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Jackie Chan was born in
Hong Kong on April 7th, 1954. His parents, Charles and Lee-lee Chan named him
Chan Kong-sang which means "born in Hong Kong." Jackie weighed 12
pounds when he was born and his mother required surgery to deliver him.
Jackie's parents were so poor that they had to borrow money from friends to pay
the doctor.
Although Jackie's parents were poor, they had steady jobs at the French embassy in Hong Kong. Charles was a cook and Lee-lee was a housekeeper. Together, the Chan family lived on Victoria Peak in Hong Kong. When Jackie was young, his father would wake him early in the morning and together they would practice kung fu. Charles Chan believed that learning kung fu would help build Jackie's character, teaching him patience, strength, and courage.
When Jackie was seven years old Charles took a job as the head cook at the American embassy in Australia. He felt that it would be best for Jackie to stay behind in Hong Kong to learn a skill and so enrolled him in the China Drama Academy where Jackie would live for the next 10 years of his life.
During Jackie's time at the school, he learned martial arts, acrobatics, singing, and acting. The school was meant to prepare boys for a life in the Peking Opera. Chinese opera was very different from any other kind of opera. It included singing, tumbling, and acrobatics as well as martial arts skills and acting. Students at the school were severely disciplined and were beaten if they disobeyed or made mistakes. It was a very harsh and difficult life but Jackie had nowhere else to go, so he stayed. He rarely saw his parents for many years.
Although Jackie's parents were poor, they had steady jobs at the French embassy in Hong Kong. Charles was a cook and Lee-lee was a housekeeper. Together, the Chan family lived on Victoria Peak in Hong Kong. When Jackie was young, his father would wake him early in the morning and together they would practice kung fu. Charles Chan believed that learning kung fu would help build Jackie's character, teaching him patience, strength, and courage.
When Jackie was seven years old Charles took a job as the head cook at the American embassy in Australia. He felt that it would be best for Jackie to stay behind in Hong Kong to learn a skill and so enrolled him in the China Drama Academy where Jackie would live for the next 10 years of his life.
During Jackie's time at the school, he learned martial arts, acrobatics, singing, and acting. The school was meant to prepare boys for a life in the Peking Opera. Chinese opera was very different from any other kind of opera. It included singing, tumbling, and acrobatics as well as martial arts skills and acting. Students at the school were severely disciplined and were beaten if they disobeyed or made mistakes. It was a very harsh and difficult life but Jackie had nowhere else to go, so he stayed. He rarely saw his parents for many years.
While at the China Academy, Jackie made his acting debut at age eight in the Cantonese movie "Seven Little Valiant Fighters: Big and Little Wong Tin Bar." He later teamed with other opera students in a performance group called "The Seven Little Fortunes." Fellow actors Sammo Hung and Yuen Biao were also members. Years later the three would work together and become known as The Three Brothers. As Jackie got older he worked as a stuntman and an extra in the Hong Kong film industry.
When Jackie was 17, he
graduated from the China Drama Academy. Unfortunately the Chinese opera was no
longer very popular, so Jackie and his classmates had to find other work. This
was difficult because at the school they were never taught how to read or write.
The only work available to them was unskilled labor or stunt work. Each year
many movies were made in Hong Kong and there was always a need for young,
strong stuntmen. Jackie was extraordinarily athletic and inventive, and soon
gained a reputation for being fearless; Jackie Chan would try anything. Soon he
was in demand.
Over the next few years, Jackie worked as a stuntman, but when the Hong Kong movie industry began to fail, he was forced to go to Australia to live with his parents. He worked in a restaurant and on a construction site. It was there that he got the name "Jackie." A worker named Jack had trouble pronouncing "Kong-sang" and started calling Jackie "little Jack." That soon became “Jackie” and the name stuck.
Over the next few years, Jackie worked as a stuntman, but when the Hong Kong movie industry began to fail, he was forced to go to Australia to live with his parents. He worked in a restaurant and on a construction site. It was there that he got the name "Jackie." A worker named Jack had trouble pronouncing "Kong-sang" and started calling Jackie "little Jack." That soon became “Jackie” and the name stuck.
Jackie was very unhappy in
Australia. The construction work was difficult and boring. His salvation came
in the form of a telegram from a man named Willie Chan. Willie Chan worked in
the Hong Kong movie industry and was looking for someone to star in a new movie
being made by Lo Wei, a famous Hong Kong producer/director. Willie had seen
Jackie at work as a stuntman and had been impressed. Jackie called Willie and
they talked. Jackie didn't know it but Willie would end up becoming his best
friend and manager. Soon Jackie was on his way back to Hong Kong to star in
"New Fist of Fury." It was 1976 and Jackie Chan was 21 years old.
Once Jackie got back to
Hong Kong, Willie Chan took control over Jackie's career. To this day Jackie is
quick to point out that he owes his success to Willie. However, the movies that
Jackie made for Lo Wei were not very successful. The problem was that Jackie's
talents were not being used properly. It was only when Jackie was able to
contribute his own ideas that he became a star. He brought humor to martial
arts movies; his first success was "Snake in Eagle's Shadow." This
was followed by "Drunken Master" (another blockbuster) and Jackie's
first ever directing job, "Fearless Hyena." All were big hits.
Jackie was becoming a huge
success in Asia. Unfortunately, it would be many years before the same could be
said of his popularity in America. After a series of lukewarm receptions in the
U.S., mostly due to miscasting, Jackie left the States and focused his
attention on making movies in Hong Kong. It would be 10 years before he
returned to make Rumble in the Bronx, the movie that introduced Jackie to
American audiences and secured him a place in their hearts (and their box
office). Rumble was followed by the Rush Hour and Shanghai Noon series which
put Jackie on the Hollywood A List.
Despite his Hollywood successes, Jackie became frustrated by the lack of varied roles for Asian actors and his own inability to control certain aspects of the filming in America. He continued to try, however, making The Tuxedo, The Medallion, and Around the World in 80 Days, none of which was the blockbuster that Rush Hour or Shanghai Noon had been.
Despite his Hollywood successes, Jackie became frustrated by the lack of varied roles for Asian actors and his own inability to control certain aspects of the filming in America. He continued to try, however, making The Tuxedo, The Medallion, and Around the World in 80 Days, none of which was the blockbuster that Rush Hour or Shanghai Noon had been.
Jackie's lifelong devotion
to fitness has served him well as he continues to do stunt work and action
sequences in his films. In recent years, Jackie's focus has shifted and he is
trying new genres of film – fantasy, drama, romance – and is spending more and
more time on his charity work. He takes his work as Ambassador for
UNICEF/UNAIDS very seriously and spends all his spare time working tirelessly
for children, the elderly, and those in need. He continues to make films in
Hong Kong, including the blockbuster drama New Police Story in 2004.
Jackie has been married to Lin Feng-Jiao since 1982 and has a son, actor-singer Jaycee Chan. To learn more about Jackie you can read his biography, I Am Jackie Chan.
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