Remembering Cheng Pei-pei, classic Hong Kong film star - 'Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon'

The world of entertainment lost a legendary actress as Cheng Pei-pei passed away on July 18, 2024, at age 78. This is the story of the actress who was lauded as cinema’s first female action hero.

Cheng Pei-pei was a Chinese actress who was best known for her work in ‘Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon’ to western audiences and for being one of classic Hong Kong cinema’s most recognisable faces due to her work in many Shaw Brothers productions.

Cheng Pei-pei was born on January 6, 1946, in Shanghai, China. She had grown up in Mainland China until she was 16, when she moved to Hong Kong.

Image: Shaw Brothers Studio

According to Tencent, she studied at the Southern Experimental Theatre Company and then joined up with Shaw Brothers after graduating in 1963. She starred in her first film, ‘The Lotus Lamp’, and played the male role of Liu Yanchang.

Image: Shaw Brothers Studio

It was just a year after joining up with Shaw Brothers that Cheng Pei-pei earned her first acting award. According to People’s Daily, just in her first lead role in ‘Lover’s Rock’, she won the Golden Warrior Award of the International Independent Producers' Association, becoming the first ever Asian actress to be granted this honor!

Image: Shaw Brothers Studio

Cheng Pei-pei hit even bigger fame when she was cast to star and play the main role in King Hu’s cult classic, ‘Come Drink with Me’ as Golden Swallow. China News reports that as the film earned several accolades, Cheng Pei-pei grew in fame and prestige too!

Image: Shaw Brothers Studio

Did you know?: After her marriage to non-celebrity Yuan Wen-tung in 1969, Cheng Pei-pei moved to the United States and was based there until her passing this year. It was also after her marriage that she decided to retire from the film industry in 1970, notes Sina.

In a surprising twist, Cheng Pei-pei returned to acting in 1992 after divorcing her then-husband and starred in the film ‘Flirting Scholar’ alongside Stephen Chow, who also directed the film. That was her first film in five years since retiring!

Image: Win's Movie Production Ltd.

Cheng Pei-pei’s career soared to greater heights after, and especially so when she was cast in Ang Lee’s ‘Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon’ in 2000, reports Variety. Ang Lee’s film was another cult classic that she had starred in, but this time around, it solidified her position in the West as a well-respected star.

Cheng Pei-pei’s last major on-screen role was in Disney’s ‘Mulan’ back in 2020, where she played the matchmaker. What was not known then was that the star had been diagnosed with corticobasal degeneration in 2019, and kept the diagnosis private till she eventually succumbed to it on July 18, 2024, reports The New York Times.

The same report from The New York Times added that Cheng Pei-pei had decided to donate her brain to the Brain Support Network, hoping that the study of her brain for research purposes will lead to future medical breakthroughs for people with her condition.