Eugenia Yuan

Eugenia Yuan
Chinese name 原麗淇
Chinese name 原麗淇 (traditional)
Chinese name 原丽淇 (simplified)
Parents Cheng Pei-pei (b. 1946)

Eugenia Yuan (born Eugenia Yuen Lai-Kei) is an actress.

Biography

A Hong Kong Film Awards winner and daughter of martial arts legend Cheng Pei-pei, Eugenia Yuan started out her career not as an actress, but as a rhythmic gymnast for the U.S. Olympic Team and was ranked #4 in the world.

Eventually switching career from an athlete to on-screen ingénue, Eugenia made her screen debut co-starring with her mother in the martial arts picture Flying Dragon, Leaping Tiger. She caught the eye of movie executives on both sides of the world who offered to groom her to inherit her mother's kung fu crown.

Eugenia opted instead to co-star in the dark, low-budget feature charlotte sometimes which garnered an honor at the Independent Spirit Awards and was publicly championed by Roger Ebert and featured in his own Roger Ebert's Overlooked Film Festival.

Eugenia returned to Hong Kong to star in Three where she was named "Best Newcomer" in the Hong Kong Film Awards (Hong Kong's equivalent of the Academy Awards). Soon after, Hollywood director Doug Liman hand-picked her for the title role of the cult hit mockumentary Mail Order Wife which brought her to national attention when she was named as a "Rising Star/Screen Acting Discovery" at the premiere of the film in the Hamptons International Film Festival.

She was later nominated at Hong Kong's Golden Horse Awards for her starring role in The Eye 2 and made memorable turns in the John Dahl film The Great Raid and the Oscar-winning Memoirs of a Geisha. The jewelry retailer Me & Ro created a special edition hair ornament inspired by Eugenia's character in the movie.

Eugenia continues to shuttle back and forth between Los Angeles, New York and Hong Kong to take Studio, Chinese-language and American independent roles alike including the 2007 Gotham Awards winning film Choking Man. She also co-stars with Tony Leung Ka Fai in the Kenneth Bi film, The Drummer, and Erica Leerhsen in Slaughter.

Filmography

Year Title Role
2017 She Has a Name
2016 Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny
2015 The Man with the Iron Fists 2 Ah Ni
2015 Jasmine
2014 Revenge of the Green Dragons
2013 Pupil (Short)
2013 #1 Serial Killer
2012 What About Us? (Short)
2012 Strangers
2011 Shanghai Hotel
2011 I Don't Know How She Does It
2010 Fog (2010 film)
2007 The Drummer
2006 Choking Man
2006 Locked (1992)
2005 Memoirs of a Geisha
2005 The Great Raid
2004 Mail Order Wife
2004 My Name Is Modesty: A Modesty Blaise Adventure
2004 The Eye 2
2002 3 Extremes II
2002 Charlotte Sometimes
2002 Flying Dragon, Leaping Tiger
1982 Dragon Strike Voice

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Wednesday, March 23, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.