Joan Chen
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Joan Chen (simplified Chinese; 陈冲; born April 26, 1961) is a Chinese-born American actress and film director. She made her film debut in the Chinese film Youth (1977) before starring in the film Template:Ill (1979). She came to the attention of American audiences for her portrayal of Wanrong in the Bernardo Bertolucci historical epic film The Last Emperor (1987), which won nine Academy Awards including Best Picture.
She is also known for her leading roles in Heaven & Earth (1993), Golden Gate (1994), Red Rose White Rose (1994), Saving Face (2004), Sunflower (2005), and The Home Song Stories (2007) with supporting roles in Lust, Caution (2007), Tigertail (2020), and Dìdi (2024). As a filmmaker she directed the feature films Xiu Xiu: The Sent Down Girl (1998), Autumn in New York (2000), English (2018) and Hero (2022).
On television, she is most known for her recurring role as Jocelyn 'Josie' Packard in the David Lynch created surrealist drama series Twin Peaks (1990–1991). She also portrayed Madame Chiang Kai-shek in the HBO film Hemingway & Gellhorn (2012), Chabi in the Netflix series Marco Polo (2014–2016) and Lu Mei in the FX on Hulu series A Murder at the End of the World (2023).
Early life
Chen was born in Shanghai, to a family of pharmacologists.<ref name="westtoeast">Template:Cite news</ref> 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 figure, for excelling at marksmanship. This led to her being selected for the Actors' Training Program by the Shanghai Film Studio in 1975, where she was discovered by veteran director Xie Jin who chose her to star in his 1977 film Template:Ill<ref name="asiancultcinema">Template:Cite news</ref> 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 Shanghai International Studies University, where she majored in English.<ref>Tom Kagy."Heavenly And Hearthy." Goldsea Asian American Daily. August 1992.</ref>
Career
1979–1984: Early career in China
Chen performed alongside Liu Xiaoqing, Tang Guoqiang and Ge Cunzhuang in Zhang Zheng's (Template:Zh) Template:Ill in 1979, for which she won the Hundred Flowers Award for Best Actress.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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.<ref name="asiancultcinema"/>
In addition, Chen was in the 1979 film Template:Ill. The film directed by Ou Fan (Template:Zh) and Xing Jitian (Template:Zh) 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" and "High Flies the Petrel" (Template:Zh), sung by Chen's character, are perennial favorites in China. In 1981, Chen starred in Awakening (Template:Zh), directed by Template:Ill.
1985–1999: Hollywood and Twin Peaks
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. In 1985, she appeared in the American television show Miami Vice as May Ying, former wife of Martin Castillo and husband to Ma Sek in the episode "Golden Triangle (Part II)". She went on to portray the Last Empress Wanrong in Bernardo Bertolucci's The Last Emperor, which won 9 Academy Awards in 1988, including Best Picture.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> She then starred in the David Lynch/Mark Frost television series Twin Peaks as Josie Packard. She starred alongside Rutger Hauer in 1989's The Blood of Heroes, written and directed by David Webb Peoples. In 1993, she co-starred in Oliver Stone's Heaven & Earth. She portrayed two different characters in Clara Law's Temptation of a Monk: a seductive princess of Tang dynasty, and a dangerous temptress. She shaved her head on-screen for the role. The award-winning film was adapted from a novel by Lilian Lee.
In 1994, she co-starred with Steven Seagal in the action-adventure On Deadly Ground. She also returned to Shanghai to star in Stanley Kwan's Red Rose White Rose opposite Winston Chao, and subsequently won a Golden Horse Award and a Hong Kong Film Critics Society Award for her performance. In 1996, she served as a jury member at the 46th Berlin International Film Festival.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
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, adapted from the novella Celestial Bath (Template:Zh) by her friend Geling Yan. She later directed Autumn in New York, starring Richard Gere and Winona Ryder, in 2000.
2000–present: International acclaim
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, alongside Zhang Ziyi, in which they played multiple roles as daughters and mothers across three generations in Shanghai. She also starred in the Asian-American comedy Saving Face as a widowed mother, who is shunned by the Chinese-American community for being pregnant and unwed and has come to live with her lesbian daughter. In 2005, she appeared in Zhang Yang's family saga Sunflower, as a mother whose husband and son have a troubled father-son relationship over 30 years. She 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.
