6 of the best female martial arts stars, from Michelle Yeoh to Zhang Ziyi and Lady Kung Fu

After a five-year hiatus following her marriage to first husband Dickson Poon, Yeoh returned to the silver screen Police Story 3: Super Cop (1992), and other action films such as Tai Chi master (1993) and Wing Chun (1994).

She rose to international fame after appearing in the 1997 James Bond film Tomorrow never diesS – her combat skills led her co-star Pierce Brosnan to describe her as the ‘female Bond’ – before she starred as the heroine in Ang Lee’s critically acclaimed Crouching tiger, hidden dragon (2000).

Zhang Ziyi

Known along with Zhao Wei, Xu Jinglei and Zhou

One of her first major roles was in Crouching tiger, hidden dragonin which she played Jen Yu, the daughter of an aristocrat who secretly apprentices herself to the film’s antagonist, Jade Fox.

Zhang went on to star in action films including Rush hour 2 (2001), Hero (2002) and house of flying knives (2004). In the latter, Zhang appeared as Mei, a skilled fighter who initially pretended to be a blind dancer; for the role, Zhang was nominated for Best Actress in a Leading Role at the Bafta Awards.

From there the actress branched out and starred in a number of notable dramas including Jasmine Women (2004) and Memoirs of a Geisha (2005), perhaps her most acclaimed film.

In 2013 she returned to the martial arts genre with Wong Karwai‘S The Grandmasterin which she plays Gong Er, a master at it baguazhang.

Maggie Cheung

Cheung also appeared in Tsui Hark‘s action thriller New Dragon Gate Inn (1992), as well as the 2002 Wuxia film Hero. The latter is set during the Warring States period in China and saw Cheung take on the role of Flying Snow, a skilled swordsman and assassin who vowed to avenge her father by killing the man responsible for his death: the king.

Cheng Pei-pei

Once elected “Queen of Swords”, Cheng Pei-pei is widely regarded as the first female action star. One of her first major roles was in the wuxia film Come drink with me (1966), in which Cheng took on the role of Golden Swallow, a young woman and skilled martial artist who sets out to rescue her kidnapped brother.

Although Cheng had no martial arts background before making the film, she was cast because of her dance experience, which lent itself to directing King Hu‘s take on the character.

The actress appeared in a number of action films in the 1960s, often playing swordsmen. One of them was Chang Cheh‘S Golden swallow (1968), in which Cheng reprized her role Come drink with me.

“Her performances are (characterized) by grace, dexterity and dignity, which undoubtedly arose from her background in ballet, music and Chinese dance,” wrote a Hong Kong critic in 1980. “She is considered one of the best actresses in the world . emerged from martial arts cinema.”

Cheng found a new generation of fans with her performance Crouching tiger, hidden dragon. For her role as Jade Fox, she won the Best Supporting Actress award at the 20th Hong Kong Film Awards in 2001.

Most recently she appeared as a matchmaker in the live-action adaptation of Mulan (2020).

Brigitte Lin

Born in Taiwan in 1954, the actress first established her career there, where she starred in a number of romantic films, including Outside the window (1973). In the 1980s, Lin moved to Hong Kong, after which she began working with directors such as Tsui Hark on wuxia films such as Zu Warriors of the Magic Mountain (1983).

Perhaps Lin’s most iconic role Swordsman II (1992), which transformed Lin from a romantic film actress to a martial arts star.

Angela Mao

Taiwanese actress Angela Mao Ying, known to her fans as ‘Lady Kung Fu’ or ‘Lady Whirlwind’, was once as prominent as Bruce Lee in the United States.

As a young girl, she first learned fighting techniques at an opera school in Beijing, Taiwan, where she specialized in wudan (female combat roles) and learned to perform acrobatics, somersaults and even how to use her feet to defend herself against 12 spears.

She was then discovered by Golden Harvest’s Raymond Chow Manwai and director Huang Feng, who cast her in the fantasy action film The angry river (1971).

Angela Mao Ying in a still from When Taekwondo Strikes (1973). Photo: Golden Harvest

From there, Mao appeared in more than 30 Hong Kong films, many of which were Golden Harvest productions.

The company even sent Mao to Korea for a year and a half so she could train in hapkido – a Korean martial art consisting of dynamic kicking techniques, joint locks and throws – after which she returned to Hong Kong as a third-degree black belt. starred in the movie Hapkido (also known as Lady Kung Fu1972).

Mao quickly gained international fame after she appeared as the sister of Bruce Lee’s character in Enter the Dragon (1973), and her other martial arts films, including Lady Whirlwind (1972), The fate of Lee Khan (1973), and When Taekwondo strikes (1973) cemented her status as a formidable martial artist.

The actress continued to appear in martial arts films, making her last appearance in 1992 Ghost bride. Today she lives in New York, where she and her family run a Taiwanese restaurant called Nan Bei Ho in Queens.