Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon actress Cheng Pei-pei dies at age 78
Cheng, who died of degenerative brain disease, also appeared in Singapore dramas such as The Yang Sisters and Old Is Gold.
Chinese actress Cheng Pei-pei poses on the red carpet arriving for the British Independent Film Awards in London on Dec 7, 2014. (AFP PHOTO / JUSTIN TALLIS)
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Cheng Pei-pei, the actress who starred as the villain Jade Fox in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, has died. She was 78 years old.
Entertainment news site Variety reported that she died in the San Francisco Bay area on Thursday (Jul 18) of degenerative brain disease and that she had donated her brain to medical research.
Cheng was born in Shanghai, China, in 1946 and moved to Hong Kong in 1962, where she began working with Shaw Brothers studio, putting her ballet and dance training to good use in martial arts and action movies.
She made her film debut in Lovers' Rock but it was the 1966 film, Come Drink With Me, that gave her her breakout role.
She moved to San Francisco in the 1970s where she attended University of California, Irvine and raised her four children.
Director Ang Lee's Oscar-winning 2000 film Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon helped revive Cheng's career. She went on to star in Naked Weapon, Street Fighter: The Legend Of Chun Li and the 2020 live-action remake of Mulan.
Cheng also appeared in Singapore shows including The Yang Sisters, Women Of Times and Springs Of Life in the 2000s, as well as Old Is Gold in 2019. She was also in the movie Blood Ties by director Chai Yee Wei.