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 1970s Australia with her two children. The performance earned her multiple awards, including the Australian Film Institute Award for Best Actress and the Golden Horse Award for Best Leading 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 the Asian Film Award for Best Supporting Actress.
In 2008, she starred alongside Sam Chow (Template:Zh) in Shi Qi (Template:Zh), directed by Joe Chow (Template:Zh), as a rural mother of a 17-year-old in eastern Zhejiang province. The same year Joan Chen portrayed a factory worker in Jia Zhangke's 24 City once fancied because she resembled Chen herself in the 1979 film Little Flower, but who missed her chance at love. She co-starred in Bruce Beresford's 2009 adaptation of the autobiography of dancer Li Cunxin, Mao's Last Dancer, along with Wang Shuangbao (Template:Zh) and Kyle MacLachlan.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
In 2009, Chen starred alongside Feng Yuanzheng and Template:Ill in the Chinese TV series Newcomers to the Middle-Aged (Template:Zh), directed by Dou Qi (Template:Zh), in which she played a female doctor facing middle-age problems. She also played the part of goddess Guan Yin in the 2010 Chinese TV adaptation of Journey to the West, directed by Cheng Lidong (Template:Zh). In October 2009 Joan Chen was the curator of the first Singapore Sun Festival, whose theme was "The Art of Living Well". She selected five films for screening during the festival: The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, Dead Man Walking, Hannah and Her Sisters, Still Life and Edward Scissorhands.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
In 2010, Chen joined the cast of Wang Leehom's directorial debut Love in Disguise, Alexi Tan's (Template:Zh) Color Me Love (Template:Zh; alongside Liu Ye),<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Ilkka Järvi-Laturi's Kiss, His First (alongside Tony Leung Ka-fai and Gwei Lun-mei)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> In 2011, Chen played Secretary Bishop's girlfriend on the television series Fringe episode "Immortality".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Chen was cast as the Mongol Yuan Dynasty empress Chabi in the 2014 American television series Marco Polo. Being somewhat unfamiliar with the Mongols, Chen read The Secret History of the Mongol Queens in order to prepare for the role.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> She also appeared in several episodes of the 2018 Chinese television drama Ruyi's Royal Love in the Palace as Ula Nara Yixiu (the Empress Xiaojingxian).
In 2014, Chen served as a jury member at the 71st Venice International Film Festival.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In the same year, Chen presided over the jury for the 51st Golden Horse Awards.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In 2023 she played a caring and compassionate mother to a rebellious teenager in the coming of age comedy-drama Dìdi directed by Sean Wang. Angi Han of The Hollywood Reporter wrote of her performance, that the "role often trusts her remarkable ability to convey a lifetime’s worth of regret or joy or swallowed anger through a simple gaze".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> For her performance she was nominated for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Performance.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Personal life
In 1981, Chen left China to study at the State University of New York at New Paltz, before transferring to the California State University, Northridge.
From 1985 to 1990, Chen was married to actor Jim "Jimmy" Lau.
In 1989, she became a naturalized citizen of the United States.
On January 18, 1992, Chen married her second husband, cardiologist Peter Hui. They have two daughters.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> They live in San Francisco, California.
