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Wikipedia
Joan Chong Chen (Chinese name: simplified Chinese: 陈冲; traditional Chinese: 陳冲; pinyin:Chén Chōng; born April 26, 1961) is a Chinese American actress, film director, screenwriter andfilm producer. She became famous in China for her performance in the 1979 film Little Flower and came to international attention for her performance in the 1987 Academy Award-winning film The Last Emperor. She is also known for her roles in Twin Peaks, Red Rose White Rose, Saving Face and The Home Song Stories, and for directing the feature film Xiu Xiu: The Sent Down Girl.
Biography
Early life and career
Chen Chong was born in Shanghai, China to a family of pharmacologists. (Her grandparent Changshao Zhang was educated at UCI and was later a visiting student at Harvard).[1][2] She and her older brother, Chase, were raised during the Cultural Revolution. At the age of 14, Chen was discovered on the school rifle range by Jiang Qing, the wife of leader Mao Zedong and major Chinese Communist Party power figure, as she was excelling at marksmanship. This led her to be selected for the Actors' Training Program by the Shanghai Film Studio in 1975, where she was discovered by veteran director Xie Jinwho chose her to star in his 1977 film Youth (Chinese: 青春; pinyin: Qīngchūn)[3] as a deaf mute whose senses are restored by an Army medical team. Chen graduated from high school a year in advance and at the age of 17, entered the prestigious Shanghai International Studies University, where she majored in English.[4]
[edit]Acting career
Chen Chong first became famous in China for her performance alongside Tang Guoqiang (Chinese: 唐国强) in Zhang Zheng's (Chinese: 张铮)Little Flower (Chinese: 小花; pinyin: Xiǎo Huā) in 1979, for which she won the Hundred Flowers Award (Chinese: 百花; pinyin: Bǎi Huā Jiǎng). Chen portrayed a pre-Maoist revolutionary's daughter, who, reunited with her brother, a wounded Communist soldier, later learned that his doctor was her biological mother. Little Flower was her second film and she soon achieved the status of China's most loved actress; she was dubbed "the Elizabeth Taylor of China" by Time magazine for having achieved stardom while still a teenager.[3]
In addition, Chen is famous in China for her role in the 1979 film Hearts for the Motherland (Chinese: 海外赤子; pinyin: Hǎiwài Chìzǐ). The film directed by Ou Fan (Chinese: 欧凡) and Xing Jitian (Chinese: 邢吉田) depicts an overseas Chinese family that returns to China from southeast Asia out of their patriotic feelings but encounter political troubles during the Cultural Revolution. The songs, "I Love You, China" (Chinese: 我爱你中国) and "High Flies the Petrel" (Chinese: 高飞的海燕), sung by Chen's character, are perennial favorites in China. In 1981, Chen starred in Awakening (Chinese: 甦醒; pinyin: Sūxǐng), directed by Teng Wenji (Chinese: 滕文骥).
At age 20, Chen moved to the United States, where she studied filmmaking at California State University, Northridge.
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 as Josie Packard. In 1993 she co-starred in Oliver Stone's Heaven & Earth. She portrayed two different characters in Clara Law's Temptation of a Monk (Chinese: 誘僧; pinyin: Yòu Sēng): a seductive princess of Tang dynasty, and a dangerous temptress. The award-winning film was adapted from a novel by Lilian Lee.
In 1994 she came back in Shanghai to star in Stanley Kwan's Red Rose, White Rose (Chinese: 紅玫瑰白玫瑰; pinyin: Hóng Méigui Bái Méigui) opposite Winston Chao, and subsequently won a Golden Horse Award and a Hong Kong Film Critics Society Award for her performance.
Tired of being cast as an exotic beauty in Hollywood films, Chen moved into directing in 1998 with the critically acclaimed Xiu Xiu: The Sent Down Girl (Chinese: 天浴; pinyin: Tiān Yù), adapted from the novella Heavenly Bath (Chinese: 天浴; pinyin: Tiān Yù) by her friend Yan Geling. She later directed Autumn in New York, starring Richard Gere and Winona Ryder, in 2000.
In the middle of the 2000s, Chen made a comeback in acting and began to work intensely, alternating between English and Chinese-language roles.
In 2004, she starred in Hou Yong's family saga Jasmine Women (simplified Chinese: 茉莉花开; pinyin: Mòlìhuā Kāi), alongside Zhang Ziyi, in which they played multiple roles as daughters and mothers across three generations in Shanghai. She also starred in the Asian Americancomedy Saving Face as a widowed mother, who is shunned by the Chinese-American community for being pregnant and unwed and therefore has come to live with her lesbian daughter.
