Joan Chen
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| Joan Chen 陈冲 (陳冲) | ||||||||||||||
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| Chinese name | 陳冲 (Traditional) | |||||||||||||
| Chinese name | 陈冲 (Simplified) | |||||||||||||
| Pinyin | Chén Chōng (Mandarin) | |||||||||||||
| Jyutping | Can4 Cung1 (Cantonese) | |||||||||||||
| Born | April 26 1961 Shanghai, China | |||||||||||||
| Occupation | actress, film director, screenwriter, producer | |||||||||||||
| Years active | 1975–present | |||||||||||||
| Spouse(s) | Jim Lau (1985-1990) Peter Hui (1992-) | |||||||||||||
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- This is a Chinese name; the family name is Chen.
Joan Chen Chong (traditional Chinese: 陳冲; simplified Chinese: 陈冲; Mandarin Pinyin: Chén Chōng; Cantonese: 陳沖/Chan Chung; Cantonese pronounced [tsʰɐn tsʰʊŋ]; Jyutping: can4 cung1; Yale: chan4 chung1) (born April 26, 1961) is a Chinese American actress, film director, screenwriter and film producer, best known for her roles in The Last Emperor, Twin Peaks, Red Rose, White Rose, Saving Face, and for directing the feature film Xiu Xiu: The Sent Down Girl.
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[edit] Biography
[edit] Early life and career
She was born Chen Chong in Shanghai, China into a family of doctors (her grandparents were educated at Oxford and her parents were trained at Harvard).[1] She grew up during the Cultural Revolution. At age 14, Chen was discovered on the school rifle range by Mao Zedong's wife Jiang Qing, 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 Jin who chose her to star in his 1977 film Youth (青春, Qīngchūn)[2] as a deaf mute whose senses are restored by an Army medical team. She soon enrolled in the prestigious Shanghai Institute of Foreign Languages, at age 17 (one year before one could go), where she majored in English.[3]
[edit] Acting career
Chen Chong first became famous in China for her performance in Zhang Zheng's 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), in which she played a revolutionary's daughter in pre-Maoist China, who falls in love with the wounded soldier whom she and her mother care for. Little Flower was her second film and Chen soon hit the status of China's most loved actress, which earned her to be dubbed "the Elizabeth Taylor of China" by Time magazine, for having achieved stardom while still a teenager.[4] 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) (aka Overseas Compatriots or A Loyal Overseas Chinese Family), which 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 (我爱你中国) and High Flies the Petrel （高飞的海燕）, sung by Chen's character, are perennial favorites in China.
At age twenty, Chen moved to the United States where she studied filmmaking at California State University, Northridge. In 1989, she became a naturalized citizen of the United States.
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. In 1993 she co-starred in Oliver Stone's Heaven & Earth. She portrayed two different characters in Clara Law's [[Temptation of a Monk|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 critically acclaimed Stanley Kwan's Red Rose, White Rose (Chinese: 紅玫瑰白玫瑰) opposite Winston Chao and Veronica Yip. In 1995, Chen made what has become perhaps her best known film; "Wild Side" for HBO. The movie has become something of a cult classic due mainly to her graphic lesbian love scenes with co-star Anne Heche. 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 (天浴) by her friend Yan Geling. She later directed Autumn in New York in 2000.
Chen made a comeback in 2004 when she starred in Jasmine Women (Chinese: 茉莉花开; pinyin: Mòlì Huā Kāi) and in Asian American independent film Saving Face. She then appeared in the Asian American independent film Americanese.
Chen will appear in 7 films whose release is scheduled for 2007 and 2008: Singapore film The Leap Years (based upon a novel by Catherine Lim and starring Wong Li-Lin, Ananda Everingham and Qi Yuwu), Australian film The Home Song Stories (directed by Tony Ayres, again co-starring Qi Yuwu), American films Michael Almereyda's Tonight at Noon (along with Ethan Hawke and Rutger Hauer) and All God's Children Can Dance (opposite Tzi Ma), Chinese film Jiang Wen's The Sun Also Rises (opposite Jaycee Chan and Anthony Wong Chau-Sang), and Chinese American film Ang Lee's Lust, Caution (along with Tony Leung Chiu-Wai).
[edit] 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, but spend part of every year in Shanghai, China with Joan's family, so their daughters can be familiar with Chinese culture.
During her early years in California Chen attended California State University, Northridge.