On April 9, 2008, Chen wrote an article entitled "Let the Games Go On" for The Washington Post objecting to the politicization of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Charitable work
In May 2008, Chen appeared alongside James Kyson Lee, Silas Flensted, 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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
In October 2008, Chen made the cover of Trends Health magazine alongside actresses Ke Lan (Template:Zh) and Ma Yili (Template:Zh) 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 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").<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Filmography
Actress
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1977 | Youth | Shen Yamei | |
| 1979 | Little Flower | Zhao Xiaohua | |
| Hearts for the Motherland | Huang Sihua | ||
| 1981 | Awakening | Su Xiaomei | |
| 1985 | Dim Sum: A Little Bit of Heart | Young M.J. player | |
| 1986 | Goodbye My Love | Ling Ti | |
| Tai-Pan | May–May | ||
| 1987 | The Night Stalker | Mai Wing | |
| The Last Emperor | Wanrong | ||
| 1989 | The Salute of the Jugger | Kidda | Aka The Blood of Heroes |
| 1991 | Wedlock | Noelle | |
| 1992 | Turtle Beach | Minou | |
| Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me | Jocelyn 'Josie' Packard | Scene deleted – see Twin Peaks: The Missing Pieces | |
| 1993 | Temptation of a Monk | Princess Hong'e (Scarlet) Lady Qingshou (Violet) |
|
| Heaven & Earth | Mama | ||
| 1994 | Golden Gate | Marilyn | |
| On Deadly Ground | Masu | ||
| Red Rose White Rose | Wang Jiao-Rui | ||
| 1995 | The Hunted | Kirina | |
| Wild Side | Virginia Chow | Also associate producer | |
| Judge Dredd | Ilsa Hayden | ||
| 1996 | Precious Find | Camilla Jones | |
| 1999 | Purple Storm | Shirley Kwan | |
| 2000 | What's Cooking? | Trinh Nguyen | |
| 2004 | Jasmine Women | Mo's Mother / Mo | |
| Saving Face | Hwei-Lan Gao | ||
| Avatar | Madame Ong | ||
| 2005 | Sunflower | Xiuqing | |
| 2006 | Americanese | Betty Nguyen | |
| 2007 | The Home Song Stories | Rose Hong | |
| Lust, Caution | Mrs. Yee | ||
| The Sun Also Rises | Dr. Lin | ||
| 2008 | The Leap Years | Li-Ann (age 49) | |
| All God's Children Can Dance | Evelyn | ||
| Shi Qi | Mother | ||
| 24 City | Gu Minhua | ||
| 2009 | Mao's Last Dancer | Niang | |
| 2010 | Love in Disguise | Joan | |
| Color Me Love | Zoe | ||
| 2011 | 1911 | Empress Longyu | |
| 2012 | White Frog | Irene Young | |
| Passion Island | Johanna | ||
| Let It Be | Niu Jie | ||
| Double Xposure | Dr. Hao | ||
| 2014 | For Love or Money | Xu's Mother | |
| Twin Peaks: The Missing Pieces | Jocelyn 'Josie' Packard | ||
| 2015 | You Are My Sunshine | Pei Fangmei | |
| Lady of the Dynasty | Consort Wu | ||
| Cairo Declaration | Soong Ching-ling | ||
| 2019 | Sheep Without a Shepherd | Laoorn | |
| 2020 | Tigertail | Yuan | |
| Ava | Toni | ||
| 2023 | Under the Light | He Xiuli | |
| 2024 | Dìdi | Chungsing Wang | Also executive producer |
| 2025 | The Wedding Banquet | May Chen | |
| Oh. What. Fun. | |||
| Montreal, My Beautiful (Montréal, ma belle) | Feng Xia |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1983 | Matt Houston | Miss Taipei | Episode: "Target: Miss World" |
| 1984 | The New Mike Hammer | Ti | Episode: "Hot Ice" |
| Knight Rider | Su-Lin | Episode: "Knight of the Drones" | |
| 1985 | Miami Vice | May Ying | Episode: "Golden Triangle" |
| Double Dare | Lily Chang | Episode: "Hong Kong King Con" | |
| American Playhouse | Mei Lai | Episode: "Paper Angels" | |
| MacGyver | Lin | Episode: "The Golden Triangle" | |
| 1988 | HeartBeat | Cathryn | Episode: "Pilot" |
| 1989 | Wiseguy | Maxine Tzu | Episode: "All or Nothing" |
| 1990–1991 | Twin Peaks | Jocelyn 'Josie' Packard | TV series — Series regular (2 seasons) |
| 1992 | Nightmare Cafe | Cafe Customer | Episode: "Nightmare Cafe" |
| Strangers | The Girl | TV movie | |
| Children of the Dragon | Jin-Juan | Miniseries | |
| Shadow of a Stranger | Vanessa | TV movie | |
| 1993 | Tales from the Crypt | Connie | Episode: "Food for Thought" |
| 1997 | Homicide: Life on the Street | Elizabeth Wu | Episode: "Wu's on First?" |
| Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child | Princess Jade (voice) | Episode: "Aladdin" | |