In 2005, she appeared in Zhang Yang's family saga Sunflower (Chinese: 向日葵; pinyin: Xiàngrìkuí), as a mother whose husband and son have a troubled father-son relationship over 30 years. She then starred in the Asian American independent film Americanese and in Michael Almereyda's Tonight at Noon, the first part of a two part project, scheduled to be released in 2009[5]
In 2007, Chen was acclaimed for her performance in Tony Ayres' drama The Home Song Stories. She portrayed a glamorous and unstable Chinese nightclub singer who struggles to survive in seventies Australia with her two children. Chen. The role earned her four awards including the Australian Film Institute Award for Best Actress and the Golden Horse Award for Best Actress. The same year saw her co-starring in two other acclaimed films: Ang Lee's Lust, Caution, opposite Tony Leung Chiu-Wai, and Jiang Wen's The Sun Also Rises, opposite Anthony Wong Chau-Sang, for which she received an Asian Film Award for Best Supporting Actress.
In 2008, she starred alongside Sam Chow (Chinese: 邹爽) in Shi Qi (Chinese: 十七; pinyin: Shíqī), directed by Joe Chow (Chinese: 姬诚;pinyin: Jī Chéng), as a rural mother of a 17-year-old in eastern Zhejiang province.[6][7] The same year Joan Chen portrayed in Jia Zhangke's 24 City a factory worker once fancied because she resembled Chen herself in the 1979 film Little Flower, but who missed her chance at love.
Chen narrated the MP3 audio guide Louis Vuitton Soundwalk Shanghai City Guide, one of the three audio guides for Chinese cities (Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong) produced by Louis Vuitton and Soundwalk, and released in June 2008.[8]
She then co-starred in Bruce Beresford's 2009 adaptation of the autobiography of dancer Li Cunxin Mao's Last Dancer, along with Wang Shungbao and Kyle MacLachlan.[9]
In 2009, Chen starred alongside Feng Yuanzheng (Chinese: 冯远征) and Liu Jinshan (Chinese: 刘金山) in the Chinese TV series Newcomers to the Middle-Aged (Chinese: 人到中年), directed by Dou Qi (Chinese: 斗琪), in which she played a female doctor facing middle-age problems.[10] She also played the part of goddess Guan Yin in the 2010 Chinese TV adaptation of Journey to the West, directed by Cheng Lidong (Chinese: 程力栋).[11]
In October 2009 Joan Chen was the curator of the first Singapore Sun Film Festival, whose theme was The Art of Living Well. She selected and curated five films for screening during the festival: The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, Dead Man Walking, Hannah and Her Sisters, Still Life(Chinese: 三峡好人; pinyin: Sānxiá hǎorén) and Edward Scissorhands.[12][13]
In 2010, Chen joined the cast of Leehom Wang's directorial debut Lian ai tong gao (Chinese: 恋爱通告; pinyin: Liàn ài tōng gào).,[14] Alexi Tan's Color Me Love (alongside Liu Ye),[15] Ilkka Järvilaturi's Kiss, His First (alongside Tony Leung Ka-fai and Kwai Lun-mei)[16] and veteran acting coach Larry Moss' Relative Insanity (along with Juliette Binoche). In May 2010, she was set to star and direct one of the three parts of the anthology film Seeing Red.[17][18]
Personal life
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, USA but spend part of every year in Shanghai, China with Joan's family, so their daughters can be familiar with Chinese culture.[citation needed] Chen began the process of adopting twin girls from Nan Ning in 1998, but cancelled the adpotion proceedings after becoming pregnant with her daughter.[citation needed]
During her early years in California Chen attended California State University, Northridge. In 1989, she became a naturalized citizen of the United States. On April 9, 2008, Chen wrote an article entitled "Let the Games Go On" on the Washington Post, about the politicization of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.[19]
Charitable work
In May 2008, Chen appeared alongside James Kyson Lee and Amy Hanaialiʻi Gilliom in a public service announcement for the Banyan Tree Project campaign to stop HIV/AIDS-related stigma in Asian & Pacific Islander communities.[20][21]
In October 2008, Chen made the cover of Trends Health magazine alongside actresses Ke Lan (Chinese: 柯蓝) and Ma Yili (Chinese: 马伊琍) to promote the Chinese Pink Ribbon Breast Cancer Prevention campaign.
