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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.

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.

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.

Filmography

• The Forbidden Kingdom (2008)
• Rush Hour 3 (2007)
• Kung Fu Panda (2008)
• Bo bui gai wak (2006)
• San wa (2005)
• San ging chaat goo si (2004)
• Fa dou daai jin (2004)
• Around the World in 80 Days (2004)
• Daai lo oi mei lai (2004)
• The Medallion (2003)
• Chin gei bin (2003)
• Shanghai Knights (2003)
• The Tuxedo (2002)
• Rush Hour 2 (2001)
• Dak miu mai shing (2001)
• "Saturday Night Live" (1 episode, 2000)
• Shanghai Noon (2000)
• Dak ging san yan lui (1999)
• Hei kek ji wong (1999)
• Bor lei jun (1999)
• Rush Hour (1998)
• An Alan Smithee Film: Burn Hollywood Burn (1998)
• Wo shi shei (1998)
• Yat goh hiu yan (1997)
• Jing cha gu shi 4: Zhi jian dan ren wu (1996)
• Hung faan aau (1995)
• Piklik fo (1995)
• Jui kuen II (1994)
• Chao ji ji hua (1993)
• Sing si lip yan (1993)
• Zhong an zu (1993)
• Jing cha gu shi III: Chao ji jing cha (1992)
• Xi Zang xiao zi (1992)
• Shuang long hui (1992)
• Fei ying gai wak (1991)
• Chu dao gui jing (1990)
• Huo shao dao (1990)
• Ji ji (1989)
• "Jin ye bu she fang" (1989)
• Ging chaat goo si juk jaap (1988)
• Fei lung maang jeung (1988)
• 'A' gai waak juk jaap (1987)
• Long xiong hu di (1987)
• Ninja the Protector (1986)
• Nui ji za pai jun (1986)
• Ging chaat goo si (1985)
• Long de xin (1985)
• Xia ri fu xing (1985)
• The Protector (1985)
• Ninja Thunderbolt (1985)
• Fuk sing go jiu (1985)
• Cannonball Run II (1984)
• Shen yong shuang xiang pao (1984)
• Two in a Black Belt (1984)
• Kwai tsan tseh (1984)
• 'A' gai waak (1983)
• Long teng hu yue (1983)
• Wu fu xing (1983)
• Mai nei dak gung dui (1982)
• Gong fen bing tuan (1982)
• Long xiao ye (1982)
• The Cannonball Run (1981)
• The Big Brawl (1980)
• Shi di chu ma (1980)
• Long quan (1979)
• Xiao quan guai zhao (1979)
• Quan jing (1978)
• Jui kuen (1978)
• Se ying diu sau (1978)
• Fei du juan yun shan (1978)
• Dian zhi gong fu gan chian chan (1978)
• She hao ba bu (1978)
• Jian hua yan yu jiang nan (1977)
• Jan shi liu mi xing quan (1977)
• Shao Lin mu ren xiang (1976)
• Shao Lin men (1976)
• Xin ching-wu men (1976)
• Feng yu shuang liu xing (1976)
• Hua fei man cheng chun (1975)
• Pai an jing ji (1975)
• Mi zong sheng shou (1975)
• Crash che botte! (1974)
• Ru jing cha (1974)
• Jin ping shuang yan (1974)
• Chu ba (1973)
• Enter the Dragon (1973)
• Tie wa (1973)
• Bei di yan zhi (1973)
• Ding tian li di (1973)
• Tang ran ke (1972)
• He qi dao (1972)
• Jing wu men (1972)
• Qi lin zhang (1972)
• Guang dong xiao lao hu (1971)
• Hsia nu (1969)
• Qin Xiang Lian (1964)
• Big and Little Wong Tin Bar (1962)

Awards

• kids' Choice Award Favorite Male Butt Kicker 2003
• MTV Movie Award Best Onscreen Duo "Rush Hour" 1999
• Hong Kong Film Award Best Action Choreography "Who Am I?" 1998
• Hong Kong Film Award Best Action Choreography "Rumble in the Bronx" 1995
• MTV Movie Award for Lifetime Achievement 1995
• Golden Horse Award Best Actor "Crime Story" 1993
• Golden Horse Award Best Actor "Police Story 3" 1992