| 1998 | The Outer Limits | Major Dara Talif | Episode: "Phobos Rising" |
| 1999 | In a Class of His Own | Linda Ching | TV movie |
| 2009 | Newcomers to the Middle-Aged | Tian Wenjie | TV series |
| 2010 | Journey to the West | Guan Yin | |
| 2011 | Fringe | Reiko | Episode: "Immortality" |
| 2012 | Hemingway & Gellhorn | Madame Chiang Kai-shek | HBO TV movie |
| Heroes of Sui and Tang Dynasties | Empress Dugu | TV series | |
| 2013 | Serangoon Road | Patricia Cheng | 10 episodes |
| Meng's Palace 海上孟府 |
Er Jie | TV series | |
| 2014–2016 | Marco Polo | Chabi | 20 episodes |
| 2017 | Twin Peaks | Jocelyn 'Josie' Packard | Episode: "Part 17"; archive footage |
| 2018 | Ruyi's Royal Love in the Palace | Ula Nara Yixiu | 6 episodes |
| 2023 | A Murder at the End of the World | Lu Mei | 6 episodes |
Filmmaker
| Year | English Title | Chinese title | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Wild Side | Associate producer | |
| 1998 | Xiu Xiu: The Sent Down Girl | 天浴 (Tiān Yù) | Director; producer; also co-writer with Geling Yan |
| 2000 | Autumn in New York | ||
| 2018 | English | 英格力士 | |
| 2022 | Hero | 世间有她 | Also writer |
Awards and nominations
Other media
- 2008: "Shanghai," narrator—an audio walking tour by Louis Vuitton and Soundwalk<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Other recognition
- Chen was named one of the 'Fifty Most Beautiful People' by People magazine in 1992.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
- Chen inspired the American experimental rock band Xiu Xiu, named after her film Xiu Xiu: The Sent Down Girl, according to singer-songwriter Jamie Stewart.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Chen was chosen by Goldsea as Number 45 on its compilation of "The 120 Most Inspiring Asian Americans of All Time".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
References
Articles and interviews
- "The Last Empress", by C. Mark Jacobson. Interview. December 1987. p. 146-147.
- "In Praise of Actors: Joan Chen", by Peter Rainer. American Film. Volume 15: Issue 8. May 1990. p. 32.
- "Heavenly And Hearthy", by Tom Kagy. Goldsea Asian American Daily. August 1992.
- "Chen Reaction", by Alison Dakota Gee. Movieline (USA). December 1993. p. 54-59, 88.
- "Joan of Art", by Richard Corliss. TIME (USA). April 5, 1999.
- "West To East", by Richard Corliss. TIME (USA). Volume 153: Issue 13. April 5, 1999.
- "Joan Chen: Guerilla Director", by Michael Sragow. Salon.com. May 27, 1999.
- "Reel Poetry", by Kevin Berger. San Francisco (USA). July 2000. p. 51.
- "Joan Chen: Whether it's China or Hollywood, this actress/director tells it like it is", by Franz Lidz. Interview. August 2000. p. 80-81.
- "An Interview with Joan Chen", by Michelle Caswell. Asia Source. November 2000.
- "Is Joan Chen Done with Hollywood?" Goldsea Asian American Daily. January 28, 2003.
- "Joan Chen's Wild Side", by Malinda Lo. Curve. Volume 15: Issue 4. June 2005.
- "The Face Behind Saving Face", by Kenny Tanemura. Asian Week. June 3, 2005.
- "Sensuously Elegant: An Interview with Joan Chen", by Lisa Odham Stokes. Asian Cult Cinema (USA). Issue 48. October–December 2005. p. 51-61.
- "The Many Faces of Joan Chen.", by Glen Schaefer. The Province. October 3, 2007.
External links
- Template:IMDb name
- Template:Rotten Tomatoes person
- Joan Chen at Art and Culture
- 1961 births
- Living people
- 20th-century Chinese actresses
- 20th-century American actresses
- 21st-century Chinese actresses
- 21st-century American actresses
- American actresses of Chinese descent
- American film actresses
- Film directors from California
- American film directors of Chinese descent
- American television actresses
- American women film directors
- American writers of Chinese descent
- California State University, Northridge alumni
- Chinese emigrants to the United States
- Chinese women film directors
- Chinese film actresses
- Film directors from Shanghai
- Members of the Committee of 100
- Chinese television actresses
- Screenwriters from Shanghai
- Actresses from Shanghai
- Naturalized citizens of the United States
- Screenwriters from California
- Best Actress AACTA Award winners
- Best Supporting Actress Asian Film Award winners