On January 8, 2010, Chen attended alongside Nancy Pelosi, Nicole Kidman and Joe Torre the ceremony to help Family Violence Prevention Fund break ground on a new international center located in the Presidio of San Francisco intended to combat violence against women and children. During the ceremony, Chen performed an excerpt from the documentary play, "The Thumbprint of Mukhtar Mai" (presented as part of "Seven").[22][23][24]
On January 15, 2010, Chen was set to appear, along with other Asian American personalities in a series of videos supporting the Center for the Pacific Asian Family.[25]
Filmography
Actress
| Year | English title | Chinese title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1977 | Youth | 青春 Qīngchūn | Shen Yamei / 沈亞妹 | |
| 1979 | Little Flower | 小花 Xiǎo Huā | Zhao Xiaohua / 赵小花 | Hundred Flowers Award for Best Actress Yugoslavia Film Festival Award for Best Actress |
| Hearts for the Motherland | 海外赤子 Hǎiwài chìzǐ | Huang Sihua / 黃思華 | aka Overseas Compatriots, A Loyal Overseas Chinese Family | |
| 1981 | Awakening | 甦醒 Sūxǐng | Su Xiaomei / 蘇小梅 | |
| 1985 | Miami Vice | Lin | Episode 1.2 The Golden Triangle | |
| 1986 | Goodbye My Love | 惡男 È nán | Ling Ti | |
| Tai-Pan | May–May | |||
| 1987 | The Last Emperor | 末代皇帝 Mò dài huángdì | Empress Wan Rong / 婉容皇后 | |
| 1989 | The Blood of Heroes (Salute of the Jugger) | Kidda | ||
| 1989 | Wiseguy | Maxine Tzu | TV series — 1 episode All or Nothing | |
| 1990 | Twin Peaks | Jocelyn 'Josie' Packard | TV series — Series regular (2 seasons, 1990–1991) | |
| 1991 | Wedlock | Noelle | ||
| 1992 | Turtle Beach | Minou | ||
| Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me | Jocelyn 'Josie' Packard | scenes deleted | ||
| Nightmare Cafe | First customer | Episode 1.1 Nightmare Cafe | ||
| 1993 | Heaven & Earth | Mama | ||
| Temptation of a Monk | 誘僧 Yòu sēng | Princess Hong'e (Scarlet) / 公主紅萼 Lady Qingshou (Violet) / 青绶夫人 | ||
| Tales from the Crypt | Connie | Episode 5.4 Food for Thought | ||
| 1994 | Golden Gate | Marilyn | ||
| Red Rose, White Rose | 紅玫瑰，白玫瑰 Hóng méigui, bái méigui | Wang Jiao-Rui / 王嬌蕊 | Golden Horse Award for Best Actress HKFCS Award for Best Actress Nominated — HKFA for Best Actress | |
| On Deadly Ground | Masu | |||
| 1995 | The Hunted | Kirina | ||
| Wild Side | Virginia Chow | |||
| Judge Dredd | Ilsa Hayden | |||
| 1996 | Precious Find | Camilla Jones | ||
| 1997 | Homicide: Life on the Street | Elizabeth Wu | Episode 5.15 Wu's on First? | |
| 1998 | The Outer Limits | Major Dara Talif | Episode 4.24 Phobos Rising | |
| 1999 | Purple Storm | 紫雨風暴 Zǐ yǔ fēngbào | Shirley Kwan | |
| 2000 | What's Cooking? | Trinh Nguyen | ||
| 2004 | Avatar | Madame Ong | ||
| Jasmine Women | 茉莉花开 Mòlìhuā kāi | Mo's Mother Mo | ||
| Saving Face | Hwei-Lan Gao (Ma) | |||
| 2005 | Sunflower | 向日葵 Xiàngrìkuí | Zhang Xiuqing | |
| 2006 | Americanese | Betty Nguyen | ||
| 2007 | The Home Song Stories | 意 Yì | Rose Hong / 洪玫瑰 | Golden Horse Award for Best Actress IF Award for Best Actress TFF Award for Best Actress AFI Award for Best Actress FCCA Award for Best Actress Nominated — AF Award for Best Actress Nominated — APS Award for Best Actress |
| The Sun Also Rises | 太阳照常升起 Tàiyáng zhàocháng shēngqǐ | Dr. Lin / 林大夫 | AF Award for Best Supporting Actress | |
| All God's Children Can Dance | Evelyn | |||
| Lust, Caution | 色，戒 Sè, jiè | Mrs. Yee / 易太太 | ||
| 2008 | The Leap Years | Li-Ann (age 49) | aka Leap of Love | |
| Shi Qi | 十七 Shí Qī | Ma | SIFF Press Prize for Most Attractive Actress | |
| 24 City | 二十四城记 Èr shí sì chéng jì | Gu Minhua "Xiao Hua" / 小花 | ||
| 2009 | Mao's Last Dancer | Li Cunxin's mother | ||
| Newcomers to the Middle-Aged | 人到中年 Réndào zhōngnián | Tian Wenjie / 田文洁 | TV series | |
