature, the romance "Autumn in New York", starring Richard Gere and Winona Ryder
2004
Co-starred in "Saving Face" a romantic comedy directed by Alice Wu
2007
Cast in Ang Lee's "Lust, Caution" a thriller set in WWII-era Shanghai
2007
Starred in director Zhang Yang's "Xiang Ri Kui/Sunflowers"
Family
Companions
