Jet Li was born in Beijing on 26 April 1963. At eight, he started practicing kung fu in the Chinese national team. From 1975 to 1979, he became the champion in six consecutive national tournaments. In 1982, Li was handpicked by Zhang Xinyan of the Great Wall Film Studio Company Limited to play in his debut The Shaolin Temple as Monk Jue-yuan, who earned him overwhelming popularity overnight. Since then he has played a number of blockbusters with similar roles.
Li has directed and played in Born to Defence. In 1991, he was invited by director Tsui Hark to play in Once Upon a Time in China, in which he showcased his unmatched kung fu mastery that led to a comeback of kung fu films in Hong Kong.
In recent years, Li has played in a number of Hollywood productions, by which his fame and kung fu mastery are introduced to non-Chinese speaking cultures around the world.
-Celestial Pictures' biography from Martial Arts of Shaolin