| 2010 | Journey to the West | 西游记 Xī yóu jì | Guan Yin / 观音 | TV series |
| Love in Disguise | 恋爱通告 Liàn ài tōng gào | Joan jiě / Joan 姐 | ||
| Color Me Love | 爱出色 Ài chū sè | |||
| Tonight at Noon | Joan | post-production (filmed in 2005) | ||
| 2011 | Kiss, His First | 初吻 Chū wěn | in production | |
| 熱愛島 Yit oi dou | filming | |||
| Relative Insanity | Pearl | shooting set to begin in Summer 2010 | ||
| Seeing Red | also director - announced |
Director
| Year | English title | Chinese title | Other notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | Xiu Xiu: The Sent Down Girl | 天浴 Tiān Yù | Golden Horse Award for Best Director Mons International Love Film Festival Grand Prize National Board of Review International Freedom Award Paris Film Festival Special Jury Prize FLIFF Jury Award for Best Drama Nominated — Golden Bear Award Nominated — Paris Film Festival Grand Prize Nominated — Chlotrudis Award for Best Director |
| 2000 | Autumn in New York | ||
| 2011 | Seeing Red | also starring - announced |
Writer
| Year | English title | Chinese title | Other notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | Xiu Xiu: The Sent Down Girl | 天浴 Tiān Yù | Golden Horse Award for Best Screenplay Adapted from Another Medium shared withGeling Yan |
[Producer
| Year | English title | Chinese title | Other notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Wild Side | Associate producer | |
| 1998 | Xiu Xiu: The Sent Down Girl | 天浴 Tiān Yù | Producer, Executive producer Nominated — Independent Spirit Award for Best First Feature Over $500,000 shared with Alice Chan Wai-Chung |
Other media
- 2008: "Shanghai," narrator—an audio walking tour by Louis Vuitton and Soundwalk[26][27]
[edit]Awards and nominations
| Year | Award | Category | Film | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | Hundred Flowers Awards | Best Actress | Little Flower | Won |
| Yugoslavia International Film Festival | Best Actress[28][29] | Won | ||
| 1994 | Asian American International Film Festival | Asian Media Award for significant contribution to Asian American media[30] | Won | |
| Golden Horse Awards | Best Actress | Red Rose, White Rose | Won | |
| 1995 | Hong Kong Film Awards | Best Actress | Nominated | |
| Hong Kong Film Critics Society Awards | Best Actress[31][32] | Won | ||
| 1998 | Golden Horse Awards | Best Director | Xiu Xiu: The Sent Down Girl | Won |
| Best Screenplay Adapted from Another Medium shared with Geling Yan | Won | |||
| Berlin International Film Festival | Golden Berlin Bear | Nominated | ||
| Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival | Jury Award | Won | ||
| 1999 | Paris Film Festival | Grand Prize | Nominated | |
| Special Jury Prize | Won | |||
| Mons International Love Film Festival | Grand Prize | Won | ||
| National Board of Review | International Freedom Award[33] | Won | ||
| 2000 | Independent Spirit Awards | Best First Feature Over $500,000 shared with Alice Chan Wai-Chung | Nominated | |
| Chlotrudis Awards | Best Director | Nominated | ||
| 2007 | Golden Horse Awards | Best Actress | The Home Song Stories | Won |
| Hawaii International Film Festival | Achievement in Acting | Won | ||
| Asia Pacific Screen Awards | Best Performance by an Actress | Nominated | ||
| Inside Film Awards | Best Actress | Won | ||
| Torino Film Festival | Best Actress | Won | ||
| Australian Film Institute Awards | Best Actress | Won | ||
| 2008 | Film Critics Circle of Australia Awards | Best Actress | Won | |
| Asian Film Awards | Best Actress | Nominated | ||
| Best Supporting Actress | The Sun Also Rises | Won | ||
| Shanghai International Film Festival | Press Prize for Most Attractive Actress | Shi Qi | Won |
Other recognition
Posted in: Chinese actresses
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