Cheng Pei-pei, the Chinese-born action film icon who starred in Ang Lee’s Oscar-nominated “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” and King Hu’s seminal wuxia feature “Come Drink With Me,” has died. She was 78.
Cheng, considered a pioneer of martial arts roles for female actors, died in the San Francisco Bay Area on Wednesday. She had long suffered from a degenerative brain disease and has donated her brain to medical research.
Born in Shanghai on Jan. 6, 1946, Cheng moved to Hong Kong in 1962. With her ballet and dance training, she was soon working with the iconic Shaw Brothers studio. While her feature debut was drama film “Lovers’ Rock,”
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