Joan Chen - Biography

Last Editor: sdanette				Joan Chen Biography -   Name : Joan Chen Profession : Actress Date of birth : 26 April 1961 Place of birth : Shanghai, China Birth name : Chong Chen Height : 5' 4"

Joan Chen Trivia -

US citizen since 1989. Has one elder brother, Chuan Chen, an artist who goes by the professional name of Chase Chenoff. Cancelled proceedings to adopt a child when she became pregnant with daughter Angela Frances, both in October 1998. Joan was first spotted by the wife of Tse-tung Mao at a Chinese rifle range. She then recommended Joan to movie producers. While preparing to shoot a period piece called 'Fu Song', she discovered she was pregnant. She took a break from the film and in 2002, she gave birth to a second daughter. Selected by Self magazine as one of "The Nine Best Bodies for the 90s". Measurements: 34C-24-35 1/2 (Source: Celebrity Sleuth magazine) Member of the jury at the Berlin International Film Festival 1996. Her Chinese first name "Chong" means "to rush". Chosen by People magazine as one of the 50 Most Beautiful People in the world. [1992] Her Mandarin name is Chen Chong. Her Cantonese name is Chan Chung. Speaks Mandarin, English and Shangainese. Is friends with Amy Tan. Is friends with Wayne Wang.

Joan Chen Detailed Biography -

Joan Chen made her directorial feature debut in 1998 with Xiu Xiu: The Sent Down Girl. Acclaimed by critics nationwide, Richard Corliss of Time magazine described the film as miraculous while Jami Bernard at the New York Daily News called it a stellar directing debut. Xiu Xiu: The Sent Down Girl won an astounding seven Golden Horse (Taipei Oscar) Awards for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Original Song and Best Music. The film was also the recipient of the Special Jury Award at the 1999 Paris Film Festival, and the winner of the Best Dramatic Feature at the 1998 Fort Lauderdale Film Festival. Nominated for the Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival, Xiu Xiu: The Sent Down Girl was also selected for the 1998 Telluride International Film Festival, the 1998 San Francisco Film Festival and the 1998 Hawaii International Film Festival. Born in Shanghai, China, Chen was selected for the Actors' Training Program by the Shanghai Film Studio in 1975. Audiences first saw her in the movie Youth, directed by the famous veteran director Xie Jin. Her second film, Little Flower, won her the Best Actress Award in China in 1980. Chen left China for America in 1981 to study filmmaking and graduated with honors from the California State University, Northridge. She began her U.S. acting career in 1985, and has starred in multiple feature films, including Taipan, the Academy Award-winning The Last Emperor, Blood of Heroes, Turtle Beach, Twin Peaks, Golden Gate, On Deadly Ground, and Heaven and Earth. In 1993, she returned to her hometown of Shanghai and starred in Stanley Kwan's Red Rose, White Rose, which later won her the Best Actress Award in Taiwan and The Film Critics Award in Hong Kong.