[edit] Awards & nominations
- Hundred Flowers Awards
- 1980: won for Best Actress -- Little Flower (小花)
- Asian American International Film Festival
- 1994: won for Best Actress -- Red Rose, White Rose (紅玫瑰白玫瑰)
- 1998: won for Best Director -- Xiu Xiu: The Sent Down Girl (天浴)
- 1998: won for Best Screenplay Adapted from Another Medium (shared with co-writer Yan Geling) -- Xiu Xiu: The Sent Down Girl (天浴)
- 2007: won for Best Actress -- The Home Song Stories
- 1995: nominated for Best Actress -- Red Rose, White Rose (紅玫瑰白玫瑰)
- 1998: nominated for the Golden Berlin Bear -- Xiu Xiu: The Sent Down Girl (天浴)
- Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival
- 1998: won the Jury Award -- Xiu Xiu: The Sent Down Girl (天浴)
- Paris Film Festival
- 1999: won the Special Jury Prize -- Xiu Xiu: The Sent Down Girl (天浴)
- 1999: nominated for the Grand Prize -- Xiu Xiu: The Sent Down Girl (天浴)
- Mons International Festival of Love Films
- 1999: won the Grand Prize -- Xiu Xiu: The Sent Down Girl (天浴)
- 1999: won the International Freedom Award -- Xiu Xiu: The Sent Down Girl (天浴)[8]
- 2000: nominated for Best First Feature Over $500,000 (shared with co-producer Alice Chan Wai-Chung) -- Xiu Xiu: The Sent Down Girl (天浴)
- 2000: nominated for Best Director -- Xiu Xiu: The Sent Down Girl (天浴)
- 2007: Achievement in Acting Award
- Asia-Pacific Screen Awards
- 2007: nominated for Best Actress -- The Home Song Stories
- 2007: won for Best Actress -- The Home Song Stories
- Torino International Film Festival
- 2007: won for Best Actress -- The Home Song Stories
- 2007: won for Best Actress -- The Home Song Stories
[edit] Other recognition
- In 1992 People magazine chose her as one of the 50 most beautiful women in the world.
- Chen inspired indie rock band Xiu Xiu, named after her film Xiu Xiu: The Sent Down Girl.
[edit] Filmography (as actress)
[edit] Filmography (as director)
| Year | Title | Writer | Producer | Main cast | Other notes |
| 1998 | Xiu Xiu: The Sent Down Girl (天浴, Tiān Yù) | Yan Geling, Joan Chen | Alice Chan, Joan Chen | Li Xiaolu, Lopsang | also producer, executive producer and co-writer |
| 2000 | Autumn in New York | Allison Burnett | Gary Lucchesi, Amy Robinson, Tom Rosenberg | Richard Gere, Winona Ryder, Anthony LaPaglia |
[edit] Filmography (as writer)
[edit] References
- ^ Richard Corliss. "West To East." TIME (USA). Volume 153: Issue 13. April 5, 1999.
- ^ Lisa Odham Stokes. "Sensuously Elegant: An Interview with Joan Chen." Asian Cult Cinema (USA). Issue 48. October-December 2005. p.51-61.
- ^ Tom Kagy."Heavenly And Hearthy." Goldsea Asian American Daily. August 1992.
- ^ Lisa Odham Stokes. "Sensuously Elegant: An Interview with Joan Chen." Asian Cult Cinema (USA). Issue 48. October-December 2005. p.51-61.
- ^ http://www.aaiff.org/
- ^ http://filmcritics.org.hk/en/criticism_section_article.php?catid=1&id=79&PHPSESSID=ad60c4e404f3e02c237371afd4283d41
- ^ http://www.hkflix.com/xq/asp/filmID.1670/rtype.2/qx/reviews.htm
- ^ http://www.nbrmp.org/awards/awards.cfm?award=International%20Freedom%20Award
- ^ http://english.cri.cn/3086/2007/09/12/1261@273191.htm
- ^ http://forum.hkcinemagic.com/index.php?showtopic=7401
[edit] 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.
- "West To East", by Richard Corliss. TIME (USA). Volume 153: Issue 13. April 5, 1999.
- "Joan of Art", by Richard Corliss. TIME (USA). April 5, 1999.
- "The Sent Down Girl", by Steven Schwankert. Beijing Scene. Volume 5: Issue 8. May 7, 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.
- "Empress and Enigma". China Daily. October 25, 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.
- "Joan Chen on Filming Lust, Caution in Shanghai: Follow One's Heart.", by Liu Qing. The Chinese Mirror Newsblog. February 28, 2007.
- "The Many Faces of Joan Chen.", by Glen Schaefer. The Province. October 03, 2007.
- "Joan Chen returns to Chinese film.", by Min Lee. The China Post. October 17, 2007.
[edit] External links
- Joan Chen at the Internet Movie Database
- (Chinese) Joan Chen at the Chinese Movie Database
- Joan Chen at Yahoo!Movies
- Joan Chen at All Movie Guide
- Joan Chen at Art and Culture
- Joan Chen profile at EmanuelLevy.com
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Categories: 1961 births | American film actors | American film directors | American television actors | Asian American filmmakers | Cal State Northridge alumni | Chinese Americans | Chinese film directors | Female film directors | Living people | Naturalized citizens of the United States | People from San Francisco | People from Shanghai
