Cheng Pei-pei, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon star, dies of rare disease aged 78

Chinese actor Cheng Pei-pei, best known for her role in Ang Lee’s Oscar-winning film Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, has died of a ‘rare disease’.

The actor, one of cinema’s early female action heroes, died aged 78 in San Fransico on 19 July.

‘It is with a heavy heart that we announce that the rumors are true. Our mother, Cheng Pei-pei, passed away peacefully at home surrounded by her loved ones on July 17,’ her family wrote on Facebook.

The statement continued: ‘In 2019, our mom was diagnosed with a neurodegenerative, atypical parkinsonism syndrome – unofficially, corticobasal degeneration (CBD).

‘It is a rare disease with symptoms similar to Parkinson’s disease, however, current treatments cannot slow the progression.

‘She chose not to make this news public so that she could deal with her condition in private and spend her remaining time with her children and grandchildren.’

The statement, written by the actor’s children, said she wanted to be remembered as ‘the legendary Queen of Martial Arts’ who was a ‘versatile, award-winning’ actress loved around the world.

‘She loved being an actress and knew, even with her hard work, how fortunate she was to have the career she had.

‘Our mom remained humble and approachable, patient and kind, and always generous with her time, eager to help others whenever she could. She will be dearly missed,’ the statement concluded.

The mother-of-four – Eugenia, Jennifer, Harry and Marsha – has donated her brain to medical research.

Her most famous roles include Jade Fox in the acclaimed 2000 film Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. She also starred in Oscar contender Come Drink With Me and Golden Swallow.

The Queen of Swords also appeared in 2014’s Lilting and as The Matchmaker in Disney’s 2020 live-action remake of Mulan.

Tributes have started pouring in for the acting pioneer on social media and beyond.

Casting director and producer Mike Leeder praised Cheng, saying: ‘Very talented actress, and a lovely lady, who raised 4 children, her son Harry, and daughters Jennifer, Eugenia and Marsha, had the pleasure of working with Pei-pei, Marsha & Eugenia over the years and my thoughts are with them and the rest of her family.’

‘The Queen of the swordplay film, through a Shaw Brothers and Golden Harvest run as an iconic action heroine (Come Drink With Me etc) to her warmth in Painted Faces and switch to villain in Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, she will be missed,’ @sogoodreviews wrote on X.

‘RIP Cheng Pei-Pei. We lost a true pioneer today. Someone who walked so Michelle Yeoh, Kara Hui, Moon Lee etc. could run. A true legend in every sense of the word,’ @fuforthoughtpod echoed.

Pei-pei, was born in Shanghai in 1946 and moved to Hong Kong in 1962 where she soon collaborated with the iconic Shaw Brothers studio.

She made her film debut in 1965 in The Lotus Lamp. Then went on to star in countless action films including  The Flying Dagger (1969), Brothers Five (1970) and The Shadow Whip (1971).

Cheng moved to San Francisco in the 1970s where she attended University of California Irvine’s business school while raising her family. Her children now work in the entertainment industry.

This is a breaking story… More updates to follow.

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