Shannon Lee

For the figure skater who has the same name in Chinese, see Li Xiangning. For the classical violinist, see Shannon Lee (violinist).

Shannon Lee
李香凝
Lee in 2019
Born
Shannon Emery Lee

(1969-04-19) April 19, 1969 (age 55)
Santa Monica, California, United States
Occupation(s)Actress, businesswoman, martial artist
Years active1993–present
Spouse
Ian Keasler
​
(m. 1994)​
Children1
Parents
Relatives
Martial arts career
StyleJeet Kune Do
Taekwondo
Wushu
Kickboxing
Teacher(s)Richard Bustillo (Jeet Kune Do)
Ted Wong (Jeet Kune Do)
Tan Tao-liang (Taekwondo)
Eric Chen (Wushu)
Benny Urquidez (Kickboxing)
Musical career
Also known asShan Shan
Chinese name
Chinese李香凝
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinLǐ Xiāngníng
Wade–GilesLi Hsiang-ning
Tongyong PinyinLǐ Siāngníng
Yale RomanizationLǐ Syāngníng
IPA[lì ɕjáŋnǐŋ]
Yue: Cantonese
Yale RomanizationLeíh Heūng-yìhng
JyutpingLei5 Hoeng1-jing4
IPA[le̬i hœ́ːŋ jɪ̏ŋ]
Southern Min
Hokkien POJLí Hiuⁿ-gêng

Shannon Emery Lee Keasler (born April 19, 1969) is an American actress, businesswoman, singer, and martial artist. She is the only living child of actor and martial artist Bruce Lee and retired martial arts teacher Linda Lee Cadwell, and is the younger sister and the only sibling of actor Brandon Lee. Through Bruce Lee she is a granddaughter of Cantonese opera singer and film actor Lee Hoi-chuen.[1]

Early life

Shannon was born on April 19, 1969, at UCLA Santa Monica Medical Center in Santa Monica, California.[2] She is the youngest child and only daughter of martial arts film star Bruce Lee and Linda Emery. In her youth she studied Jeet Kune Do, the martial art created by her father, under Richard Bustillo, one of her father's students.[citation needed]

Career

In 1993, Lee made a cameo appearance as a party singer performing "California Dreamin'", in her father's biopic Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story.[3] This was followed by supporting roles in the films Cage II (1994), with Lou Ferrigno[4] and High Voltage (1998) with Antonio Sabato Jr.[5]

In 1998, Lee played her first leading role in the Hong Kong action film Enter the Eagles, directed by Corey Yuen, co-starring Michael Wong and Anita Yuen. In the film, Lee had a fight scene with Benny Urquidez, who went on to teach her kickboxing.[6] That same year, she guest-starred in an episode of the television series Martial Law alongside Sammo Hung.

In 2000, Lee sang a cover of "I'm in the Mood for Love" for the film China Strike Force directed by Stanley Tong.[citation needed]

Lee appeared in the sci-fi television film Epoch, which first aired on the Sci Fi Channel in 2001. In 2003, she played the leading role in the action film Lessons For An Assassin. She was also the host of the first season of the television show WMAC Masters.

Lee sang on the band Medicine's album The Mechanical Forces of Love in 2003.[7]

Lee is president of the Bruce Lee Foundation.[8] She was the executive producer of the 2008 television series The Legend of Bruce Lee, based on her father's life, and the 2009 documentary film How Bruce Lee Changed the World.[9]

In 2015, Perfect Storm Entertainment and Shannon Lee announced that the series Warrior, based on an original idea by Bruce Lee, would be produced and air on Cinemax. Filmmaker Justin Lin was chosen to direct the series,[10][11] which debuted April 5, 2019.[11]

In 2023, Lee guest starred in Season 3, episode 6 of Warrior, which marked her return to acting after 20 years. [12]

Personal life

Lee's husband is Ian Keasler. Their daughter's name is Wren Lee Keasler.[13]

Lee is the daughter of Bruce Lee, granddaughter of Lee Hoi-chuen and Grace Ho, sister of Brandon Lee, and niece of Robert Lee Jun-fai and Peter Lee Jung-sum.[citation needed] Lee's paternal great-grandfather was Ho Kom Tong, half-brother of Robert Hotung.[14]

Martial arts

In her youth, Lee studied Jeet Kune Do, with her father's disciple Richard Bustillo, but did not practice it seriously until the late 1990s. To train for parts in action movies, she studied Jeet Kune Do with Ted Wong.[6]

She studied Taekwondo under Tan Tao-liang AKA "Flash Legs" and Wushu under Eric Chen. She also studied under the tutelage of the director of Enter the Eagles, Yuen De, Jackie Chan's Chinese opera brother. Because the film Enter the Eagles (1998) required her to fight Benny Urquidez, Urquidez himself taught her kickboxing.[6]

Filmography

Film
Year Title Role Notes
1993 Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story Party Singer
1994 Cage II Milo
1997 High Voltage Jane Logan
1998 Enter the Eagles Mandy Alternative title: Gwan Guen See Dam
Blade Resident
2001 Lessons for an Assassin Fiona
2002 She, Me & Her Paula Jemison
2020 Be Water Self
Television
Year Title Role Notes
1995 WMAC Masters Host 13 episodes
1998 Martial Law Vanessa Feng Episode: "Take Out"
2001 Epoch Pamela Television film
2012 I Am Bruce Lee Executive producer, herself Television documentary
2023 Warrior Wen Season 3, Episode 6

References

  1. ^ "Lee, Bruce (1940-1973)". www.historylink.org. Retrieved July 20, 2020.
  2. ^ "AFI|Catalog". catalog.afi.com. Retrieved August 1, 2021.
  3. ^ "Cage 2: Arena of Death". TVGuide.com. Retrieved August 1, 2021.
  4. ^ "High Voltage". TVGuide.com. Retrieved August 1, 2021.
  5. ^ a b c Reid, Dr. Craig D. (1999). "Shannon Lee: Emerging From the Shadows of Bruce Lee, the Butterfly Spreads her Wings". Black Belt. 37 (10): 33.
  6. ^ Abebe, Nitsuh (July 15, 2003). "Medicine: The Mechanical Forces of Love". Pitchfork. Retrieved December 23, 2023.
  7. ^ Bruce Lee Foundation website. Retrieved December 10, 2014.
  8. ^ Bellafante, Ginia (May 15, 2009). "The Hagiography of the Dragon, a Continuing Saga". The New York Times.
  9. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (May 21, 2015). "Cinemax Developing Bruce Lee-Inspired Crime Drama 'Warrior' From Justin Lin".
  10. ^ a b Cecchini, Mike (August 22, 2018). "Warrior: First Teaser for Bruce Lee Inspired TV Series". Den of Geek.
  11. ^ "Warrior Season 3 Just Unveiled the Ultimate Bruce Lee Easter Egg". July 20, 2023.
  12. ^ "Shannon Lee & Daughter Wren Lee Keasler Wish Bruce Lee A Happy 80th!". YouTube. November 27, 2020. Archived from the original on December 13, 2021. Retrieved August 17, 2021.
  13. ^ Russo, Charles (May 19, 2016). "Was Bruce Lee of English Descent?". Vice. Retrieved February 16, 2020.

Further reading